MONCHEGORSK: CARGO OFFLOADED

C O N F I D E N T I A L NICOSIA 000125 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR, NEA, INL, L, P, ISN E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2019 TAGS: PARM MNUC PREL SY IR CY SUBJECT: MONCHEGORSK: CARGO OFFLOADED REF: A. IIR 6 823 0067 09 ¶B. USUN-DOS EMAIL OF 2/13/09 ¶C. NICOSIA 104 AND OTHERS Classified By: DCM Jonathan Cohen, Reasons 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) Embassy officials at the Port of Limassol confirmed on February 13 the 0700 hrs local quayside arrival of the M/V Monchegorsk. Unloading of the vessel commenced at 0800 and ended at 1030; Emboffs counted 98 containers off-loaded. Port authority contacts report that many of them will remain at quayside for an indeterminate time, as limited truck availability will make cargo transfer to the naval facility at Mari a lengthy and complex undertaking (Ref A). ¶2. (C) A mid-level Foreign Ministry contact told PolChief on February 13 that the government was pleased with recent developments on the Monchegorsk matter, as were "all major players." Pressed to confirm that that list included Syria and Iran, the Cypriot diplomat nodded affirmatively and added, "it seems so." ¶3. (C) Late in the evening on February 12, after news reports had revealed the ship would pull into port the following day, the Ambassador telephoned Palace Diplomatic Coordinator Leonidas Pantelides. Pantelides confirmed the media accounts, adding that there were three containers whose contents the maritime inspectors had been unable to discern (note: this jibes with the most recent RoC letter to the Sanctions Committee, dated February 12 (Ref B)). Pantelides declined the Ambassador's offer of USG technical assistance in determining the containers' contents. Urbancic