GERMANY "DISAPPOINTED" WITH NEW U.S. POSITION ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L BERLIN 000908 STATE FOR KATHERINE BAKER SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/09/2018 TAGS: MOPS PARM PREL NATO GM SUBJECT: GERMANY "DISAPPOINTED" WITH NEW U.S. POSITION ON CLUSTER MUNITIONS REF: STATE 73257 Classified By: DEPUTY POL COUNSELOR STAN OTTO. REASONS: 1.4 (B) AND (D) . ¶1. (C) PolOff delivered reftel points to the newly-arrived head of the MFA's Conventional Arms Control Division, Mr. Gregor Koebel on July 10. Koebel had received a "leaked copy of the DoD points through an NGO contact" on July 9 and was therefore already familiar with many of the points about the new U.S. policy on cluster munitions (CM). Indeed, he noted, the DoD memorandum had additional information not included in reftel. Unfortunately, Koebel expressed "deep disappointment" in the new U.S. position stating that "after Dublin, this simply does not go far enough." ¶2. (C) PolOff noted the new policy is an important step forward and urged Koebel to consider this as vital to reinvigorating the current negotiations at the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) in Geneva. Koebel acknowledged the "long-awaited" U.S. position was helpful but noted that he believed an agreement coming out of the CCW would not be ratified by the Bundestag (parliament) if it resembled the U.S. policy. He expressed repeatedly the pressure the MFA is getting from certain "governing party Bundestag members" who urge that Germany must do more to press for a "complete ban" of CM. ¶3. (C) PolOff then expressed that it is not inconsistent with U.S. policy for Germany to be "cutting edge" in its desire to eliminate the use of CM, noting that the German MOD and MFA decided in May to immediately eliminate the use of certain models of this weapon. Indeed, the signing of the Dublin Agreement does not go as far as what Germany has committed itself to. Working now through the CCW will have the additional benefit of bringing along the non-Dublin countries which have large stockpiles of CM, including Russia, China, Israel, and others. Koebel acknowledged this argument and noted that he would need to learn more about the issues in the coming weeks. Per reftel instructions, PolOff urged Koebel to direct any specific questions about the text of the policy to colleagues in Geneva. ¶4. (C) Comment: Given that Koebel has only been in his new position with this portfolio for a few days, some of Koebel's comments may need to be taken with a grain of salt. Post will continue to follow up with German counterparts, and especially Herr Koebel, and report results septel. End comment. ¶5. (U) Post contact on CM is Poloff Ken Kero. TIMKEN JR