Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BUENOSAIRES964
2009-08-24 20:37:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Buenos Aires
Cable title:  

ARGENTINA ENTHUSIASTIC AND RESPONSIVE ON

Tags:  PREL PARM PTER ENRG ETTC TRGY SENV AR 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #0964/01 2362037
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 242037Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4251
INFO RUEHII/VIENNA IAEA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 000964 

SIPDIS

NSC FOR DR. SAMORE
ENERGY FOR DAS MCGINNIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/24/2024
TAGS: PREL PARM PTER ENRG ETTC TRGY SENV AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA ENTHUSIASTIC AND RESPONSIVE ON
NON-PROLIFERATION ISSUES IN MEETINGS WITH WHITE HOUSE
SPECIAL ASSISTANT

Classified By: CDA Tom Kelly for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 000964

SIPDIS

NSC FOR DR. SAMORE
ENERGY FOR DAS MCGINNIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/24/2024
TAGS: PREL PARM PTER ENRG ETTC TRGY SENV AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA ENTHUSIASTIC AND RESPONSIVE ON
NON-PROLIFERATION ISSUES IN MEETINGS WITH WHITE HOUSE
SPECIAL ASSISTANT

Classified By: CDA Tom Kelly for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: A delegation led by White House Special
Assistant and WMD Coordinator Gary Samore visited Argentina
for consultations on August 10, generating significant
goodwill and enthusiasm among Argentine interlocutors to
continue bilateral consultations and cooperation on key
nuclear arms control and energy cooperation issues.
Influential GOA Cabinet Chief Minister Anibal Fernandez was
pleased to receive news of a forthcoming invitation to
President Kirchner to attend a March 2010 White House Summit
on Nuclear Security. Argentina MFA officials, meanwhile,
welcomed Samore's description of U.S. policy toward
U.S.-Russian nuclear arms reduction, Iran, North Korea and
the NPT Review Conference in April 2010. MFA officials and
Norma Boero, President of the National Atomic Energy
Commission, agreed to receive a U.S. expert team to discuss
the Additional Protocol and GNEP. Argentine Energy
Secretary Cameron accepted the proposal from Samore and
McGinnis for a binational commission on non-carbon energy,
urging that it focus on concrete near-term results. He also
said he would consider attending the GNEP Executive Committee
meeting in Beijing in October and that Argentina would
consider joining GNEP as a full partner if its concerns were
addressed. End Summary.


2. (U) Dr. Gary Samore, Special Assistant to the President
and White House WMD Coordinator visited Argentina August
9-10 for consultations with GOA officials and public outreach
on USG non-proliferation and arms control objectives. He was
joined by Ed McGinnis, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy
for Corporate and Global Partnership Development, and by
Robert Peters, Office of the Secretary of Defense and
Representative of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for WMD.


3. (SBU) Chief of Staff to Argentine Foreign Minister

Taiana, Alberto D'Alotto, hosted Samore for a private dinner
August 9 and then the following day hosted Samore and his
delegation for a working meeting and lunch. (Note: Both
Foreign Minister Taiana and Vice Minister Taccetti had
expressed their interest in consulting with Samore; FM Taiana
was traveling with President Kirchner (CFK),however, and VFM
Taccetti, scheduled to host Samore, was called away at the
11th hour to support CFK's August 11 visit to Caracas.)
D'Alotto was joined by Ambassador to the United States Hector
Timerman, the Director of the North America Desk Antonio
Trombetta, and by the MFA's two key arms control authorities,
Rafael Grossi, Director General for Political Affairs, and
Gustavo Ainchil, Director for the Office of International
Security, Nuclear, and Space Affairs (DIGAN). Also
participating were Norma Boero, President of the National
Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) and Dr. Raul Racana,
President of the independent Nuclear Regulatory Authority
(ARN). Samore and party were joined by Charge d'Affaires
Kelly and Political Officer (notetaker).


4. (C) Samore began the MFA meeting by emphasizing his
perception that the United States and Argentina shared many
of the same concerns and objectives on international nuclear
non-proliferation issues. He noted that President Obama and
his team had identified Brazil and Argentina in South America
as being among a dozen or so countries worldwide with which
we needed to work most closely. Samore gave an open and
nuanced account, clearly appreciated by D'Alotto and his
colleagues, of U.S. thinking on difficult challenges
including North Korea, Iran, the NPT Review and the newer
international instruments and partnerships now in place to
support non-proliferation and arms control objectives.


5. (SBU) For their part, the Argentine participants
emphasized Argentina's firm commitment of a quarter century
to foregoing nuclear weapons, its concurrence on the
importance of the international non-proliferation regime, and
its ongoing plans to expand nuclear power generation.
Grossi, Ainchil and CNEA President Boero described in some
detail the challenges but also the halting progress toward
implementing a political decision by President Kirchner and
Brazilian President Lula to integrate Argentina and Brazil's
nuclear industries.

Argentina's Areas of Concern
--------------


6. (C) The GOA officials assembled at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs were positive and appreciative of the outreach


throughout the day. (Note: Trombetta and many mid-level MFA
officials also came to Dr. Samore's presentation later that
day at the Argentine Council for International Relations,
CARI.) Grossi inquired about the new Administration's views
on the variety of voluntary initiatives and partnerships
developed under the Bush Administration in this area,
including the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI),the
Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP),and the Global
Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT). Samore noted
that the Obama Administration had studied the initiatives and
had found that each remained a useful mechanism for focusing
multilateral action on key issues. He pointed out that
President Obama had endorsed the PSI and the GICNT in his
April Prague speech, and called for their further
institutionalization of the initiatives.


7. (C) DOE DAS McGinnis described the collaborative and
energy-focused agenda of the GNEP and shared information
regarding China's forthcoming invitation to Argentina to
attend the GNEP Executive Committee meeting in Beijing in
October. McGinnis emphasized that GNEP would not in any way
prejudice Argentina's continuing use and development of its
heavy water reactors, evidenced in part by Canadian and South
Korean membership in GNEP. Samore conveyed that he had just
agreed in the preceding meeting with Energy Secretary Cameron
(paras 12 to 17, below) to send a U.S. team to Argentina to
discuss the country's concerns about the scope of the GNEP
preamble and its relationship with the IAEA.


8. (C) Minister Grossi requested a description of Obama
Administration views on the U.S.-India Civilian Nuclear
Agreement, sharing the longstanding GOA concern that the
arrangement had diminished the force and legitimacy of the
NPT. Samore recognized Argentina's concerns and noted that
many arms control experts now in the Obama Administration had
also voiced concern at the time. Nonetheless, Samore said,
the Administration had determined that the cost to the
important U.S.-India relationship would be too high to
consider a reversal. Moreover, the Administration was
determined to ensure that there was no precedent set by the
India case and was emphasizing this in its diplomacy
regarding other proliferation cases.


9. (C) The Argentine side also invited a discussion of the
Additional Protocol to the NPT. Samore described his
conversations in Brazil on the topic, which squared with the
Argentines' own understanding. Boero over lunch and then
Regulatory Agency head Racana, in an aside, both expressed
the concern that the cost and technical requirements of AP
implementation would be too great. Grossi emphasized,
however, that these legitimate implementation questions did
not represent an Argentine rejection of the AP. His
government had not staked out an ideological or theological
position against the AP and had been surprised in the past by
Brazil's strong stand. Still, because of the mutual
commitments of the Brazil-Argentina Agency for Accounting and
Control of Nuclear Materials (ABACC),the GOA had to continue
considering the Brazilian perspective before it could move
forward on the AP. Boero and Grossi agreed to Samore,s
suggestion that a US team of experts could meet with
Argentine experts to discuss implementation of the Additional
Protocol.

Forthcoming Invitation to President Kirchner
--------------


10. (C) With the MFA and then in a short meeting with
Presidential Chief of Cabinet Anibal Fernandez at the Casa
Rosada, Samore shared news that President Obama would soon
send President Fernandez de Kirchner an invitation to a March
2010 Summit on nuclear security issues. Argentina, Samore
said, was one of four Latin American countries included, and
the White House hoped that CFK would attend.


11. (C) Samore emphasized to Minister Fernandez the extremely
positive nature of our bilateral dialogue on
non-proliferation and described Argentina as an excellent
partner. Fernandez reiterated Argentina's commitment to the
peaceful use of nuclear energy and its dedication to the
international non-proliferation regime.

Secretariat of Energy
--------------


12. (SBU) Prior to the MFA meetings, Samore, McGinnis and


Peters, accompanied by Charge, ESTH Counselor and Political
Officer (notetaker),called on Energy Secretary Daniel
Cameron. Cameron also included Boero and Racana of the
nuclear energy (CNEA) and nuclear regulatory (ARN) agencies
respectively, along with a third agency responsible for the
actual construction of plants (NASA). He included a large
number of staff as well.


13. (SBU) Samore led off by describing a U.S. proposal to
launch a binational commission on non-carbon energy, to
include nuclear energy, to be headed by Department of Energy
Deputy Secretary Daniel Poneman on the U.S. side. DAS
McGinnis described the initiative further as an opportunity
for both the United States and Argentina to identify
practical mechanisms to contribute to both countries' low
carbon-emitting sources of energy, including nuclear energy.


14. (SBU) Cameron responded immediately and favorably to the
proposal, saying Argentina would participate. He identified
Juan Legisa, the Secretariat's Coordinator for Strategy, as
the GOA POC, and said that eventually Argentina would
probably need to have two primary sub-groups involved since
renewables and nuclear energy involved somewhat distinct sets
of officials. Cameron also underscored the importance of
identifying some concrete near-term outcomes from the
process. He explained that Argentina had entered into many
such binational agreements but that they often fell into
disuse after producing little of consequence. DAS McGinnis
concurred on the importance of making the binational
commission results focused.


15. (C) The other issue raised by Samore was to encourage
Argentina to respond favorably to the forthcoming invitation
from China to participate in the October Executive Committee
meeting of GNEP. Cameron said that he probably would attend,
but also noted that the country remained an observer rather
than partner.


16. (C) Although inclined to join GNEP, Cameron said,
Argentina continued to have concerns about the scope of the
GNEP preamble and whether it in some way diminished the role
of the appropriate multilateral body, the International
Atomic Energy Agency. Moreover, he said, Argentina remained
concerned that a body like GNEP might one day move toward
restricting the type of heavy water reactor technology used
in Argentina. (Note: Cameron explained that the current
construction of Argentina's third nuclear power plant, Atucha
II, and a planned fourth one, would continue with the
Canadian heavy water technology, but that when it developed
plans for its fifth plant, Argentina would probably shift
toward the global standard to ensure against fuel supply,
technology and other challenges. Cameron and then Boero
explained that the country had held preliminary conversations
with Areva, Rosatom, Mitsubishi and Westinghouse. End Note).



17. (C) Samore and McGinnis addressed both GNEP concerns,
with Samore emphasizing that Argentina's decision on its
nuclear technology was a sovereign decision. If it continued
to develop heavy water facilities, the United States would
continue to view Argentina as a committed non-proliferation
partner. McGinnis emphasized that GNEP had no institutional
bias against the technology and that both Canada and Korea,
with significant heavy water industries, were members. On
the GNEP preamble, Samore offered to send a technical team to
Argentina before the Executive Committee meeting to work
through the GOA concerns. Cameron immediately accepted this
offer as well.

Public Outreach
--------------


18. (U) Samore presented a talk on the Obama Administration's
views on nuclear non-proliferation during the afternoon of
August 10 at the prestigious Argentine Council for
International Relations (CARI). The event was well attended,
with over 70 diplomats, GOA officials, academics, students
and journalists in attendance, and the questions raised
during a 45-minute exchange were well considered. Issues
raised included the U.S.-India nuclear agreement, U.S. views
on Israel's nuclear weapons status, "red lines" toward Iran
and next steps on North Korea. Several audience members
praised Samore's candor and detailed responses.

19. (SBU) Samore also conducted a 40-minute interview with
Argentine defense and security issues magazine "DEF." The


interview covered much the same ground as the CARI talk, with
questions about U.S.-Russian nuclear weapons negotiations,
North Korea, Iran, and U.S. views on Argentina's role as a
contributor to global non-proliferation efforts. Embassy is
seeking to get for Samore an early draft of this article.


20. (U) Press coverage of the visit was positive, focused on
Samore's White House role on non-proliferation and arms
control. A Telam wire service pieced quoted Samore at the
CARI event as describing Argentina as a "strategic partner"
on non-proliferation with whom the United States had
"developed good working relations." The press described
Samore voicing interest in bilateral cooperation to further
develop nuclear energy.

Embassy Comment
--------------


21. (C) Although Argentina will still incline toward the
"global south" on some particular issues of the evolving
non-proliferation regime, it remains on most points a strong
and steady supporter of our points of view. Samore's visit,
following on President Obama's policy statements, was highly
welcomed in Argentina. Government officials working on
non-proliferation and arms control issues are clearly
inclined to overcome current differences in policy wherever
possible. We believe the positive public and diplomatic
outreach from the Samore visit will also pay dividends in
other areas, as the Argentines perceive the value we place on
working with the GOA and on understanding and addressing its
concerns. End Comment.


22. (U) Dr. Samore and DAS McGinnis cleared on this message.
KELLY