IAEA: URGENT RUSSIAN REQUEST FOR DEMARCHE TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L UNVIE VIENNA 000527 SIPDIS FOR T, ISN/NESS, S/SANAC, IO/GS, EUR/PRA, EUR/RUS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2014 TAGS: PREL ENRG KNNP RS IAEA SUBJECT: IAEA: URGENT RUSSIAN REQUEST FOR DEMARCHE TO SECURE CO-SPONSORS FOR LEU RESERVE REF: A. UNVIE 505 ¶B. STATE 117701 Classified By: Ambassador Glyn Davies, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary and Action Request: Mission recommends Washington immediately instruct posts in selected IAEA Board capitals, consistent with Russian request, to try to secure co-sponsorship commitments for a resolution to approve the LEU reserve proposal to be considered by the IAEA Board of Governors November 26-27. Russian IAEA Governor Berdennikov requested co-sponsorship of a majority of Board states in group meetings supported by Ambassador Davies, who stated to all the U.S. decision to co-sponsor. Russian draft resolution text is below, as are talking points Berdennikov requested the U.S. deploy with the aim of securing signatures in Vienna by November 24. With evidence that a majority of the Board will carry the resolution, the Russians aim to persuade skeptics or opponents to accept consensus adoption of the project. End Summary and Action Request. ¶2. (C) Russian IAEA Governor Berdennikov and resident Ambassador to International Organizations Zmeyevskiy conducted November 19 and 20 meetings with groups of IAEA Board of Governors member states to recruit co-sponsors of a resolution, the effect of which would be approval of the Russian LEU fuel reserve proposed for the IAEA (ref A, paras 14-16). Ambassador Davies and Msnoff consulted the Russian side before the conduct of each meeting and Ambassador affirmed to each group the U.S. decision to co-sponsor. Septel will report those discussions in detail. ¶3. (C) Familiar with the recent U.S. demarche (ref B), Berdennikov requested that the U.S. make a second approach to specific countries we agree may be persuaded to co-sponsor the Russian resolution. Russian mission proposed the talking points in para 4 for use in capitals no later than Monday, November 23 with the following Board states: Afghanistan Australia Azerbaijan Canada Denmark France Germany Japan Korea (Rep of) Mongolia Netherlands New Zealand Peru Romania Spain Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom Uruguay Berdennikov affirmed the Russian Federation would approach many or all of these states in capital as well. But, in view of specific U.S. relationships with some, he said, Russia favored frank bilateral demarches by the U.S. For example, in Kyiv, Berdennikov said "Your ambassador can talk to the President, and should; we can't, but will talk to the Foreign Minister." ¶4. (C) Begin Russian-proposed talking points: -- A number of initiatives on multilateral approaches to the nuclear fuel cycle have been put forward during the last several years. -- The Russian Federation has made clear it believes the establishment of nuclear fuel banks would support expansion of nuclear energy worldwide by increasing confidence of all countries in the stable availability of nuclear fuel. At the same time its importance for strengthening of the non-proliferation regime should not be underestimated. -- The proposal of the Russian Federation to Establish a Reserve of Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) for the supply of LEU to the IAEA for its Member States is ready for adoption after extensive negotiations between the Agency and the Russian Federation. It is based on Article IX of the Statute of the IAEA. The initiative is non-restrictive -- no state is being asked to give up any rights to peaceful nuclear technologies in order to benefit from the reserve. Its establishment would not put any additional financial burden on the IAEA or its Member States. All costs would be covered by the Russian Federation. The Russian proposal does not conflict or compete with any other proposal in the field of multilateral approaches to the nuclear fuel cycle and its adoption will facilitate progress in the development of similar initiatives. -- Upon the request of the Russian Federation, a draft agreement between Russia and the IAEA on the establishment of the LEU reserve (GOV/2009/76),agreed between Russia and IAEA, has been circulated in the IAEA and an appropriate item is included on the agenda of the forthcoming Board of Governors meeting (26-27 November). -- The Russian Federation seeks that the IAEA Board of Governors approve the proposal and authorization for the IAEA Director General to sign the above-mentioned agreement together with Russia. -- Together with the IAEA, Russia has prepared and is circulating in Vienna a draft resolution on this issue and would like to invite the Board Members to join it as co-sponsors (draft is attached for the transmittal to the interlocutor). -- We assume that the draft resolution, if co-sponsored by the majority of the Board Members, has a good chance to be adopted without a vote. -- We request that (host country) give a serious consideration to this proposal and instruct its delegation to the BoG November meeting to become a co-sponsor of the draft resolution. -- We would ask for your reply not later than on the 24th of November, 2009. End Russian-proposed talking points. ¶5. Begin draft resolution, to accompany talking points: On the Establishment by the Russian Federation of a Reserve of Low Enriched Uranium to the IAEA for Its Member States The Board of Governors (a) Recalling the Report by the Director General GOV/INF/2007/11 "Possible New Framework for the Utilization of Nuclear Energy: Options for Assurance of Supply of Nuclear Fuel"; (b) Recalling the document GOV/INF/2009/1 "Russian Federation Initiative to Establish a Reserve of Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) to the IAEA for Its Member States", (c) Recalling the Report by the Director General GOV/2009/31 "Assurance of Supple - Russian Federation Initiative to Establish a Reserve of Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) to the IAEA for Its Member States"; (d) Noting the provisions of the Article IX of the IAEA Statute allowing Member States to make available to the Agency nuclear materials for supply to other Member States; (e) Noting the discussions which have already taken place in the Board on a number of concepts of assurances of supply of nuclear fuel, and the importance of developing a range of options for such assurances. Hereby ¶1. Welcomes the offer of the Russian Federation to establish on its territory a reserve of LEU to the IAEA for Its Member States. ¶2. Authorizes the Director General to conclude and subsequently implement the Agreement with the Russian Federation to establish a reserve of LEU for supply to the IAEA for its Member States, attached as Attachment 1 to GOV/2009/xx; ¶3. Approves the Model Agreement, attached as Attachment 2 to GOV/2009/xx as the standard text for agreements that are to be concluded with Member States for the supply of LEU by the IAEA from the reserve; and ¶4. Authorizes the Director General to conclude and subsequently implement future Agreements with Member States for the supply of LEU by the IAEA when the Director General considers that the request of the Member State fulfils the eligibility criteria included in the Agreement with the Russian Federation, without the requirement for case-by-case authorization by the Board and requests the Director General to keep the Board informed throughout the entire process. End draft resolution. ¶6. (C) Current draft came from the Russian mission after discussion with potential co-sponsors (seven EU states on the BoG plus Canada and Switzerland) and includes preambular paragraph (e) drafted by the United Kingdom and endorsed by others in the November 20 meeting. The Russian Mission circulated it by e-mail to target group missions November 20. No commitments to co-sponsor were enunciated in the group meetings on either day, but Mission has learned and conveyed to the Russians here that the Japanese Mission was instructed overnight to co-sponsor. ¶7. (C) Action Request: Consistent with agreement between Special Assistant to the President Samore and Ambassador Berdennikov, UNVIE recommends dispatch of a corresponding instruction to embassies in the BoG countries listed in para 3, in order to secure a minimum of eighteen co-sponsors. Mission will continue bilateral outreach to secure co-sponsors, including the target group above and sub-Saharan African BoG members Burkina Faso, Cameroon, and Kenya. Berdennikov undertook to approach China and South Africa (Governor Minty) here in Vienna. DAVIES