CANADA TO ATTEND ROME MEETING ON NATIONAL MEASURES

C O N F I D E N T I A L OTTAWA 001522 SIPDIS ISN/RA FOR R. NEPHEW AND ISN/CPI FOR A. RUGGIERO E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/04/2018 TAGS: PREL PARM KNNP MNUC ETTC IR CA SUBJECT: CANADA TO ATTEND ROME MEETING ON NATIONAL MEASURES ON IRAN REF: A. STATE 127071 ¶B. OTTAWA 1453 ¶C. OTTAWA 1368 Classified By: PolMinCouns Scott Bellard, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (U) Canada will send Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) Acting Division Director for Gulf and Mahgreb Relations Jeffrey McLaren and DFAIT non-proliferation senior advisor Ryan Hewer to the Rome meeting on implementation of national measures on Iran, according to DFAIT Iran Desk Officer Alastair Wallbaum. Canada has yet to receive a formal invitation to the conference, but its embassy in Rome did obtain an unofficial agenda, according to Wallbaum. ¶2. (C) Wallbaum noted that Canada will be prepared to engage in discussions and will not be there "solely in listening mode," although he declined to preview the substance of the Canadian interventions. He added that DFAIT legal and non-proliferation officers are still "negotiating" among themselves the substance of McLaren's remarks. Wallbaum commented that the two bureaus were primarily haggling over the legality and mechanisms by which Canada could participate in future rounds of enhanced sanctions with like-minded countries, should Canada decide that is necessary. Sanctions are "tricky" under Canadian law, Wallbaum noted, giving a "leading" role in policy formulation to legal experts. As part of its "whole of government" approach, Wallbaum added that DFAIT has been consulting as well with the Justice and Finance Departments on Canada's positions on various items on Canada's menu of possible options to pressure Iran. He added that those discussions about future rounds of notional sanctions were still on-going. Visit Canada,s Economy and Environment Forum at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/can ada BREESE