ITALY SUPPORTS AFGHANISTAN'S CANDIDACY FOR IAEA

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 001093 SIPDIS ISN/RA FOR ARIEL STUKALIN, IO/T FOR HEATHER VON BEHREN E.O. 12958: DECL: 8/29/2018 TAGS: IAEA PREL PARM KNNP MNUC IR SY IT AF SUBJECT: ITALY SUPPORTS AFGHANISTAN'S CANDIDACY FOR IAEA BOARD OF GOVERNORS REF: A. ROME 887 ¶B. STATE 87744 Classified By: Acting Deputy Political Minister-Counselor Gabriel Escob ar for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D) ¶1. (C) Poloff delivered Ref B demarche to Italian MFA Disarmament and Nonproliferation Agreement Implementation Office Director Vittorio Rocco on August 27. Rocco said Italy regards Afghanistan's candidacy for the IAEA MESA Board of Governors' seat as a positive development that will encourage others in the MESA group to withdraw their support for Syria's candidacy. He agreed that the Syrian bid for the seat should be discouraged but stopped short of committing to lobby for Afghanistan among MESA member states. He said that he would pulse other IAEA BOG members in the run-up to the September 29 IAEA General Conference, which he will attend, but was optimistic that the MESA group would agree on a compromise candidate other than Syria by consensus, thereby obviating the need for a vote by the entire IAEA membership. DIBBLE