CWC: MEETING WITH IRAQI DELEGATION

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 000104 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR ISN/CB, VCI/CCA, L/NPV, IO/MPR, SECDEF FOR OSD/GSA/CN,CP> JOINT STAFF FOR DD PMA-A FOR WTC COMMERCE FOR BIS (ROBERTS AND DENYER) NSC FOR FLY WINPAC FOR WALTER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: IZ PARM PREL CWC SUBJECT: CWC: MEETING WITH IRAQI DELEGATION REF: A. STATE 11851 ¶B. FERGUSON/FINGARSON ROBINSON E-MAIL 02/09/2009 WITH ATTACHMENTS This is CWC-07-09. ¶1. (SBU) Delreps met with Iraqi Ambassador Siamand Banaa and Iraqi delegate Abbas Al-Khafaji on February 12. Delreps offered congratulations, as this was the official day the Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force for Iraq. Delreps then inquired about Iraqi plans for participation in the upcoming Executive Council (EC) session (February 17-20). Banaa said that he would like to make a statement and confirmed that no delegation would be coming from Baghdad. He also indicated his interest in having Iraq be elected to the Council; delreps briefly described the process of election through the regional groups. Delreps recommended Iraq attend the destruction informals on February 16 and that Baghdad send a delegation of experts to present and/or respond to any questions concerning Iraq's declaration at the next Executive Council session (April 20-24). ¶2. (SBU) Drawing on guidance (Refs A and B), Delreps explained the history and current status of U.S. recoveries of Iraqi chemical weapons and provided copies of the non-paper, slides on recovery locations and information, and the draft U.S. supplemental declaration. Delreps emphasized that the draft declaration had not yet been shared with the Technical Secretariat (TS). They emphasized that, as of February 12, the responsibility for reporting recoveries belonged to the Government of Iraq. Banaa agreed that a meeting with U.S. experts on the margins of the EC- 55 (February 17-20) would be useful. ¶3. (SBU) Banaa noted that communications between his embassy and Baghdad were poor, and that it is still not clear whether his delegation will be augmented to deal with the increased workload from OPCW activities. The Iraqi Embassy in The Hague has, however, had increased contact with the Technical Secretariat recently. Verification Director Horst Reeps has apparently spoken to Banaa and Abbas about the contents and security of the bunkers at Muthanna, so it is unlikely there remains any confusion for their delegation as to whether or not Iraq will be declaring chemical weapons. Abbas reported that they also had discussed a possible TS inspection team visit in the May/June timeframe, depending on the security situation. ¶4. (SBU) In a separate conversation with Reeps, Delrep learned that Iraq has been active in completing several initial steps as a new member state, including providing contact information for their National Authority and approving the list of TS inspectors. Within the TS's Chemical Demilitarization Branch, Yaugen Ryzhykau has been assigned as the lead officer for Iraq. Reeps also informed Delrep that a number of delegations -- including Iran, Russia, Germany, France, and Austria -- have contacted him recently to ask about Iraq and its declaration. Reeps has indicated to these delegations that Iraq will declare possession of chemical weapons. He expressed some surprise that many delegations did not seem to have thought Qthat many delegations did not seem to have thought through some of the longer-term implications of this, to include the need for the EC to establish destruction deadlines. ¶5. (U) BEIK SENDS. GALLAGHER