OPEN SKIES: DECEMBER 15 PLENARY -- PROGRESS ON

UNCLAS USOSCE 000302 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR VCI/CCA, EUR/PRA JCS FOR J5/COL NORWOOD OSD FOR ISA (PERENYI) NSC FOR MHAYES E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OSCE PARM PREL SUBJECT: OPEN SKIES: DECEMBER 15 PLENARY -- PROGRESS ON SENSORS REF: A. STATE 130737 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The December 15 Open Skies Consultative Commission (OSCC) adopted the Decision on Alternate Airfields. The OSCC also agreed to put a Chairman,s Statement on Allowable Video Sensors on the January OSCC agenda for adoption. The Informal Working Group on Sensors (IWGS) forwarded the statement to the Plenary following a week of deliberations on draft Decisions for Video sensors. Assuming this stays on track, States Parties should be able to move forward on acquisition by mid-2009. The Informal Working Group on Rules and Procedures (IWGRP) met following the plenary to discuss fine-tuning wording in the Decision One on Costs. End Summary. Progress on Sensors -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The Informal Working Group on Sensors (IWGS) met during the week of December 8-12 to discuss draft decisions necessary for the use of digital video sensors. The group focused on the draft decision for Revision One to Decision ¶14. It also discussed Revision Two to Decision 17 and a new draft decision on Digital Processing. At the request of the German delegation, the group identified some interim criteria for selecting digital video cameras. Germany is eager to move forward on an acquisition program this spring. Thus the group crafted a Chairman,s Statement that includes criteria that will allow States to begin purchasing plans. Part of the deal is to "grandfather" any of the sensors purchased in accordance with the Chairman,s Statement. Thus, all agreed that these criteria will be incorporated into the final version of Rev 1 to D14. Assuming this stays on track, States Parties should be able to move forward on acquisition by mid-2009. ¶3. (SBU) At the Plenary, the U.S. (Neighbour) provided the IWGS report (OSCC.SEN/10/08) and introduced the Chairman,s Statement for adoption. The Belarus Chair (Krayushkin) agreed to issue the draft for OSCC review and will work with the incoming Belgian Chair to include it on the agenda for adoption on January 26 (OSCC.DEL/19/08). Germany was agreeable with this approach. Germany also asked us to work on a draft Decision for the extension of the IWGS Mandate for ¶2009. We will update the draft to reflect the progress made on the Chairman,s Statement, and work with the Belgian Chair in January to move that forward. The IWGS did not set a date for the next meeting, although some delegations suggested early March. ¶4. (U) U.S. rep Grieshop from the Open Skies Media Processing Facility (OSMPF) provided hard drives with the results of U.S. digital sensor testing conducted this summer. The U.S. asked delegations to review the material to aid further discussions on visual analysis procedures. The current drafts of Rev 1 to D14, Rev 2 to D17, and Digital Processing have been posted on the OSCE website workspace for the IWGS, and delegations were encouraged to review these documents in preparation for the next meeting. Other Plenary business: -------------- ¶5. (U) At the final plenary of the fall session, the OSCC adopted Decision 9/08 on Alternate Airfields (Reftel). This Decision allows States to request information on alternate airfields to those in the Treaty, and specifies modalities for using such airfields. ¶6. (SBU) Spain and Norway both made statements regarding their decision not to participate in a follow-on attempt to its joint mission with Canada that was cancelled in September. Both said they agreed to give Canada their "share" of the quota, e.g. one-third each. Canada chose to conduct the mission with consent of the other two partners right not to participate. In the notification traffic, Russia had complained that Spain and Norway should state their intention not to use their quotas. See statements OSCC47.JOUR/149. ¶7. (SBU) Comment: USDel recommends Washington consider consultations with Allies regarding the quota allocation process to ensure all partners understand the nature of counting active and passive quotas. The U.S. has maintained the position that active quotas are counted as whole numbers versus partial or fractional quotas. The Spanish and Norwegian statements alluded to partial quotas, and contribute toward Russia,s position that sharing flights means partial versus whole quotas. End Comment. ¶8. (U) The winter OSCC Session will begin on January 26 under Belgian Chairmanship. Other plenaries are scheduled for February 23 and March 23. IWGRP -------------- ¶9. (U) The Informal Working Group on Rules and Procedures (IWGRP) met briefly after the plenary to discuss revised language for draft Revision Five of Decision Number One (OSCC.RP/17/08/Rev 3/Corr 4). The outstanding sections of language in question are paragraphs 13 and 16. In paragraph 13, Turkey recommended deleting a reference to "from the point of exit" since planned landings would not take place after a mission is completed. Russia and Germany agreed with this suggestion. The UK also offered several minor editorial details. The IWGRP Chair is expected to issue another version before the end of the week. The IWGRP will meet next on January 26 following the plenary. Request Washington finalize review of the next version in preparation for the January session. ¶10. (U) The IWGRP Chair (Kozlov) announced that the agenda of active documents will be exhausted when this agenda item is finalized. He said the group would then be in "stand-by" mode pending the introduction of further items. He will then organize meetings when the need arises. FINLEY