RUSSIAN ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY PROPOSES MEETING WITH NEW EPA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 000454

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR OES/PCI
EPA FOR ELLA BARNES

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV ECON PREL RS
SUBJECT: RUSSIAN ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY PROPOSES MEETING WITH NEW EPA
ADMINISTRATOR, REINVIGORATED COOPERATION

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SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED -- NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On January 23, the Director of International
Cooperation at the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology
(MNRE) praised past U.S.-Russian environmental cooperation and
suggested an initial meeting between EPA Administrator Jackson and
MNRE Minister Trutnev this spring. MNRE and Embassy representatives
discussed options for further joint work, which the Russian side
suggested might best be advanced through a non-binding memorandum of
cooperation. This enthusiasm at the MNRE was an encouraging
contrast to the more cautiously optimistic tone of other GOR
ministries responsible for environment, science and health issues.
END SUMMARY.


2. (U) On January 23, EST Counselor and the Embassy's environment
affairs staff accompanied Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Program Manager Eleonora Barnes to a meeting with Igor Maydanov,
Director of the MNRE Department of International Cooperation.
Maydanov was accompanied by his deputy Igor Shumakov; Dmitriy
Kuznetsov of the Arctic Contaminants Action Program (ACAP)
Secretariat; Andrey Peshkov, Director of the Office of Cooperation
in Radiation Security and Waste Management in the International
Cooperation Department; and staff member Igor Zotov.


3. (SBU) Noting that there had been important changes in the Russian
government structure, Maydanov explained that functions previously
dispersed among ten or so different agencies had been consolidated
within MNRE. Maydanov welcomed the appointment of new EPA
Administrator Lisa Jackson and expressed his hope that both sides
would look together at key sectors and determine priorities for
future work. He proposed an exchange of proposals for introductory
meetings between EPA's new senior team and Russian counterparts,
hopefully at the level of Administrator-Minister. He said that the
Russian side would be prepared to exchange initial proposals as
early as the end of February, with a visit to be organized -- in
either Moscow or Washington -- as early as May. When the U.S. side
cautioned that arrangements might take longer than one month because
of the political transition, Maydanov proposed allowing two to three
months to agree upon a meeting date and priorities for cooperation.


4. (SBU) Both sides agreed that environmental cooperation plays a
key role in bilateral relations. Maydanov recalled past discussions
about a non-binding memorandum of cooperation between MNRE and EPA
encompassing a wide range of cooperative activities, possibly to
include conservation of biodiversity, hazardous waste remediation
and management, scientific cooperation, innovations and
partnerships, and emerging issues related to pollution from marine
transportation to address problems related to climate change,
technical exchange programs, and training on legal and regulatory
enforcement. Maydanov said that the Russian Ministry of Finance had
approved the ratification of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent
Organic Pollutants, and that the Duma would discuss the ratification
documents in the spring of 2009. Barnes agreed that MNRE and EPA
should continue to explore deepening work on issues of mutual
concern, including persistent organic pollutants (POPs),
transboundary pollution, and mercury management. Maydanov proposed
that it would be wise to begin with an agreement among top officials
of the two agencies to strengthen cooperation, perhaps through a
signed document.


5. (SBU) Maydanov noted the history of successful work under the
Arctic Council's Arctic Contaminants Action Program (ACAP). Peshkov
noted that the United States is one of the largest supporters of
ACAP activities.


6. (SBU) EST Counselor suggested cooperation to combat illegal
logging, including by U.S. and Russian law enforcement. Maydanov
said that this topic could be complicated, depending upon its
context and focus. The Russian State Forestry Agency, an autonomous
agency formerly affiliated with MNRE but reassigned in June 2008 to
the authority of the Ministry of Agriculture, is responsible for
forestry management on land where logging is permitted. MNRE
oversees federally protected lands, where logging is banned. If
illegal logging takes place on federally protected lands, then law
enforcement agencies must be involved.


7. (SBU) Comment: There is already a wide range of ongoing and
productive cooperation on environmental protection between our two
countries at the working level. MNRE's enthusiasm to begin

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cooperation with the new U.S. administration is an encouraging
contrast with the more cautiously optimistic attitude we have
encountered at other GOR ministries responsible for environment,
science, and health issues. A written understanding would not only
reaffirm our joint political commitment to environmental
cooperation, but also advance projects that have been delayed and
assist in launching new initiatives.

BEYRLE