CANADA EAGER TO JOIN INFORMAL MEETING OF CTBT

C O N F I D E N T I A L OTTAWA 000739 SIPDIS STATE FOR ISN/MNSA TRAY AND ALIEBOWITZ UNVIE FOR ARMS CONTROL GENEVA FOR CD E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/20/2019 TAGS: PARM PREL CA SUBJECT: CANADA EAGER TO JOIN INFORMAL MEETING OF CTBT SUPPORTERS AT ARTICLE XIV CONFERENCE REF: A. STATE 97170 ¶B. STATE 95946 Classified By: PolMinCouns Scott Bellard, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Canada is enthusiastic about participating in the informal meeting on the margins of the Article XIV Conference. Foreign Minister Cannon will deliver Canada's national statement at the conference, and the Assistant Deputy Minister for International Security is expected to attend the informal meeting. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) Pol/miloff delivered the invitation contained in ref a on September 21 to Chris Grout, Policy Officer in the Division of Non-Proliferation and Disarmament at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT). Grout was aware of the proposal for an informal meeting on the margins of the Article XIV Conference, and confirmed Canadian plans to attend. Yves Brodeur, DFAIT's Assistant Deputy Minister for International Security and Political Director, will likely represent Canada; Grout promised to confirm ADM Brodeur's attendance as soon as possible. ¶3. (SBU) Grout extolled the importance of having Secretary Clinton deliver the U.S. national statement, and said that Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon would likewise deliver Canada's national statement. He expressed the hope that other nations would follow suit, based on the U.S. example. He suggested that such high level engagement would be good for the conference, and expressed appreciation for the U.S. decision. ¶4. (C) With respect to participation, Grout suggested that the Finns should also be invited to the informal meeting, since they are the only members of the "Friends of the CTBT" group not already included. He also raised a concern in response to the point that Indonesia had pledged to ratify the CTBT if the U.S. does. Grout recounted that, in previous conversations with the Indonesians, they had not raised any political obstacles to ratification, but claimed instead that internal bureaucratic problems hampered ratification. Grout took it as "step backwards" that Indonesia now seemed to be claiming political conditions to its ratification. His understanding is that Indonesia was now making its ratification contingent upon similar steps by both China and the U.S. Visit Canada,s North American partnership community at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap / BREESE