PC-600: U.S. DELEGATION DISCUSSES POSSIBLE JOINT

C O N F I D E N T I A L UNVIE VIENNA 000436

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR ISN/MNSA, VCI/NA, L/ACV, IO/GS, IO/UNP
DOE FOR NN-40
JCS FOR J5/DDIN
SECDEF FOR OSD/ISP, ATSD/NCB/NT AND DTRA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/21/2019
TAGS: AORC KTBT PARM
SUBJECT: PC-600: U.S. DELEGATION DISCUSSES POSSIBLE JOINT
PROJECTS WITH CTBTO

Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION GEOFFREY PYATT FOR
REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (SBU) SUMMARY. An interagency delegation from Washington
met with officials from the Provisional Technical Secretariat
(PTS) of the Preparatory Commission (PrepCom) for the
Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) in
Vienna to discuss prospective funding issues and PTS
priorities. PTS Executive Secretary Tibor Toth,
estimated the PTS would need 85 million dollars in

extrabudgetary support through 2013. In the event that
additional U.S. funding becomes available for the PTS, the
U.S. delegation requested the PTS provide a prioritized list
of projects or areas in which supplementary funding is needed
or would be helpful to CTBTO operations. During two days of
meetings, the PTS's three technical divisions briefed the
U.S. delegation on areas in which additional U.S. funding
could improve the PTS's operational capabilities. A common
theme among the three divisions was the need for Cost Free
Experts (CFE),an area where the U.S. is uniquely suited to
provide support. The OSI Division was widely recognized as
needing the most support, and the OSI Division Director
cautioned that we and the CTBTO need to be careful in
describing the OSI Division as "ready" for entry-into-force,
especially if EIF is sooner rather than later. The
delegation was also able to meet with the newly installed
Chief of the Legal and External Affairs Division and the
Procurement Division who emphasized that the May 2010 Review
Conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty will be
the "litmus test" to see what progress is possible in
convincing Middle East states to ratify the CTBT and gaining
cooperation on nuclear issues in general. END SUMMARY


2. (SBU) UNVIE Mission Counselor opened the meeting by
stating that the U.S. sees this meeting as the beginning of a
conversation, not the final meeting on these topics. He made
very clear that the U.S. goal was to gather information on
PTS priorities and hear what the PTS believes is needed, but
that the U.S. is not in a position to promise any additional
monetary support or assistance at this time. Further, the
delegation warned the PTS that the U.S. is unlikely to ratify
the CTBT before the May 2010 Review Conference for the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; and that there are a number
of issues that need to be addressed before attempting
ratification. PTS Executive Secretary Ambassador Tibor Toth
thanked the delegation for initiating the meeting, but warned
that the PTS combines technical and political issues, so
messages are important. The messages coming from the new
U.S. administration are "inspiring," and everyone is
listening carefully, so the statements that the U.S. makes on
CTBT ratification efforts will have an effect on others.
Ambassador Toth reminded the delegation of the progress the
PTS has made since 2000, with the number of certified
monitoring stations increasing from zero to almost 250 today,
and made a point of highlighting and thanking the U.S. for
having 90% of its stations certified ) the highest of any
nuclear weapons state and among the highest percentage
overall. However, he continued by noting that the easy parts
are over, and where we are going are the "challenges" of
making sure ratifications are secured.


3. (SBU) Turning to funding issues, Ambassador Toth told the
delegation that there is a "limit to being able to skirt the
budgeting rules," but that they must be cognizant of the
international economic situation and not expect too much
additional support. Even with all payments, he said it is
clear that the PTS needs a "force multiplier" in the form of
experts, cooperation, equipment, expertise, etc., not just
from the U.S. but from others. For example, the European
Union has been providing some support, but the level is low.
The PTS has estimated that it needs 85 million dollars in
extrabudgetary support through 2013. For the purposes of
this meeting, the PTS used the 2009-2013 Medium Term Plan and
a priority list of "must-do" activities to determine areas
that would benefit from additional U.S. resources.
Ambassador Toth ended the initial session by reminding the
U.S. delegation of the need for the U.S., among others, to
pay its arrears, not just as a financial obligation, but as a
political commitment.

TECHNICAL DIVISION WISH LIST
--------------


4. (SBU) The delegation met separately with the three

technical divisions of the PTS ) the International
Monitoring System (IMS) Division, the International Data
Centre (IDC) Division, and the On-Site Inspection (OSI)
Division. Each Division presented the delegation with a list
of projects, activities, and needs that would benefit from
additional U.S. financial support. The U.S. delegation asked
that each Division rank each list in priority order, and
provide information on the current situation and how
additional funding would help improve each area. A common
theme among the three divisions was the need for Cost Free
Experts (CFE),an area where the U.S. is uniquely suited to
provide support. The three divisions identified a total of
more than twenty-five areas that could benefit from U.S.
expertise. The requests were provided to the delegation in
hard copy.


5. (SBU) The IMS Division provided the delegation with eight
projects that are viewed as needing either U.S. financial
assistance or CFEs. These projects included: noble gas
station maintenance and support for existing stations
(250,000 dollars annually, plus one CFE); logistics support
(one CFE); additional U.S. funding for auxiliary seismic
stations that have a relationship with the United States
Geological Survey, Incorporated Research Institutions for
Seismology, or the International Deployment of Accelerometers
network (1,000,000 dollars initially; 250,000 dollars
annually; and the equivalent of one-quarter of a CFE); major
repairs and equipment replacement (five million dollars over
five years); technology development (21 million dollars over
5-10 years); development of an off-site disaster recovery
solutions for the PTS (5 million dollars); funding for the
additional IMS stations that have yet to begin construction
(various costs); and funding to install additional noble gas
detection systems as Cooperative National Facilities (1
million dollars per station plus 3 CFEs). Most of these
projects are long-term IMS development priorities that will
support and improve the ability of the CTBTO to monitor for
nuclear tests.


6. (SBU) The IDC Division had a number of areas that could
benefit from CFEs, including in areas of capacity building
for personnel training for National Data Centres, a
radionuclide spectra analyst, a software testing expert, a
software documentation expert, and 10 data analysts that
could assist in data mining and support of data collection.
Most of these positions were indicated to be one year
positions, focused on radionuclide spectra analysis and
training for permanent CTBTO experts. No cost estimate was
given for the CFEs.


7. (C) The OSI Division was widely recognized as needing the
most support, and the Director cautioned that we and the
CTBTO need to be careful in describing the OSI Division as
"ready" for entry-into-force, especially if EIF is sooner
rather than later. This division identified 9 CFE positions:
a radionuclide expert, a multispectral imagery export, a
geophysicist, a health and radiation safety officer, a
logistics expert, a contracting and services expert, two
training officials and an operations analyst. The OSI
Division also provided a list of items that are necessary for
a full set of equipment. The OSI Division estimates that in
order to meet its 2013 readiness goals, some 10 million
extrabudgetary dollars worth of equipment is necessary. In
addition, the OSI Division intends to host a second
Integrated Field Exercise to test the On-Site Inspection team
abilities; they estimate that an additional six million
dollars will be necessary to fund this exercise. The OSI
Director was quite frank about the needs of the Division, and
the fact that the Division is lagging behind the two
technical Divisions in terms of readiness. He also
emphasized that what is needed are true experts, and most of
these can come only from the P-5 states.


8. (C) The On-Site Inspection Division Director, a Russian,
stepped out of his role as CTBTO employee and stated that he
was "putting on his P-5" hat to discuss the CTBT in general.
He said he had been at the negotiating table in Geneva during
the initial negotiations of the CTBT, and thinks that
cooperation and coordination among the P-5 is necessary in
order to achieve EIF. We need similar ideas of what to do
specifically in an OSI situation, and also need an
agreed-upon activities-not-prohibited list that may need to
be updated and discussed among Russia, China, and the U.S.

CTBT IN THE CONTEXT OF THE 2010 NPT REVCON
--------------


9. (SBU) The delegation also met with the external relations
branch and with a broader section of the secretariat after
meeting with the technical divisions. These branches drove
home the point that the May 2010 Review Conference on the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty will be the "litmus test" to
see what progress is possible in convincing Middle East
states to ratify the CTBT and gaining cooperation on nuclear
issues in general. They also warned the delegation that if
North Korea was the last country to sign and ratify the CTBT,
it may empower the DPRK so the issue should be dealt with as
part of a nuclear package. This could also be true for Iran.
In parting, all in attendance thanked the U.S. delegation
for their support and attention, and emphasized again the
importance of the NPT Review Conference. The U.S. delegation
again stated that there is no guarantee of any additional
support, but that we will study their requests carefully and
follow up with the CTBTO.


10. (SBU) Participants:
U.S.:
- Robert Blum (DOS/ISN)
- Theodore Bowyer (DOE/PNNL)
- Michael Elbert (OSD/ATSD)
- Whitney Raas (DOS/VCI)
- Eric Sandberg (UNVIE)
- Michele Smith (DOE/NNSA)

PTS:
- Ambassador Tibor Toth, Executive Secretary
- Genxin Li, Director, Legal and External
Relations Division
- Boris Kvok, Director, On-Site Inspection
Division
- Federico Guendel, Director, International
Monitoring System Division
- John Coyne, Acting Director, International
Data Centre Division

DAVIES