Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08UNVIEVIENNA589
2008-11-07 16:07:00
CONFIDENTIAL
UNVIE
Cable title:  

WASSENAAR ARRANGEMENT: GENERAL WORKING GROUP

Tags:  ETTC KSTC PARM 
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R 071607Z NOV 08
FM USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 8643
INFO THE WASSENAAR ARRANGEMENT
AMEMBASSY NICOSIA
DOD WASHDC
DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L UNVIE VIENNA 000589 


DEPARTMENT FOR ISN/CATR, T, PM/DTC, PM/RSAT
DOD FOR OSD: PDASD/S&TR, DUSD/TSP
DOD ALSO FOR DIR DTSA/ST AND DIR DTSA/STP
DOD ALSO FOR USD/(A&T)/ODUSD(I&CP) AND USD(A&T)/IDA
USDOC FOR BXA/EA/OAS AND BXA/EA/OSTFPC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/07/2018
TAGS: ETTC KSTC PARM

SUBJECT: WASSENAAR ARRANGEMENT: GENERAL WORKING GROUP
REPORTING CABLE

REF: STATE 109383

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Geoffrey Pyatt, Reason 1.4 (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L UNVIE VIENNA 000589


DEPARTMENT FOR ISN/CATR, T, PM/DTC, PM/RSAT
DOD FOR OSD: PDASD/S&TR, DUSD/TSP
DOD ALSO FOR DIR DTSA/ST AND DIR DTSA/STP
DOD ALSO FOR USD/(A&T)/ODUSD(I&CP) AND USD(A&T)/IDA
USDOC FOR BXA/EA/OAS AND BXA/EA/OSTFPC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/07/2018
TAGS: ETTC KSTC PARM

SUBJECT: WASSENAAR ARRANGEMENT: GENERAL WORKING GROUP
REPORTING CABLE

REF: STATE 109383

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Geoffrey Pyatt, Reason 1.4 (d).


1. (C) Summary: Discussions at the October meeting of the
Wassenaar Arrangement's (WA) General Working Group (GWG) were
limited. Russia's video presentation on arms sales to
Georgia was the only controversial issue discussed; Ukraine
and the U.S. spoke in response. The U.S. proposal to conduct
an annual briefing on changes to the control lists for
non-participating states attracted most of the other
discussion. End Summary

Regional Views


2. (C) Africa: The UK, U.S., and France all submitted papers
on Africa in response to the proposal from the May GWG to
focus on a specific area. The UK first discussed the Great
Lakes. The Dutch noted that the influx of weapons in the
Great Lakes region worsened an already unstable situation
with a negative effect on security. France welcomed the
proposal to devote attention to Africa and the Great Lakes
region, noting that weapons in the Great Lakes increased the
risk of civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
France also noted the numerous UN Security Council
(UNSC)-mandated reports on the situation in the Great Lakes,
including expert group papers. France also emphasized that
these various UNSC-mandated reports indicated that weapons
were being traded for resources in eastern Congo and that
supply lines were diversifying ) from Somalia, to southern
Sudan, to Rwanda, and that Uganda was using intermediary
companies registered in the Seychelles and Israel to buy arms
from China, South Africa, and Israel. The UK presented a
second paper raising specific concerns about the flow of arms
into the Horn of Africa, particularly small arms and light
weapons and MANPADS. Participating States did not get into a
long discussion on the Africa regional views, and no
solutions or plans of action were presented, though some
countries noted the need for development as part of a
solution to the conventional arms problems in the region.


3. (SBU) Georgia: After the May GWG meeting, Russia submitted
a paper on Georgia in the Licensing and Enforcement Officers

Meeting (LEOM) and they followed that up with a paper in the
GWG. The Russian delegation supplemented these papers with a
video presentation on its view of the history of South
Ossetia and Abkhazia, and chastising WA Participating States
for what it described as destabilizing arms transfers to
Georgia which fueled the conflict. The Russian presentation
included photos of seized weapons it said were used by
Georgia in "large-scale aggression" noting Russian
peacekeepers as well as civilians were killed by weapons
provided by WA countries. Russia claimed that WA
Participating States armed the Georgian military in
quantities far exceeding 'reasonable defensive requirements'
and thus violated the WA Initial Elements. These Elements
state that Wassenaar is aimed at contributing to regional and
international security and stability by promoting greater
responsibility in transfers of conventional arms. Russia
also alleged that Georgia had increased its military
expenditures by 50 percent in 2008, but at the same time it
had not paid its dues in the OSCE, UNIDO, and had lost its
voting rights in the CTBTO because of arrears.


4. (C) Ukraine and the United States were the only countries
to respond to the Russian presentation. The Ukrainian
delegation noted that Ukraine acts within the parameters of
international control regimes, international law, and the UN,
there are no restrictions on the flow of arms to Georgia.
There were thus no violations of any international sanctions,
and all exports were done in accordance with Ukrainian
legislation. The Ukrainian delegation went on to note that
it also had defense cooperation with Russia and it had no way
of knowing whether any Ukrainian weapons sold to Russia were
used by Russian forces in Georgia. They also pressed the
Russians on the separatists in South Ossetia and Abkhazia's
use of Russian weapons, questioning whether Russia could say
its arms transfers were in accordance with the WA. Ukraine
claimed Russia armed, trained, and supported the separatist
groups in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1867.
It was Russia's arming of the separatist groups that unfroze
the conflicts.


5. (SBU) The U.S. presentation on the situation in Georgia
(Reftel) was well-received due to its measured tone in that


it did not respond directly to the Russian accusations, but
simply laid out U.S. arms transfer policies and confirmed
that all transfers to Georgia were in accordance with those
policies. (Comment: The U.S. delegation met with several
Participating States prior to the meeting to coordinate a
general approach to responding to Russian claims on Georgia.
The consensus was that a response was needed, but that it
should be low-key to avoid inflaming the issue in the
Wassenaar context and having it affect other Wassenaar
issues. End Comment.) After the U.S. and Ukrainian
responses, Russia called on WA Participating States to look
at the Initial Elements and adjust their policies to meet the
basic objectives of the Wassenaar Arrangement, to prevent
destabilizing accumulations such as those in Georgia.


6. (SBU) Arms Transparency: Four proposals for greater arms
transparency (ammunition reporting; arms denial reporting and
consultation; reporting on arms transfers between WA
Participating States; and changes in the reporting of certain
artillery systems) were all recommended for further
discussion in 2009. Japan continued to publicly voice
objections to the Russian proposal for intra-Wassenaar
reporting, though several other Participating States
privately voiced their objections to the proposal. There was
discussion of establishing an experts group to define how
artillery systems should be reported. The Russian delegation
seeks the reporting of small caliber artillery systems (35mm
) 75mm) under Category 3 of the Specific Information
Exchange. The UK noted that, since small caliber artillery
systems are primarily direct fire weapons, it would be more
appropriate to report them under Category 8 (Small Arms/Light
Weapons) than Category 3 (Large Caliber Artillery Systems),
which deals with systems that are primarily indirect fire.
The 2003 Assessment process looked at defining artillery by
whether they are primarily direct fire or indirect fire
weapons, and this issue had been actively discussed in the UN
Register context in 2003 as well.


7. (SBU) Dual-Use Transparency: The GWG agreed to recommend
continued discussion on the U.S. proposal for dual-use denial
consultation.


8. (SBU) New Developments in Export Control Policies: Several
Participating States briefed on changes to their export
control systems. New Zealand noted that it now had
implementation procedures in place for catch-all controls.
The UK briefed on changes to its arms brokering legislation
that extends extraterritorial controls to cover MANPADS,
small arms, and cluster munitions. Light weapons will be
added to this control in April 2009; the UK is still
discussing adding other weapons systems. As of April 6,
2009, the UK will control UK citizen transport providers
associated with arms brokering activities. The UK has
decided for now not to require pre-license registration for
arms brokers, but it is looking at adding powers to revoke
Open General Licenses for those that violate brokering
controls. The UK also has a group of government and NGO
representatives discussing ways to control non-listed
dual-use items.


9. (C) MANPADS: The U.S., Australia, and UK briefed on recent
MANPADS activities each had undertaken. The U.S. noted the
OSCE ) Mediterranean Partners MANPADS conference that had
just occurred earlier in the week; Australia provide
Participating States with copies of its updated MANPADS
booklets; and the UK briefed on the study it co-sponsored
with Australia on the economic impact of a MANPADS incident.
In addition, the UK again made a pitch for Wassenaar to look
in three areas for enhancing controls: transparency ) are
the controls capturing all items that should be captured,
such as upgrades and add-ons; post-transfer checks )
exchange information on how Participating States are
conduction post-transfer checks; and developing generic
elements for implementing the MANPADS guidelines.


10. (SBU) The remaining Best Practice proposals ) Guidelines
for Controlling Transportation of Conventional Arms; Internal
Compliance Programs (ICP); and Re-Export Controls ) were all
recommended for further discussion. The Polish delegation
said it had additional comments to the Russian proposal on
Re-Export Controls, which it would soon submit in writing.
Regarding the Japanese ICP proposal, France, speaking as EU
President, expressed concern with the potential burden on
small and medium enterprises that an ICP would entail. Japan
promised to incorporate the comments it had received into a


new draft.


11. (U) LEOM: Switzerland agreed to assume the Chair of the
2009 Licensing and Enforcement Officers Meeting.


12. (SBU) Outreach: A number of countries, including
Australia, Canada, the UK, and Spain reported on their
bilateral outreach activities. Canada reported that it held
a successful cross-Canada program of outreach to industry and
had worked with the U.S. on a training program for Mexico.
The UK and Spain reported on their training program in Chile.
With regard to WA outreach activities, China and Israel were
noted as targets for 2009 outreach, and the GWG agreed to
recommend to the Plenary for WA to undertake post-plenary
briefings for China, Israel, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Indonesia,
and the UAE. The GWG also agreed that the WA should consider
participating in outreach program organized by industry, but
should not organize outreach seminars to industry
specifically.


13. (SBU) The U.S. proposal for conducting a briefing on
changes to the lists generated a substantial discussion. A
significant number of Participating States supported the
proposal in general terms, though several suggested the
briefing be open to all non-Participating States. Russia
questioned what the range of participants and the scope of
work would be; Russia also commented that it had not once
heard of a country asking for a technical briefing during
Wassenaar Outreach meetings. Russia further opined it would
not be possible to explain in a short seminar the changes it
took the Experts Group (EG) six weeks to develop. Italy
requested the EG chair be involved in re-drafting the
proposal, since it would be the EG that has to conduct the
briefings. A number of Participating States suggested that a
revised draft be prepared that might be forwarded to the
Plenary for decision. Canada agreed to work during the
intercession with the U.S. to develop a new draft which would
refine the proposal and define the countries that could avail
themselves of the briefing.


14. (SBU) On participation, the French, as EU President,
issued strong support for Cyprus' renewed application for
membership. The French noted that membership to the WA must
be based solely on WA criteria ) and on that basis Cyprus
clearly merited membership. In response, Turkey merely noted
its previous position of non-support for Cyprus' bid for
membership.


15. (SBU) Administrative Issues: The 2009 Work Program and
Budget were approved by the GWG to be forwarded to the
Plenary for decision. The Friends of the Chair-WA
Information System (FOC-WAIS) recommendations were also
approved to be forwarded to the Plenary for decision.
Austria offered to chair the FOC-WAIS group in 2009; the GWG
supported this nomination and forwarded it to the Plenary for
decision. The budget remained non-controversial, with Japan
even praising the Secretariat's efforts at cost reductions.
The Dutch confirmed acceptance of the GWG Chair for 2009,
after Malta declined the seat at the spring GWG.


16. (SBU) The last issue raised (by Bulgaria, the Plenary
Chair) was the possible extension of the contract for the
current Head of the Secretariat, Ambassador Sune Danielsson,
who is on detail from Sweden's foreign ministry. Ambassador
Danielsson is eligible for retirement in 2010, one year after
his contract with the Wassenaar Arrangement (through end of
2009) ends and is interested in remaining Head of Secretariat
until end of 2010. There was no discussion; a decision on
this extension request will need to be made during 2009.
SCHULTE


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End Cable Text