INDIA QUIETLY SUPPORTS AFGHANISTAN FOR IAEA BOARD

S E C R E T NEW DELHI 002557 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/21/2018 TAGS: IAEA PARM MNUC SUBJECT: INDIA QUIETLY SUPPORTS AFGHANISTAN FOR IAEA BOARD SEAT, KAZAKHSTAN REMAINS AN OUTSIDER REF: A. SECSTATE 99745 ¶B. UNVIE 509 Classified By: Political Counselor Ted Osius for Reasons 1.4 (B and D) ¶1. (S) SUMMARY. Poloff delivered ref A demarche on September 22 to Ministry of External Affairs director for Disarmament and International Security Affairs (DISA) G. Dharmendra (protect). Dharmendra said that Kazakhstan's outsider status in the IAEA's Middle East and South Asia (MESA) Group was unlikely to be resolved any time soon. He shared privately that India was working quietly for Afghanistan's candidacy to fill the MESA vacancy on the IAEA Board, but that as MESA chair India could not be expected to say so publicly. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (S) Ministry of External Affairs director for Disarmament and International Security Affairs (DISA) G. Dharmendra told Poloff on September 22 that, as MESA chair, India had articulated Kazakhstan's candidacy to the group and would support a decision by consensus, but that nothing had changed regarding the "MESA contours." The rules governing the membership of the IAEA Board's regional groupings are vague and these groups are defined by consensus among their accepted members. He noted that Israel has a long-standing interest in MESA membership and that India could not support Kazakhstan "jumping over" Israel for MESA membership. He recounted that an attempt was made in 1997 to define the membership of the various groups, but that it did not achieve consensus (ref B). He shared that Kazakhstan's membership was unlikely to achieve consensus, partly because "the Kazakh candidacy has (U.S.) fingerprints all over it." ¶3. (S) Regarding Afghanistan's candidacy, Dharmendra (protect) shared privately that India was "working for Afghanistan." Dharmendra stressed that India, as MESA chair, could not take a public position, and that we should not expect them to do so at tQe September 22-26 Board meeting or subsequently. Nevertheless, Dharmendra said he understood the difficulties that Iran or Syria could create as Board members, and repeated that "we are converging on your viewpoint." Dharmendra, who had just returned from Vienna as part of the Indian team negotiating an Additional Protocol (pursuant to the Hyde Act requirement for the U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation Initiative),added that he had not yet seen signs of any sort of consensus emerging, including within the Arab League. ¶4. (C) Also on Iran, Dharmendra noted that he had also received on September 22 a "strong" demarche from the Troika on Iran's failure to comply with IAEA safeguards, as documented in the Director General's report. He recountd that India would support a reiteration of the statement issued by the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) ministerial in Tehran in July. India's national statement would, however, express the additional hope that Iran will (1) address the concerns raised in the Director General's report; (2) address the "supply side" of proliferation (e.g. the A.Q. Khan network),which remains unresolved; and (3) seek early resolution of these concerns peacefully and through dialogue. ¶5. (C) NOTE. Additional Secretary for Political and International Organizations Vivek Katju was out of town. His back-up, Additional Secretary D.K. Jain, canceled a meeting with the A/DCM the morning of September 22. Joint Secretary for the Americas Gaitri Kumar is accompanying the Indian delegation to the UN General Assembly in New York, along with the Prime Minister and most senior Indian officials who work on IAEA issues. DISA has a long-standing vacancy at the Joint Secretary level, which Dharmendra is slated to fill. He is the most appropriate available recipient for this demarche, as well as the MEA's subject matter expert. END NOTE. WHITE