JCIC-DIP-09-009: U.S. MINUTEMAN III FRONT

S E C R E T STATE 080778 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/23/2029 TAGS: PARM KACT START US RS UP BO KZ SUBJECT: JCIC-DIP-09-009: U.S. MINUTEMAN III FRONT SECTION DEMONSTRATION OFFER REF: A. 08 STATE 074953 (JCIC-XXXII-GUIDANCE-002) ¶B. RUSSIAN NON-PAPER: ON THE ONE-TIME DEMONSTRATION OF THE MINUTEMAN III FRONT SECTION MARCH 4 2008 ¶C. 08 GENEVA 0585 (JCIC-XXXII-009) ¶D. 08 GENEVA 0976 (JCIC-XXXIII-010) ¶E. RUSSIAN FEDERATION AIDE-MEMOIRE ON RUSSIAN CONCERNS REGARDING U.S. COMPLIANCE WITH CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE START TREATY DATED MARCH 10 2009 (NO REPORTING CABLE) ¶F. GENEVA 0462 (JCIC-XXXIV-010) ¶G. GENEVA 0476 (JCIC-XXXIV-013 PARA 30) (TEXT OF U.S. DELEGATION PAPER DATED JUNE 10 2009 ¶H. ON U.S. ONE-TIME DEMONSTRATION OF THE MINUTEMAN III ICBM FRONT SECTION) ¶I. GENEVA 0470 (JCIC-XXXIV-019) Classified By: Classified By: Jerry A. Taylor, Director, VCI/SI. Reason: 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (U) This is an action request. See paragraph 8 below. ¶2. (S) BACKGROUND: Russian complaints about Minuteman III (MM III) RVOSI date almost to the beginning of START Treaty implementation. While we are confident the original U.S. procedures were Treaty compliant, the United States made changes in 1997 to the manner in which it conducts MM III Reentry Vehicle On-Site Inspection (RVOSI) in an effort to assuage Russian concerns. After the changes in procedures were made, MM III RVOSIs were conducted for several years with no complaints. However, more recently Russian inspectors began again to raise ambiguities. The Russian delegation reiterated its concerns about MM III RVOSI in JCIC-XXII (June-August 2000). Russia asserted that the U.S. method of presenting the front section of a MM III ICBM for viewing during an RVOSI was not Treaty-compliant because it did not allow Russian inspectors to ascertain that the front section contains no more RVs than the number of warheads attributed to a MM III ICBM. For additional background see Ref A. ¶3. (S) After discussion of the possibility of conducting a demonstration designed to alleviate Russian concerns, the Russian Federation delivered a non-paper ON March 4, 2008, that proposed a one-time MM III RVOSI demonstration (Ref B). During JCIC- XXXII (July 2008),the Russian delegation stated that it would agree to the U.S. proposal to conduct a demonstration at a specially-allocated site, but believed it was better to approximate actual RVOSI procedures. Such a demonstration should FOLLOW the procedures contained in Annex 3 to the Inspection Protocol for conducting an RVOSI. The U.S. delegation reiterated its position that it had not agreed to such a demonstration but continued to review this issue (Ref C). ¶4. (S) During a Heads of Delegation meeting during JCIC-XXXIII (November 2008) (Ref D),the Russian delegation stated there were four main points of the Russian sides position regarding a one-time demonstration of the MM III ICBM front section: 1) the Russian side was interested in a one-time demonstration of the MM III ICBM front section in order to ascertain that the space inside the lower portion of the missile front section could not contain items commensurate with reentry vehicles and was prepared to participate in this event; 2) in the Russian sides view, it did not appear possible to resolve this concern without holding a one-time demonstration; 3) the mere fact of conducting a demonstration, without analyzing its results could not guarantee resolution of the problem; and 4) based ON the results of the demonstration, the Russian side was also prepared to consider the U.S. position that any additional devices (for example, mirror-type devices) used during the demonstration would not be used in future inspections. ¶5. (S) ON March 10, 2009, the United States received an aide-memoire from the Russian Federation. One of the four issues raised in the aide-memoire concerned MM III RVOSI (Ref E). ¶6. (S) During JCIC XXXIV (June 2009),the U.S. delegation stated that it had determined that the U.S. could conduct a one-time demonstration of the front section and outlined the specific procedures that would govern its conduct (Refs F and G). The Russian delegation confirmed that Russia was ready to participate in a one-time demonstration of the MM III front section that would confirm that the space in the lower portion of the front section could not contain objects of similar dimensions to a reentry vehicle. The Russian delegation acknowledged that any procedures used in such a demonstration would not lead to new procedures in future RVOSIs, adding that without such a demonstration Russian concerns could not be resolved (Ref E). ¶7. (S) In order to conduct a MM III demonstration during the period of September 9 - 11, 2009, the U.S. must have a response from its Treaty partners by August 9, 2009. ¶8. (U) ACTION REQUEST: Embassies Moscow, Kiev, and Astana are requested to provide the points in paragraph 10 below to appropriate host government officials by July 31. Washington will provide each embassy a courtesy Russian-language translation of the points in paragraph 10 to be delivered along with the English language text. Each embassy is requested to confirm delivery of these points, the name and office of the official to whom they were delivered, the date of delivery, and any comment or reaction provided at that time. ¶9. (U) The text in paragraph 10 will be sent directly to the Belarusian Government via a service message transmitted by the U.S. Nuclear Risk Reduction Center. ¶10. (S/Releasable to Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine) Begin points: July 31, 2009 Minuteman III Front Section Demonstration - The United States invites the START Treaty Parties to a one-time Minuteman III front section demonstration at Malmstrom Air Force Base to be conducted during the period of September 9 - 11, 2009, as described by the United States during JCIC- XXXIV. - This one-time demonstration will be conducted outside the obligations of the Treaty and will not be counted against the quotas of inspections allocated to the other Parties. - The United States will accommodate up to 10 observers for the demonstration. Observers shall be on the approved list of inspectors specified in paragraph 2 of Section II of the Inspection Protocol. - Travel and associated costs to and from the San Francisco Point of Entry will be borne by the observing START Treaty Parties. - The United States requests that observers arrive at the San Francisco Point of Entry ON September 8, ¶2009. Observers should plan ON departing the Point of Entry ON September 12, 2009. - The United States, as a matter of goodwill, is willing to bear the cost of meals, lodging, and transportation and, as necessary, urgent medical services for observers throughout the in-country period. - The one-time demonstration of the Minuteman III front section will be conducted as detailed in the JCIC-XXXIV U.S. Delegation Paper dated June 10, ¶2009. - The United States expects that the demonstration will result in a factual report documenting the conduct of the demonstration, including procedures used to prepare and view the MM-III front section. - The United States expects that the satisfactory conduct of the demonstration will allow the Parties to resolve this issue, that the Parties will record this result in Coordinated Statements at a JCIC session following the demonstration or through diplomatic channels, and that this issue will be removed from the JCIC agenda. - In order to conduct the demonstration during the period of September 9 - 11, 2009, the United States must receive a reply as to the acceptability of the U.S. proposal by August 9, 2009. A reply after this date may require the United States to reschedule the demonstration. - After acceptance of the demonstration dates, further coordination will be conducted through diplomatic channels. - The United States looks forward to the Parties response regarding the proposed demonstration. End points. CLINTON