1. (U) This is JCIC-XXXIII-018.



2. (U) Meeting Date: November 20, 2008
Time: 3:30 P.M. - 4:30 P.M.
Place: U.S. Mission, Geneva



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SUMMARY


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3. (S) A Working Group (WG) meeting was held at the U.S.
Mission on November 19, 2008, to address an issue that arose
during a Data Update Inspection (DUI) at Davis-Monthan Air
Force Base (AFB) on October 18, 2008. The Russian delegation
stated that Russian inspectors included two ambiguities in
the official inspection report (Ref A). The Russian
Delegation stated that the United States had undertaken
elimination procedures for certain B-52 heavy bombers without
the proper notifications required in the Treaty. The U.S.
delegation explained that this issue was discussed in
JCIC-XXXI (Ref B), and the U.S. understanding was that the
issue was resolved. The U.S. delegation explained that these
heavy bombers are used for aging and surveillance activities,
and had not been eliminated nor had the elimination process
been initiated.



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OPENING SALVOS


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4. (S) At a WG meeting at the United States Mission on
November 19, 2008, Yaguchi opened the meeting and gave the
floor to Ryzhkov. Ryzhkov said the United States started the
elimination process of certain B-52 heavy bombers at
Davis-Monthan without providing any notifications. Russia
further wanted to remind the WG that during a previous
session a presentation was provided by Kuz'min which outlined
Russian concerns and then handed the floor over to Kuz'min.



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HEY, WHO CUT THE...B-52


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5. (S) Referring to the October 2008 inspection report from
a Davis-Monthan AFB Data Update Inspection, Kuz'min said that
inspectors noted that six B-52s had almost completed the
process of elimination and one B-52 had completed elimination
without any preliminary notifications. After exhaustive
reference to the Treaty's notification protocol and various
notification formats (57, 61 and 3), Kuz'min referred to the
elimination of a B-52 ground trainer at Rome, New York. He
said the United States correctly followed the conversion or
elimination protocol to eliminate the B-52 from START
accountability.



6. (S) Turning to Russian concerns with B-52's at Davis
Monthan, Kuz'min said that in JCIC-XXXI the U.S. had
explained that tail assembly cuts for certain B-52's at Davis
Monthan were for studying strength capacity. He noted that
the U.S. delegation had said that when the U.S. was prepared
to eliminate the heavy bombers, it would issue the
appropriate notifications.



7. (S) Kuz'min said that during the DUI, in October 2008,
the Russian inspectors' attention was drawn to cuts made in
the tail section and fuselage observing that the cuts were
made not at assembly joints. Additionally, the inspectors
specifically saw the tail section severed in different ways
on different aircraft and also that the cuts were made in the
skin of the aircraft. He asserted that the cuts were not
made with an abrasive cutting tool. Kuz'min alluded to the
meaning of the word "assembly joint" and the notion of
returning the dismantlement back to its initial state. He
said that during the inspection, Russian inspectors observed
that the B-52 cuts were not at the assembly joints and were
made in an irreversible manner thus precluding being able to
restore the aircraft to its initial condition. For this
reason, Russia believes the United States did not follow the
Treaty requirement to provide the required notifications
dealing with the elimination of heavy bombers.



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MY PICTURES ARE BIGGER THAN YOURS


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8. (S) Kuz'min then reinforced his presentation by using
B-52 photos of the B-52's in question that were made during
the October 2008 inspection and appended to the inspection
report indicate to indicate the location of the tail section
cuts and reiterated that the cuts were made in an
irreversible manner.



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OUR BELOVED U.S. LEADER RESPONDS


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9. (S) Yaguchi thanked Kuz'min for pointing out the
successful elimination of the B-52 ground trainer at Rome,
New York and stated that elimination of the ground trainer
exemplified the United States' knowledge about the
elimination process and notification requirements. Yaguchi
pointed out that the B-52s had not been eliminated and nor
had the elimination process begun. Furthermore the aircraft
remained accountable and inspectable under the Treaty and
that they are undergoing aging and surveillance activities
which were permitted under the Treaty. Moreover, the United
States did not intend for the structural cuts to be
associated with the beginning of the elimination process.



10. (S) Yaguchi added that should the United States decide
to eliminate any of the B-52s listed in the inspection
report, they will be eliminated in a manner consistent with
the provisions of the CorE Protocol.



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AND NOW FOLKS, THE REST OF THE STORY


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11. (S) Ryzhkov responded that this was not a very sensitive
issue with the Russian Federation because heavy bombers were
eliminated not created. He understood that the United States
had not started the elimination process of heavy bombers and
believed the United States activities were in compliance with
the Treaty. Simply, when Russian inspectors were in the
field and observed situations, like at Davis-Monthan where
B-52s had cuts in them, they made comments in the inspection
report. From the inspectors viewpoint, it appeared as though
the elimination procedures had been initiated on these
airplanes. Ryzhkov stressed that he did not want to make the
situation more strict or more dramatic and urged the United
States to think about how to resolve the issue.



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ANOTHER WE'LL GET BACK TO YOU


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12. (S) Smith thanked Ryzhkov for not making this a more
serious issue and further clarified the United States'
position that the B-52s were fully accountable and
inspectable under the START Treaty and when the United States
decided to eliminate them, the United States would make all
relevant notifications and all appropriate cuts. Yaguchi
concluded the discussion by stating that the United States
would take the issue back for further study.



13. (U) Documents exchanged: Eight B-52 photographs taken
during the October 17, 2008 DUI at Davis-Monthan AFB.



14. (U) Participants:

U.S.
Mr. Yaguchi
Lt Col Comeau
Mr. DeNinno
Mr. Dunn
Mr. Fortier
Mr. Hanchett
Ms. Bosco
Mr. Smith
Maj Edinger
CDR Rust
Mr. Vogel
Mr. Smith
Mr. French (Int)

RUSSIA

Col Ryzhkov
Capt(1st Rank) Kuz'min
Col Novikov
Col Zaytsev
Ms. Komshilova (Int)

UKRAINE

MGen Fedotov

BELARUS

Mr. Ponomarev



15. (U) Taylor sends.
TICHENOR


NNNN




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