MONCHEGORSK: DECISION ON DISPOSITION "WITHIN 2-3

C O N F I D E N T I A L NICOSIA 000108 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR, IO, NEA, ISN, P, L E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/08/2019 TAGS: PARM MNUC PREL IR SY CY SUBJECT: MONCHEGORSK: DECISION ON DISPOSITION "WITHIN 2-3 DAYS" REF: A. NICOSIA 104 ¶B. BRYZA-FRIEDT EMAIL OF 2/6/09 Classified By: DCM Jonathan Cohen, Reasons 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) Status of Vessel: The M/V Monchegorsk moved slightly further from shore on February 7/8. An RoC diplomatic source claimed the vessel had relocated to keep from blocking Limassol port traffic. A maritime official cited the vessel's dangerous cargo and the need to maintain distance between the Monchegorsk and other ships. Informing the latter's account were recent media stories on the release of the Iran Sanctions Committee's interim response to Cyprus's request for guidance -- the February 8 headline of English-language "Cyprus Mail" read "Ship Carries Banned Weapons, UN Says." ¶2. (C) Diplomatic Activity: At 1445 hrs local (0745 DC), Ambassador telephoned RoC Diplomatic Coordinator Leonidas Pantelides. Pantelides confirmed the Monchegorsk remained in Limassol, although it had had to be moved a short distance to keep it from stopping port activity. He expected a final RoC decision within two or three days. Cyprus might still order the vessel to proceed to Malta; more likely, however, the government would decide to confiscate the cargo. ¶3. (C) Ambassador praised the latter possible course of action. If Cyprus were to confiscate the cargo with aims of disposing it, the USG would stand ready to lend technical assistance. In any case, it would be critical to obtain a complete inventory before Cyprus moved to destroy the goods. Pantelides again demurred on the offer of technical assistance, but confirmed the RoC must look into every container, "so that we know what we are dealing with.8 ¶4. (C) As of local OOB, Embassy contacts at the Czech and German Embassies had not received instructions for a Monchegorsk-related, February 9 EU-3-plus-Presidency demarche on Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou (Ref B). Four hours later, the Germans reported they had received a message from Berlin. Owing to the EU ambassadors' other demands, the call likely would not occur until February 10, and might drop to Pantelides's or Deputy FM Nicolas Emiliou's level. Czech Embassy sources too reported a late receipt of instructions from Prague. They added that details of the demarche would be finalized at the February 10 Political and Security Meeting (PSC) in Brussels. Urbancic