DEMARCHE DELIVERED FOR GC VOTE ON MESA GROUP SEAT

S E C R E T YEREVAN 000780

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR ISN/RA (RICHARD NEPHEW, JODY DANIEL) AND IO/T
(HEATHER VON BEHREN)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/28/2018
TAGS: PARM MUNC IAEA AM
SUBJECT: DEMARCHE DELIVERED FOR GC VOTE ON MESA GROUP SEAT
IN IAEA

REF: STATE 99746

Classified By: DCM Joseph Pennington, reasons 1. 4 (b/d).



1. (S) Poloff delivered reftel demarche to MFA's Acting Head
of UN Department Nouneh Zastoukhova requesting staunch GOAM
opposition to Iran and Syria's candidacy to the IAEA Board of
Governors, support for Afghanistan's nomination to the Board
of Governors, and support for Kazakhstan's bid to join the
MESA group. Poloff also explained US preference for a
consensus approach in determining the candidate for the open
MESA Group candidate that would compete for the open seat on
the IAEA's Board of Governors.


2. (S) Zastoukhova had no immediate position on the
demarche's requests, said the MFA would study them carefully,
and promised to share the demarche contents with Armenia's
Foreign Minister and diplomatic mission at the UN in New
York. She did acknowledge, however, that Afghanistani
diplomats had contacted the GOAM on the issue; that neither
Iran nor Syria had; and that she foresaw no impediments to
Armenia supporting Kazakhstan's bid for a seat on the MESA
Group. Zastoukhova said it made perfect sense to her that
Kazakhstan, by virtue of its stance on non-proliferation
backed up by its history of relinquishing nuclear weapons
voluntarily, and Armenia's good relations with the country,
should make it a viable candidate for membership in the
group. Zastoukhova took under advisement the preference for
a consensus approach to nominating the Mesa Group's candidate
for the IAEA Board of Governors, and said Armenia always
favored such an approach.


3. (S) COMMENT: Given Armenia's long-standing and
often-articulated need to have good-neighbor relations and
the growing economic ties with Iran, it is relatively
unlikely that Armenia will prove willing to anger Iran by
publicly opposing its bid for the IAEA seat. Armenians see
Iran as a potent regional power on their southern border,
with which they are extremely hesitant to pick fights.
Moreover, the Russia-Georgia crisis has brought back bad
memories of Armenia's "cold, dark years" in the 1990s, when
Iran constituted Armenia's sole trade route to the wider
world, with the Turkish, Georgian, and Azerbaijani borders
all closed to Armenia. Armenia sees the maintenance of
cordial trade relations with Iran as a strategic imperative.
Our bet is that Armenia will seek to avoid a prominent role
in the debate over Iran and Syria's bids for the IAEA board,
but will seek to maintain amicable relations with all parties
to the debate. END COMMENT.
YOVANOVITCH