FRENCH MFA PROPOSES WAY FORWARD ON PRE-REVCON P3

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 001025 NOFORN SIPDIS DEPT FOR AMBASSADOR SUSAN BURK, ISN/MNSA E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/28/2019 TAGS: MNUC PARM PREL UK CH FR SUBJECT: FRENCH MFA PROPOSES WAY FORWARD ON PRE-REVCON P3 DIALOGUE Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Kathy Allegrone for Reasons 1.4(b),(d). ¶1. (C/NF) SUMMARY: Looking to follow up on July 16 meetings in Paris with Ambassador Susan Burk, the President's Special Representative for Nuclear Non-proliferation, Celine Jurgensen of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Disarmament and Nuclear Non-proliferation section reiterated GOF agreement with Ambassador Burk's proposals on continuing P3 dialogue in the run-up to the spring 2010 NPT RevCon. She also proposed a timeline for specific actions, taking advantage of a series of meetings already planned from August through October. She noted that France intends to call soon for a moratorium on fissile material production by all nuclear weapons states - with the implied focus on China - either in the context of Conference on Disarmament discussions in January or, more likely, at the UN First Committee meetings this fall. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C/NF) Jurgensen highlighted France's desire to continue coordination with the USG in the coming months with a view to ensuring a successful 2010 RevCon. She said the MFA agreed strongly with Ambassador Burk's suggestion that the P3 elaborate a set of "minimum requirements" for the RevCon to be a success, taking into account individual countries' redlines. She said France also agrees on the need to identify priority non-aligned nations for coordinated pre-RevCon outreach by the P3 to discourage spoilers. ¶3. (C/NF) To achieve these goals, Jurgensen highlighted several opportunities for P3 coordination in the next few months. In August, she suggested Ambassador Burk's planned trip to Geneva could include P3 consultations aimed at generating a list of non-aligned outreach priorities. In September, Jurgensen said the planned P5 confidence-building conference in London may provide an opportunity for preliminary discussions of P3 "minimum requirements" and clarifications of national red-lines on the margins. P3 members could further elaborate on these during the trilateral meeting currently scheduled in Washington for October 8-9, with a view to finalizing P3 discussions and moving to a P5 format and outreach to key non-aligned nations. ¶4. (C/NF) Jurgensen said China was likely to present difficulties, as she was pessimistic that it would sign up to P3 "minimum requirements," especially those focusing on transparency. It is all the more necessary therefore to solidify common P3 positions as soon as possible to prepare for tough discussions with the Chinese. In this context, Jurgensen stressed that France intends to call soon for a moratorium on fissile material production by all nuclear weapons states - with the implied focus on China - either in the context of Conference on Disarmament discussions in January or, more likely, at the UN First Committee meetings this fall. She added this might be another subject for P3 discussions in September or October. PEKALA