SUBJECT: U.S. RESPONSE ON RUSSIAN NON-PAPER:

C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 134448 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/24/2018 TAGS: PREL PTER ETTC MASS MCAP RS PL GG SUBJECT: SUBJECT: U.S. RESPONSE ON RUSSIAN NON-PAPER: POLISH MANPADS ALLEGED IN CHECHNYA REF: A. MOSCOW 3475 ¶B. WARSAW 1435 Classified By: classified By: Anita Friedt, EUR/PRA Office Director. Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). ¶1. (SBU) This is an action message; please see para 5 below. ¶2. (C) Per reftel A, Russian MFA DVBR First Secretary Andrey Odnoral passed a nonpaper which requested any materials the USG has regarding an alleged incident of illegal trafficking of Polish MANPADS in Georgia. The Government of Russia (GOR) claimed it had not raised this issue with the Georgian or Polish governments. Per reftel b, it also appears the Russians did not raise the issue at the December 9 Russian-Polish export control talks. Russian representatives did raise the topic during the December 2-3 Wassenaar plenary in Vienna in a presentation on destabilizing accumulations of conventional arms in conflict zones, claiming Poland supplied 100 "GROM" MANPADS to Georgia in 2007, produced with Russian-manufactured components and re-exported without GOR consent, in violation of GOR export rules. The Russian delegation also said that some of these systems had found their way into the hands of non-state actors, but did not specify a particular group. Their non-paper indicates that they were found in the hands of Chechen "bandits." ¶3. (C/NF) A November Polish fact-finding mission to Georgia (reftel b) concluded the Georgians had mishandled the security of the Polish-made "GROM" MANPADS in the August conflict. Nine launchers and thirty-four missiles remained unaccounted for, with the GOG claiming sixteen of the thirty-four missing missiles were sunk in the Kodori River in Abkhazia. ¶4. (C) In furthering our own nonproliferation efforts, Department is willing to make further inquiries regarding the missing items. However, Department finds the apparent lack of direct inquiries by the Government of Russia to the Government of Poland about this issue puzzling, especially given their recent bilateral export controls consultations. In addition, while the Russian non-paper provides Department with production data of the alleged "GROM" MANPADS, it is unclear if we have been authorized by the Russian Government to share this information with third countries, such as Poland. ¶5. (SBU) Action Request: At its convenience Embassy Moscow should make the following points and solicit answers to the following questions from the appropriate GOR officials: --The U.S. would be as concerned as Russia with the potential acquisition of MANPADS by non-state actors. --At this time, we do not have any independent information on the incident you mentioned. --Encourage you to reach out bilaterally to discuss with Polish officials. Have you been in contact with representatives from the Government of Poland (GOP) on the claim of the "GROMS" ending up in a Chechen arms cache? What was their response? --Can you provide us the names of any Polish officials with whom you have discussed this matter? --Do we have your permission to share the information in your November 26 non-paper, in particular the serial numbers of the "GROM" MANPADS with the appropriate foreign government officials? ¶6. (U) Department thanks Post for its assistance. RICE