GREECE: IRAN'S UPCOMING NUCLEAR CONFERENCE

UNCLAS ATHENS 001473 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AORC GR MNUC PGOV PREL TRGY IR SUBJECT: GREECE: IRAN'S UPCOMING NUCLEAR CONFERENCE DEMARCHE DELIVERED REF: STATE 112229 ¶1. (U) On October 23, DepPolCouns and Poloff delivered reftel demarche on the upcoming nuclear conference in Iran to Ambassador Tryphon Paraskevopoulos, Director of the MFA D1 Department United Nations and International Organizations Affairs, and Loukas Tsokos, D1 First Secretary. Tsokos said D1 had not heard of the conference nor received an invitation. He added that he checked with the MFA A6 Directorate for Arab Countries and the Middle East and they had the same response. We pushed them not to participate in the conference as it would legitimize Iran's claims that its nuclear activities were exclusively peaceful. Tsokos responded there was no prospect of a Greek delegation attending the conference but added it was possible the Greek Ambassador in Tehran could attend for "informational" purposes. He said he would conduct further inquiries with the Greek Ministry of Development and Economy and would notify us if he received more information or an invitation from Iran. SPECKHARD