EXBS RUSSIA MONTHLY REPORTING CABLE

UNCLAS MOSCOW 002555 SIPDIS DEPT FOR NP/ECC - ACHURCH DEPT FOR EUR/ACE - DMARTIN CBP/INA FOR PWARKER USDOE/NNSA FOR TPERRY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC MNUC PARM PREL KSTC KNNP UP RS SUBJECT: EXBS RUSSIA MONTHLY REPORTING CABLE SEPTEMBER 2009 Summary: This cable highlights activities of the Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) Russia Program Office for the period of September 01, 2009 to September 30, 2009. End Summary ¶1. A US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) delegation visited Russia September 11-23 to deliver a groundbreaking seminar and to hold meetings with Russian officials on a variety of strategic issues. This was the first time in many years that a senior-ranking member of CBP has led a group to Russia. The visit, coming in the wake of President Obama's visit to Moscow in July, was very well received. The EXBS Advisor and Assistant provided extensive coordination and logistical support in the weeks leading up to, during, and after the CBP visit. ¶2. The first-of-its-kind seminar on Supply Chain Security for Russia was held September 15-17 at Federal Customs Service headquarters in Moscow. In his opening remarks, Mr. Thomas Corwin, head of the European section of the International Department of CBP and leader of the US delegation, emphasized that supply chain security processes are integrated into World Customs Organization standards - a point of interest to Russia. The team of experts also included Mr. Mike Chandarlis, head of the section on foreign customs cooperation; Ms. Olga Hernandez, instructor; and Ms. Karen Chaisson, Program Manager for Russia. About 20 Russian officials from various departments, including enforcement, information technology, policy, and the Customs Academy, attended the three-day seminar. The concept of cooperating with enterprises to ensure that goods are secured at every point of transfer, from factory to destination, is a relatively new one in Russia. Course participants expressed both interest in the processes and methodologies of supply chain security, as well as healthy skepticism, asking many questions related to training, verification, performance measures, and enforcement. The CBP experts supplied a wealth of examples from their professional experiences with supply chain security, making the theories come alive. Feedback from Russian Customs about exposure to the supply chain security process was very positive; further validation came from a press release with photos on the event, prominently featured on their website. Discussions are ongoing about future cooperation on supply chain security, including the establishment of a program for Russia. ¶3. In addition to delivering the seminar in Moscow, the CBP team held productive meetings with US and Russian officials. EXBS appreciates the time that Naomi Fellows and Robert Bond of the economic and political sections, respectively, devoted to briefings about the effect of the financial crisis in Russia; economic and political relations with neighbors such as Central Asia and China; and the impact of foreign and domestic politics on Russia's foreign and domestic policies. As CBP's interagency point of contact in Russia, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) representative offered his office's support and gave a fascinating account of ICE's cooperation on enforcement matters with Russian authorities. ¶4. Another set of successful meetings was held with the International Cooperation Department of Russian Customs at their Moscow headquarters. Mr. Sergei Konovalenko, head of the section, conveyed the Custom Service's appreciation of the Supply Chain Security seminar and support for further cooperation. He repeated a theme that he has brought up before with EXBS: the desire for an MOU between US and Russian Customs concerning information exchanges about goods and transporation issues; cooperation with the Russian Customs Academy and counterparts in the US; as well as interest in a possible IVP for the head of Russian Customs to visit the US in the near future. Ms. Chaisson explained that there is already in place a broad general mutual assistance agreement between the US and Russia, but the US side is willing to consider these and other initiatives. ¶5. Before leaving Moscow, the CBP team met with Ms. Elena Kitova, the head of the development section of the Russian Agency for the Development of National Border Facilities, also known as Rosgranitsa. This two-year-old federal agency was created as way of resolving territorial and political differences between the Customs Service and the Border Guards. Rosgranitsa mainly deals with the security of border checkpoint buildings and other infrastructure, such as computer systems. Ms. Kitova asked CBP's for assistance in organizing and implementing a fact-finding tour for a small delegation to include their chief, to observe security of facilities at US border areas. CBP responded positively, asking for follow-up through the Russian Embassy in Washington, and promising to keep EXBS informed. ¶6. The CBP group next traveled to St. Petersburg, meeting with Russian Customs officials there and also touring their Customs Academy. The purpose of the St. Petersburg visit was for the CBP delegation to evaluate the scope and content of a request by Russian Customs for advanced training in Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) at the Customs Academy. Arguably the most memorable part of the entire CBP visit to Russia was the tour of the Customs Academy in St. Petersburg, hosted by its director, Mr. Alexander Myachin. It is not an exaggeration to state that so impressed was the US delegation with the sophisticated quality level of the instructors, the students, the curriculum, and the technological teaching aids (including distance learning capabilities),that they are now in the process of rethinking the entire course that they had planned to deliver in early 2010 on advanced NII, to offer a much higher level of instruction. ¶8. As part of the NII course content evaluation, the CBP group was taken to the port of St. Petersburg to observe cargo scanning equipment in actual use. At the luncheon hosted by senior customs officers which followed the port tour, interest in CBP's operations and management methods was very high, as evidenced by a constant stream of questions from the Russian side on a wide range of topics from technical specifications of NII equipment to recruitment, training, and retention practices of CBP officers. It was clear that both the US and Russian customs officers received strong and lasting positive impressions from the interactions in Moscow and St. Petersburg. ¶9. In other matters, EXBS is working closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and FSTEK, the Russian export controls licensing authority, as well as with State Department and the Department of Commerce, on a Program Review which will include an export licensing exchange. The MFA requested a resumption of Program Reviews, encompassing not only export controls issues but also nonproliferation matters, which were last held in 2007. The licensing exchange is significant in that it was also requested by the Russian side, and represents the first direct cooperation between EXBS and FSTEK. Plans are underway to hold the combined event the first week of February 2010. BEYRLE