RFG AND READOUT OF VCC AND VCC EXPERTS MEETING -

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 USNATO 000648 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/20/2017 TAGS: PREL PARM KCFE NATO RS OSCE SUBJECT: RFG AND READOUT OF VCC AND VCC EXPERTS MEETING - DECEMBER 19, 2007 REF: A. A. STATE 155906 ¶B. B.AC/319-A(2007)0012 (CFE) ¶C. C.AC/319-A(2007)0011 ¶D. D.USNATO 0005254 Classified By: USNATO Charge d'Affairs Richard G. Olson for reasons 1.4 (b and d) ¶1. This is a Request for Guidance. See Para 11. ¶2. (C) SUMMARY: At the December 19 meeting of the NATO Verification Coordinating Committee (VCC),Allies agreed to allocate and coordinate CFE inspections -- including for Russia -- based on data from the previous Treaty year. Allies also coordinated Vienna Document (VDoc) inspections. In response to a U.S request for clarification, the NATO International Staff (IS) Chair confirmed that discussion of VDoc coordination with non-NATO partners would not take place at the Head of Verification (HOV) meeting at the Annual Implementation and Assessment Meeting (AIAM) in Vienna. After the U.S. registered its objection to the Romanian proposed text for the definition of an inspection site, Allies agreed to reinsert the original version of the text and reissue the document under a silence procedure. Several Allies have approached U.S. verification reps to inquire about bilateral and multilateral training for inspections under the adapted CFE Treaty (see para 11 request for guidance). The next VCC will take place on January 22, 2008. END SUMMARY. CFE Quota Allocation -------------- ¶3. (C) Taking note of the HLTF decision to continue implementation of the CFE Treaty for now despite the Russian "suspension," the NATO International Staff (IS) Chair provided a plan for CFE quota allocation for inspections in non-Russia nations whereby each Ally would receive 1 inspection quota with the remaining 8 inspection quotas to be divided between the 9 non-2 quota nations (Greece, Romania, Poland, France, Italy, Turkey, the UK, Germany, and the U.S.). Upon realizing that this was 1 quota inspection short, the Chair gained consensus for dropping Romania from the list of non-2 quota nations because it has the least amount of quotas as prescribed by the previously agreed step-chart. After allocating these quota inspections, Allies bid on the supplementary flank inspections and the 3 paid inspections in Ukraine, and then allocated inspections for Russia using data from the previous inspection year. �0A;¶4. (C) Germany suggested deferring the CFE allocation for Russia because of a lack of Russian data and uncertainty about future Russian participation. The Chair indicated that allocating inspection quotas for Russia is consistent with guidance from the HLTF for continued implementation of the Treaty. Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, and Turkey spoke out strongly supporting the Chair,s interpretation and the desire to allocate quotas for inspections in Russia. Germany then said it was not opposed, but had just suggested it for practical purposes. ¶5. (C) The U.S. acquired the following inspections for CFE : (NOTE: Inspections in Russia were allocated provisionally only based on the data from the previous Treaty year and are subject to reallocation based on Russia's participation. END NOTE.) - 1 inspection in Azerbaijan. - 1 quota inspection in Ukraine. - 1 paid inspection in Ukraine. - 2 unrestricted quota inspections in Russia. - 2 quota inspections of Object of Verifications (OOVs) in Russia eligible for supplementary inspections. - 2 supplementary inspections in Russia. - up to 4 additional supplementary inspections in Russia if no other Ally claims them. Other CFE-Related Matters -------------- ¶6. (C) Several Allies (Germany, Canada, France, and UK) approached the U.S. verification reps to inquire about the possibility of participating in bilateral and/or multilateral USNATO 00000648 002 OF 002 training with respect to adapted CFE Treaty implementation. (See para 11 for RFG on this issue.) ¶7. (C) The VCC Experts discussed the Romanian proposed edits to the paper on the "Understanding of the Term Inspection Site" (AC/319-N(2007)0014-REV2). Per guidance, U.S. rep stated that the U.S. can not agree to the Romanian proposed changes in the first section under "The inspection site comprises" because U.S. interpretation of the Romanian language is that it would imply the site is defined by the site diagram, while the Treaty requires that the site diagram is defined by the site. U.S. rep,s request that the Romanian language be replaced with the previous language in the draft referenced above was acceptable to Romania without objection from any other Ally. The IS will revise the paper accordingly and issue a new version under silence until January 31. Vienna Document -------------- ¶8. (C) The Chair requested comments on an IS paper drafted at the request of the VCC to prepare for the AIAM meeting in Vienna. Per guidance, U.S. rep requested clarification of the report in the Decision Sheet from the previous VCC (AC/319-DS(2007)0011) that there was agreement to discuss coordination of VDoc with non-Allies at the HOV meeting at the AIAM. The U.S. said that it had not agreed to such a discussion in Vienna and that the U.S. HOV would not be positioned to engage in a policy discussion on the matter. The Chair explained that the reference in the Decision Sheet was intended to indicate that further discussion and decisions on coordination with non-Allies would be addressed in future VCC meetings after the AIAM so as to incorporate any new views or developments from the AIAM in those VCC discussions. ¶9. (C) In addition to the VDoc evaluations already acquired (U.S. leading an evaluation to Croatia with Bulgaria as a guest; and Bulgaria leading an evaluation to Bosnia-Herzegovina with the U.S. as a guest),the U.S. acquired lead for the following VDoc inspections: - Armenia - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Kazakhstan - Russia Other Business -------------- ¶10. (U) Norway reported on the Nordic-Baltic Arms Control meeting that took place in November where the respective nations discussed CSBM proposals in Vienna as well as VDoc coordination. They agreed to work on a Food-For-Thought paper regarding the idea of increasing the number of team members on VDoc inspections for the possibility of tabling the FFT at the AIAM in Vienna. Norway stated that Sweden and Finland were not planning any VDoc activities before March ¶15. Turkey announced that it will host an Arms Control Orientation course in Ankara 11-15 February and invited Allies to participate. The next meeting of the VCC will be on January 22, 2008. ¶11. Request For Guidance: USDel requests Washington guidance on how to respond to Allied requests regarding participation in bilateral and/or multilateral training with regard to adapted CFE implementation as described in para 6. OLSON