CI/KR RESPONSE FOR S/CT: BELARUS

S E C R E T MINSK 000102 SIPDIS SIPDIS S/CT FOR S. GAIL ROBERTSON E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/08/2028 TAGS: ASEC ECON PTER PREL BO SUBJECT: CI/KR RESPONSE FOR S/CT: BELARUS REF: A. STATE 6461 ¶B. 07 MINSK 743 Classified By: Ambassador Karen Stewart for reason 1.4 (d,,e,f,g). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Post believes three objects in Belarus meet the definition of critical infrastructure (ref A): the Druzhba oil pipeline, the gas pipelines, and the Sosniy nuclear research facility. The USG actively engages Belarus to improve security at Sosniy. End summary. Druzhba Oil Pipeline -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The Druzhba pipeline transports approximately 1.35 million barrels of oil per day to Europe. Under normal conditions the main recipients of oil shipped through Druzhba, Poland and Germany, store at least a two-month supply of oil reserves. However, alternate spare pipeline capacity could not fully meet European demand in the event the Druzhba pipeline did not function. Yamal-Europe Gas Pipeline -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Russia supplies 44 billion cubic meters of gas to the EU via the Russian owned Yamal-Europe gas pipeline and the Beltransgaz pipeline. Excess capacity through Ukraine could allow some supplies to be rerouted in the event of a disruption in Belarus, but significant economic damage to Europe would still occur in the event of a long-term disruption. Sosniy Nuclear Research Facility -------------- ¶4. (S) Belarus' Joint Institute of Power and Nuclear Research, Sosniy, houses significant amounts of fissile material for research purposes and exhibits security lapses reminiscent of most Russian facilities a decade ago (ref B). U.S. Department of Energy teams have visited Sosniy regularly to plan an upgrade to the Material Protection, Control and Accounting System, and recent visits have explored the possibility of cooperation on creating the proper regulatory environment to better secure nuclear materials. STEWART