CLUSTER MUNITIONS: ITALY SUPPORTS U.S.

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 001451 SIPDIS PM/WRA FOR KATHERINE BAKER AND SHO MORIMOTO E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/29/2018 TAGS: PARM NATO MOPS PREL IT SUBJECT: CLUSTER MUNITIONS: ITALY SUPPORTS U.S. INTERPRETATION OF ARTICLE 21 REF: STATE 125632 Classified By: Acting Political Minister-Counselor J. Liam Wasley for R easons 1.4 (B) and (D) ¶1. (C) Poloff delivered reftel demarche to Italian MFA Director for Nonproliferation and Arms Control Emanuele Farruggia on November 28. Farruggia confirmed that the GOI intends to sign the convention but shares our interpretation of Article 21 as allowing not only for interoperability but also storage and transit of U.S. Cluster Munitions (CM) on U.S. bases in Italy. Farruggia noted that Italy had pushed for Article 21 to be included in the CCM for precisely this reason and had recently proposed to the British a joint statement at Oslo to this effect, but the British demurred on the grounds that their position on CM on U.S. bases in the UK was still under discussion. He said that the GOI would consult with the U.S. before taking any steps that might compromise the principle of interoperability or CM storage and transit. He noted that the Italian Parliament would probably not be able to ratify the CCM before the end of 2009 because of provisions that would have to be included in the legislation to fund the destruction of Italian CM stocks and their replacement with non-cluster munitions. DIBBLE