IAEA BOG: SWISS VIEWS REGARDING IRAN, SYRIA, AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L BERN 000505 SIPDIS DEPT FOR ISN/NESS (M.HUMPHREY),ISN/RA (R.NEPHEW/J.DANIELS),EUR/CE (Y.SAINT-ANDRE),AND NEA E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/24/2019 TAGS: PARM IAEA KNNP SY IR SZ SUBJECT: IAEA BOG: SWISS VIEWS REGARDING IRAN, SYRIA, AND THE ANGARSK RESERVE CONCEPT REF: A. STATE 119161 ¶B. STATE 120288 ¶C. STATE 102282 ¶D. STATE 117710 Classified By: POLE Counselor Richard A. Rorvig; reasons 1.4(b) and (d) . ¶1. (C) Summary: Poloff discussed messages in reftels on November 24 with Andreas Friedrich, Head of the Arms Control and Disarmament Section of the Federal Department for Foreign Affairs (FDFA),and with Jean-Daniel Praz, Friedrich's deputy and FDFA point-of-contact for IAEA issues. Friedrich and Praz said they expect that Switzerland will deliver statements on Iran and Syria at the November 26-27 IAEA Board of Governors meeting. They indicated that the statements would be along the lines of past Swiss BoG pronouncements, calling on Iran and Syria to meet their international obligations. Friedrich said that the GoS supports the Angarsk Reserve (nuclear fuel bank) concept in substance, but was concerned that the Russian approach to obtaining a BoG resolution in the matter was "unnecessarily divisive." End Summary. -------------- IRAN -------------- ¶2. (C) Friedrich and Praz generally shared USG concerns in the wake of the latest IAEA report on Iran. They said they expected that Switzerland will make a statement at the upcoming IAEA BoG, along the lines of past such Swiss statements, calling on Iran to cooperate with the IAEA and to meet its international obligations. Praz said that it appeared that the nuclear issue was now fully tied up in domestic Iranian politicis, with former "moderates" like Majlis Speaker Laranjani sounding like "hardliners" in an effort to prevent Ahmedinejad from chalking up a diplomatic breakthrough with Western countries. Friedrich asked whether the USG or P5-plus-1 planned a resolution on Iran at the upcoming BoG. He commented that, if so, time was getting short for BoG member countries to evaluate a draft text. Poloff undertook to check to see whether a resolution was being contemplated. -------------- SYRIA -------------- ¶3. (C) Friedrich and Praz generally shared USG concerns in the wake of the latest IAEA report on Syria. They said they expected that Switzerland will make a statement at the upcoming IAEA BoG, along the lines of past such Swiss statements, calling on Syria to cooperate with the IAEA and to meet its international obligations. Praz asked whether the USG was contemplating a "Special Inspection" request on Syria, remarking that he had heard some corridor rumblings about such a possibility on the margins of the last BoG, but was not sure how much stock to put in such rumors. -------------- ANGARSK RESERVE CONCEPT -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Friedrich underlined that the Swiss generally support the proposal in substance, but are concerned with the approach the Russians have taken in pressing ahead for BoG approval. He said that it is "unfortunate" and "unnecessarily divisive" that the resolution is being pushed forward before some technical questions posed by Switzerland and a number of other countries could be answered. Friedrich was non-committal as to whether Switzerland ultimately will agree to co-sponsor the resolution onthe Angarsk Reserve concept. BEYER