UK BACKING OFF "PRINCIPLES" AT MARCH 17-18 NUCLEAR FUEL

UNCLAS UNVIE VIENNA 000083 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR ISN/NESS (CARNANHAN),IO/T, ISN/MNSA LONDON FOR KAREN BRONSON DOE FOR NA-243 (GOOREVICH) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AORC ENRG TRGY KNNP IAEA PARM MNUC SUBJECT: UK BACKING OFF "PRINCIPLES" AT MARCH 17-18 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE CONFERENCE REFS: (A) STATE 15931 (B) UNVIE 40 (C) STATE 11843 (PARAS 37-39) ¶1. (SBU) IAEACouns shared ref a points with British Deputy Head of Mission Carol Cliff February 23. Cliff confirmed her general agreement with U.S. reservations about the adoption of a statement of principles at the March 17-18 London conference "Multilateral Approaches to the Fuel Cycle." "If asked" issues of deflagging nuclear material or transfer of enrichment technology did not come up. ¶2. (SBU) The following day, Cliff shared with IAEACouns and counterparts from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and Japan this informal status report on conference preparations: -- Responsible officials are realizing that an agreed statement of principles (and potential referral of same to the IAEA Board) may be too ambitious. -- The UK acknowledges the anxiety that there would be efforts to water down the text and that the conference could lose coherence. -- The UK does not propose to try to finalize the document before the conference convenes. Rather, the conference should be interactive and its outcome shaped by the working sessions. -- Former IAEA DDG for Safeguards Bruno Pellaud will chair the day-and-a-half long conference and would issue a Chair's statement at its conclusion. ¶3. (U) The UK Mission is trying to schedule during the March 2-6 IAEA Board meeting a lunch-time information event previewing the conference. Msnoffs will attend. We defer to Embassy London for latest thinking and updated draft conference program from FCO organizers. SCHULTE