TURKMENISTAN COOPERATING WITH IAEA EFFORTS TO

UNCLAS ASHGABAT 000250 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV IAEA TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN COOPERATING WITH IAEA EFFORTS TO ACHIEVE COMPLIANCE WITH NUCLEAR CONVENTIONS ¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: An IAEA delegation met with government officials in Ashgabat in mid-February to assist Turkmenistan's efforts to achieve compliance with nuclear-related international conventions to which it is a signatory. Turkmenistan's state-run media reported that inspections of old dump sites revealed no issues needing near-term attention. The visitors also worked with Turkmen officials to get Turkmenistan's mandated report regime into order. IAEA representatives may have also sought to discuss the December discovery of radioactive waste by Uzbekistani border authorities. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (U) A working-level International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) delegation was in Turkmenistan February 11-15 for meetings with the Foreign Ministry and specialists from the "Gun" (Sun) Scientific-Production Association of the Supreme Council for Science and Technology. IAEA officials last visited a year ago to help the government initiate a survey within all government organs to determine whether Turkmenistan holds any nuclear or radiological materials. Turkmen press reported that the survey is complete, and confirmed there are no nuclear materials "of interest to IAEA," and that Turkmenistan does not conduct any nuclear research or development. ¶4. (U) During this visit, Turkmen press reported that members of the IAEA delegation examined the data gathered in the survey, and visited sites where radioactive waste had been disposed during the Soviet period, and they conducted tests to determine levels of radioactivity. The site locations were not specified, but were reported to have been under IAEA's acceptable limits. IAEA representatives also taught Turkmen personnel how to electronically draft the agency's mandatory annual report. ¶5. (SBU) While here, IAEA representatives may have also raised the December 2007 discovery of radioactive material on a train bound for Iran by authorities in Uzbekistan. The material reportedly contained Cesium-137, a radiological waste product that comes from nuclear reactors and nuclear test facilities. Had the material not been discovered by Uzbek authorities, its course would have continued through Turkmenistan. The IAEA may have found this issue easier to address to the Turkmen government since the Parliament ratified the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism on February 6. ¶6. (SBU) COMMENT: While we have no independent reporting regarding the extent to which Turkmen authorities cooperated with the IAEA's fact-finding efforts, the fact they were permitted to visit known radioactive dump sites and gather data is a further indication that the Turkmen government is invested in conforming to its international convention obligations. END COMMENT. HOAGLAND