RUSSIA HAS NO PLANS TO BUILD NUCLEAR REACTORS IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 001344 SIPDIS ENERGY FOR LEINSTEIN, HQ SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD, TREASURY FOR MKACZMAREK, COMMERCE FOR 4332/MAC/WH/JLAO, NSC FOR DRESTREPO AND LROSELLO E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/15/2019 TAGS: ECON ENRG EPET KNNP PREL RU VE SUBJECT: RUSSIA HAS NO PLANS TO BUILD NUCLEAR REACTORS IN VENEZUELA REF: A. (A) CARACAS 1296 ¶B. 1236 ¶C. 853 CARACAS 00001344 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Ambassador Patrick Duddy for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: During an October 15 initial courtesy call with Ambassador Duddy, Russian Ambassador Zaemsky denied reports that Russia would help Venezuela build nuclear reactors, saying that its nuclear cooperation with Venezuela was limited to the medical field and food controls. With respect to recent arms purchases, Zaemsky said that there were controls with respect to the transfer of weapons to third countries and that Russia will meet its international obligations to report on sales. He also stated that Gazprom's exploration in Venezuela has not resulted in the discovery of commercially viable quantities of gas in the areas assigned to them. End Summary. -------------- NO NUCLEAR PLANTS -------------- ¶2. (C) Ambassador Zaemsky stated that reports of Russia helping Venezuela to build nuclear reactors were untrue. However, he did say that the Russians will be cooperating with Venezuela to use nuclear energy in the medical field and in the area of food controls (Reftel A). In a separate meeting on October 16, the Russian DCM reiterated that Russian-Venezuelan nuclear cooperation will be transparent and consistent with international safeguards and was only in the areas mentioned by the Ambassador. -------------- TRANSPARENCY IN ARMS SALES TO VENEZUELA -------------- ¶3. (C) According to Ambassador Zaemsky, Russia has been clear with Venezuela about the need for transparency in the purchases Venezuela is making of portable weapons systems from Russia. He stated that controls exist in these transactions but did not elaborate on the type of controls being enforced. Further, he said that Russia has informed Venezuela that the GOR will be diligent in meeting the reporting requirements of its international treaties. -------------- FEW RESULTS IN GAS EXPLORATION -------------- ¶4. (C) Responding to an inquiry about Gazprom's involvement in the development of the gas industry in Venezuela, Ambassador Zaemsky indicated that the areas that have been designated for Russia to explore have not yet yielded commercially viable reserves that would warrant significant Russian investment (Reftels B & C). If this happens eventually, however, he indicated that the gas would likely be sold within the Western Hemisphere. -------------- BUREAUCRACY WOES FOR THE RUSSIANS, TOO -------------- ¶5. (C) Despite the warm bilateral relationship, Russian companies have had some trouble navigating the Venezuelan bureaucracy. Ambassador Zaemsky related that he recently had to make phone calls to the Venezuelan government to help a Russian company. -------------- VENEZUELA: NOT WHAT HE EXPECTED -------------- ¶6. (C) Ambassador Zaemsky, who served previously in Venezuela in the 1970s, spoke about three specific new elements of Venezuelan life that he has found surprising. First, he said he was struck by the polarization of Venezuelan society. CARACAS 00001344 002.2 OF 002 Second, he was surprised by the degree to which the Venezuelan opposition was divided. Third, he questioned whether Venezuela has any political-economic vision for the future. -------------- - RUSSIAN TOURISTS PREFER THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC -------------- - ¶7. (C) Ambassador Zaemsky, who is also accredited as Ambassador to the Dominican Republic and Haiti, noted the great increase in Russian tourist travel to the Dominican Republic, saying that it now exceeds Cuba as a Caribbean destination for Russian tourist groups. -------------- BIO NOTES -------------- ¶8. (C) Ambassador Zaemsky graduated from the State Institute of International Relations in 1974 and from the State Service Academy in 2000. He began his diploatic career in 1974 when he was 22 years old. Hehas served at various Russian missions in the Wetern Hemisphere, including Costa Rica, Venezuela(previously),Mexico, the United States, and the nited Nations. He was appointed Ambassador to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in June 2009. n addition, Ambassador Zaemsky has served as theVice-Director of the Russian Federation's Departent of Foreign Relations for North America from 202-04. Since 2004, he has served as the Vice-Diector ofthe Russian Foreign Ministry's Departmentof International Oranizations. He speaks Spanis fluently, speaks English (but prefers Spanish),is married, and has two daughters. DUDDY