LEBANON: SIGNING ADDITIONAL PROTOCOL AGREEMENT

UNCLAS BEIRUT 000087 SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ELA ALSO FOR I/O WARLICK P FOR DRUSSELL AND RRANGASWAMY USUN FOR GERMAIN/SCHEDLBAUER NSC FOR MCDERMOTT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AORC ENRG IAEA KNNP KTIA MNUC NPT PARM PGOV PREL, TRGY, LE SUBJECT: LEBANON: SIGNING ADDITIONAL PROTOCOL AGREEMENT WITH IAEA REF: STATE 00322 SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Poloff delivered reftel points and text of the USG announcement of the U.S.- IAEA "Additional Protocol" ratification to Oussama Khachab, Head of the Americas Desk at the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA),and Nada Akl, First Secretary in the Department of International Organizations at the MFA on January 16. In a January 20 conversation, Akl told Poloff that she sent reftel points to the MFA's Legal Department and Lebanon's Ambassador to the IAEA, Ishaya Khoury, to ask their opinions on the topic. Akl said she would send talking points to Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh after receiving comments from Khoury and the MFA Legal Department. Post recommends USUN Vienna follow up with Ambassador Khoury. ¶2. (SBU) Earlier, in a January 9 meeting, Dr. Bilal Nsouli, Head of the Lebanese Atomic Energy Commission, said in his opinion Lebanon would sign an Additional Protocol agreement with the IAEA. Nsouli said Lebanon had little reason not to sign an Additional Protocol agreement with the IAEA and added that signing the agreement would signal additional cooperation between Lebanon and the UN, noting that Lebanon has signed the majority of UN treaties and agreements related to the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT). In a follow-up conversation with Nsouli, he noted that he heard rumors in the past that Lebanon had not signed the agreement because of "political reasons", which we speculate refers to the fact that Israel has not signed an Additional Protocol agreement with the IAEA. SISON