A/S GOTTEMOELLER,S 8 MAY BILATERAL MEETINGS ON THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000498

SIPDIS

GENEVA FOR CD DEL, UNVIE FOR IAEA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/12/2019
TAGS: KNNP PARM NPT
SUBJECT: A/S GOTTEMOELLER,S 8 MAY BILATERAL MEETINGS ON THE
MARGINS OF THE NPT PREPARATORY COMMITTEE

Classified By: VCI - Assistant Secretary Rose Gottemoeller. Reasons 1.
5 (b) and (d).


1. (SBU) Summary: Assistant Secretary of State for
Verification, Compliance and Implementation, Rose
Gottemoeller, held several bilateral meetings May 8 on the
margins of the NPT Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) in New
York. This cable reports on her meetings with: Austria,s
Ambassador Alexander Marschik, China,s Director General for
Arms Control and Disarmament Ambassador Ching Jingye, and the
European Troika (Czech Republic, Sweden, and Spain). The
Troika delegation was composed of the Czech Republic,s Pavel
Klucky, Sweden,s Deputy Director-General for Disarmament and
Nonproliferation Christer Ablstrom, Spain,s Special
Ambassador for Disarmament Affairs Miguel Aguirre de Carcer,
and Personal Representative of the EU High Representative on
Nonproliferation Annalisa Giannella.

(SBU) Meeting with Austria,s Ambassador Alexander Marschik


2. (SBU) Ambassador Marschik raised US support for the
Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and noted that
Austria was "thrilled" with President Obama,s speech in
Prague. He said Austria and Costa Rica will co-chair the
upcoming CTBT Article 14 Conference, which was designed to
promote entry into force of the Treaty. He asked if there
were any actions Austria could take to support the
ratification process noting, however, that it was not
Austria,s intention to meddle in US affairs. He also
inquired whether the United States would find it productive
for the Co-Chairs to visit with Secretary Clinton in
Washington to promote CTBT and if the Secretary could attend


the Article 14 conference in September. A/S Gottemoeller
responded that Secretary Clinton had strong interest in
supporting the CTBT process and that she has been meeting
with Senators to support the ratification process. A/S
Gottemoeller said Secretary Clinton,s attendance may be a
possibility.

(SBU) Meeting with China,s Director General for Arms Control
and Disarmament Ching Jingye


3. (C) Ambassador Jingye praised the positive US tone on
nonproliferation and disarmament and said a world free of
nuclear weapons is consistent with Chinese policy. He said
Beijing had no objection to the Algerian program of work in
the Conference on Disarmament (CD),but wondered whether
Israel would agree and whether the United States would table
a new draft treaty. He also noted that Susan Burke during
her confirmation hearing said China was among the states
blocking progress in the CD, and lamented that she had been
"misinformed." A/S Gottemoeller said the United States would
address the issue of a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT)
with Israel before Prime Minister Netenyahu visits President
Obama later in May. Jingye thought there must be the
appearance of progress on the 1995 Resolution on the Middle
East at the 2010 NPT Review Conference (RevCon) if that
Conference were to have a chance to succeed.


4. (C) Jingye had several questions about a follow-on START
agreement, including whether there had been discussion about
final warhead numbers and whether Russia would insist on the
inclusion of defensive missiles in an agreement. A/S
Gottemoeller said some of the particular aspects of an


agreement would be subject to the outcome of the ongoing
nuclear posture review (NPR),but noted that President Obama
had committed to levels below those contained in the Moscow
Treaty. She said a follow-on agreement to START would adopt
different, more precise, counting measures, build upon
verification provisions in START and streamline those
measures, and focus only on strategic weapons.


5. (C) Jingye asked about the significance of the difference
of opinion between former Secretary of Defense Perry and
former Secretary of Energy Schlesinger on CTBT ratification,
as described in the report of the Perry/Schlesinger
Congressional Commission. He also asked about the future of
the reliable replacement warhead (RRW). A/S Gottemoeller
said the difference on CTBT probably reflects the debate
among parties on Capital Hill, and that the compromise
approach taken by the report should be a lesson for how to
approach the issue of ratification. On RRW, she said
President Obama does not want additional warheads, but that
the United States would have to be confident in the
reliability of its stockpile. Jingye said China had work to
do on CTBT, but that it supported the treaty in principle and
was optimistic that Beijing could ratify it. He said Beijing
was following very closely US progress on CTBT.


6. (C) On the North Korean nuclear issue, Jingye said the
North was looking for direct talks with the United States at
a high level, and that Beijing was unsure whether threats of
another nuclear test were serious. He thought all states
must urge restraint and encourage North Korea to return to
the Six Party Talks. He said a step-by-step approach to
verification in North Korea should be taken, because the


requirement for a strong verification system all at once
probably would be resisted. In any event, he said the
resumption of talks was a condition of any verification
discussions; he thought Japan needed to play a more
constructive role in this regard. Finally, Jingye said China
looked forward to the resumption of bilateral talks on
nonproliferation as discussed during Secretary Clinton,s
recent trip to Beijing.

(SBU) Meeting with the European Union Troika (the Czech
Republic, Sweden, and Spain)


7. (C) The EU Troika complimented the US statement on
regional issues from that morning,s plenary session,
pronouncing it "tough." They were pleased to hear A/S
Gottemoeller report that France is joining consensus on
moving forward with an FMCT mandate in the CD (the so-called
Algerian proposal). The Czech representative complimented
President Obama,s Prague speech, but asked for the United
States to support the Hague Code of Conduct (HCOC). A/S
Gottemoeller noted our ongoing review of how to implement the
HCOC but said there could be positive movement on it and the
Joint Data Exchange Center (JDEC) with Russia. All parties
thought the Chair,s new draft recommendations looked
encouraging, but the EU wanted reference to the Additional
Protocol and stronger support for Security Council Resolution

1540. A/S Gottemoeller noted that the Chair had included the
issue of withdrawal, which the EU strongly supports. The
Troika was particularly interested in gauging US support for
a "seminar" this summer on the Middle East--a follow-on to a
successful first meeting last year. A/S Gottemoeller asked
for more information on the agenda and outcomes of that


meeting. The EU also asked if the United States would
consider making some political statement of support for the
non-transportation of nuclear weapons through
nuclear-weapon-free zones (NWFZ),thinking such a statement
could appeal to NWFZ states. A/S Gottemoeller said the idea
might be problematic for the Russians, and that it might
raise other issues of international law. She asked the EU
representatives to update her on their meeting with the
Brazilians next week.

A/S Gottemoeller has cleared this cable.
Rice