U.S., RUSSIA DISCUSS DETAILS OF FUTURE JOINT DATA

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 002690 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/08/2018 TAGS: PREL PARM MARR RS SUBJECT: U.S., RUSSIA DISCUSS DETAILS OF FUTURE JOINT DATA EXCHANGE CENTER Classified By: Pol. Minister/Counselor Alice Wells for Reasons 1.4 (b), (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. A U.S. interagency delegation, led by U.S. STRATCOM Senior Adviser for Policy, Doctrine, and International Affairs Bradley Martin, conducted talks on August 5 at the Russian Ministry of Defense to brief the Russians on U.S. site and building requirements for the future U.S.-Russia Joint Data Exchange Center (JDEC). The Russian delegation was unable to provide specifics about the location of the future site, but noted that new buildings could be constructed if existing structures did not meet U.S. requirements. The two sides tentatively scheduled a follow-up meeting for September 24, although the Russian delegation claimed they could not add taxation and customs to the agenda due to disunity within the GOR. End Summary. -------------- U.S. Briefings and Russian Response -------------- ¶2. (C) On August 5, a U.S. interagency delegation briefed their Russian counterparts on site and building requirements for the future U.S.-Russia JDEC. The original site selected at the time the U.S.-Russia JDEC and Pre-Launch Notification System (PLNS) agreements were signed in 2000 no longer meets U.S. security standards, and the GOR has indicated that this site is no longer available. Russian Head of Delegation Col. Yevgeniy Il'in told the U.S. delegation that while the GOR was considering a number of locations for a JDEC site, no final decision had been made. All the sites under consideration were located either inside Moscow's Ring Road or within 20 km of the Ring Road, and ranged in size from .5 - 2.5 hectares (1.24 - 6.2 acres). He added that if existing buildings on the selected site were inadequate, new buildings could be constructed. ¶3. (C) DTRA Structural Engineer Tracy Herbert provided a slide presentation entitled, "DoD Minimum Antiterrorism Standards for Buildings," which provided criteria the GOR could use in conjunction with its assessment of terrorist threats in the Moscow area. Criteria included building standoff distances from areas of public access, avoiding sites near railway stops, and limiting mail and visitors. The U.S. del made clear that the threat evaluation would be the GOR's responsibility. The U.S., however, indicated that some of U.S. EUCOM's standards were more stringent than those briefed by DTRA, and that this information would be released to Russia in the future. Col. Il'in said that the Russians viewed the terrorist threat as low, especially because the situation in the North Caucasus had calmed down and there had been no building explosions in Moscow in eight years. -------------- Housing and Communication Considerations -------------- ¶4. (C) Col. Il'in raised the question of additional requirements, including housing considerations and the distance of the JDEC from the U.S. Embassy. U.S. Embassy DTRA representative Maj. Kelly MacDonald noted that U.S. JDEC employees with families would probably be in U.S. Embassy housing, and OSD/Policy Phil Jamison added that the length of the commute to the JDEC would be an important consideration. Dave Weir of DOD's Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) provided a briefing on the types of secure communication links the JDEC would need to other USG and GOR facilities. The head of the office within the U.S. Air Force that budgets and distributes funds for the JDEC (SEW Project Office),Lt. Col. Steve Smiley, reinforced the need for a decision on the JDEC location as soon as feasible. -------------- Disagreements about Subsequent Meeting Agenda -------------- ¶5. (C) Col. Il'in told the U.S. delegation that due to the lack of GOR consensus on JDEC taxation and customs issues, a follow-up meeting on taxation, which the U.S. hoped to address on September 24, would be implausible; there could only be a continuation of the legal discussion on liability. He remarked that if the U.S. had other plans for the September 24 meeting, there had been a misunderstanding. Col. Il'in also noted that the issues of taxation and liability had similarities with respect to the treatment of sub-contractors. Col. Il'in said that the U.S. would be notified through diplomatic channels once the GOR had concrete language on taxation and customs. He noted that taxation and customs had implications for the U.S.-Russia relationship outside the realm of JDEC, and that there would be no major breakthrough on these items in JDEC without progress on them in other areas of the bilateral relationship. With respect to holding a plenary meeting of the JDEC delegations, Col. Il'in said it was a priority to deal with the issue of "rare exceptions" (exemption for notification of certain ballistic missile launches). He added that it might be possible to hold a plenary meeting, with a legal experts meeting on taxation on the side. At the conclusion of the meeting, Col. Il'in called the discussions productive and said that he would report on the meeting to the MOD's leadership. BEYRLE