GOJ MAKES CLEAR ICNND REPORT IS UNOFFICIAL

UNCLAS STATE 125572 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: JA PARM PREL SUBJECT: GOJ MAKES CLEAR ICNND REPORT IS UNOFFICIAL ¶1. (SBU) Takeo Akiba, Minister for Political Affairs at the Japanese embassy, called on ISN Acting Assistant Secretary Vann Van Diepen and Special Representative for Nuclear Nonproliferation Susan Burk on December 7 to make clear the status of the forthcoming report of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (ICNND). Akiba said he had been instructed by the his Foreign Minister to inform the U.S. government that, although the governments of Japan and Australia had provided the secretariat for the ICNND, the Commission was not an official body and its report, which would be issued soon, did not represent the views of the Japanese government. It was a "Track 2" effort. The GOJ would rather take the ICNND's recommendations as a point of reference. Akiba commented that some of the Commission's recommendations -- such as having the United States announce that the "sole purpose" of nuclear weapons was to deter nuclear weapons' use -- would be ambitious and not necessarily in line with U.S. policy as it was being developed in the Nuclear Posture Review. ¶2. (SBU) Van Diepen replied that it was useful to have the information about the Commission's status. He noted that he had received a briefing on the report that morning from one of the ICNND's co-chairs, former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans. Until the report was formally issued, the United States could not comment officially. The United States supports its overall objective -- a world without nuclear weapons -- but surely there would be recommendations it could support and others that did not accord with U.S. policy. ¶3. (SBU) Amb. Burk commented that in the forums she had attended where the ICNND was discussed, she had had the sense that the Commission was listening to comments from various quarters. She expected that some governments would look to it as they developed their positions for the May 2010 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference. CLINTON