UNCLAS NICOSIA 000090

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR ISN/WMDT: BRIAN HOOPER, T: TIM KATSAPIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PARM PREL PTER KGIC IAEA CY
SUBJECT: PRIVATE-SECTOR OUTREACH AND THE GLOBAL INITIATIVE
TO COMBAT NUCLEAR TERRORISM

REF: SECSTATE 5399


1. Per reftel, PolOff on January 30 demarched First
Secretary Panayiotis Papadopolous, Department of Multilateral

SIPDIS
Affairs, Cypriot MFA, to encourage the Cypriot government to
conduct private sector outreach in support of the Global
Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GI). Papadopolous
questioned what role businesses could play in combating
nuclear terrorism, as it seemed to him strictly a government
responsibility. In response, PolOff noted our successes in
recruiting large firms like General Electric and AIG in the
fight; the GoC might focus on the numerous shipping companies
calling Cyprus home. Papdopoulos committed to giving our
request full consideration and examining ways to employ the
island's private sector in the GI campaign.


2. Logistics prevented us from conducting this MFA demarche
jointly with the Russian Embassy, as reftel requested. We
provided a backbrief to Russian DCM Alexander Shcherbakov,
however, and asked that he deliver similar points to
Papadopoulos.
SCHLICHER