AMB RICE'S JUNE 29 MEETING WITH CHAIR OF NPT

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000640 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/29/2019 TAGS: AORC KNNP MNUC PARM PREL UNGA NPT IAEA SUBJECT: AMB RICE'S JUNE 29 MEETING WITH CHAIR OF NPT PREPCOM REF: A. STATE 44744 ¶B. STATE 52964 ¶C. STATE 54790 Classified By: Ambassador Susan E. Rice for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Ambassador Rice met with Zimbabwean PermRep Chidyausiku on June 29 to discuss his work as chair of the NPT Preparatory Committee (PrepCom). Chidyausiku said the U.S. had been very helpful during last month's PrepCom meeting. In response to the Ambassador's question as to what more the U.S. could do to help ensure a successful 2010 Review Conference, Chidyausiku said that U.S. progress on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty would send a positive message, maintaining a balance between non-proliferation and disarmament was important, and progress in the U.S.-Russian bilateral discussions would go a long way towards showing that disarmament as well as non-proliferation is a priority for the U.S. ¶2. (C) Chidyausiku said that the Chinese had been very "uptight" during the PrepCom discussions of the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT). He said China argued that the U.S. and Russia both currently have more fissile material than China does, and so China doesn't want to agree to a cutoff now as that would constrain them and put them at a disadvantage. Chidyausiku was uncertain as to whether or not the Chinese would try to block any proposals about the FMCT, and noted that as an area to work on together. He said that the non-nuclear weapon states were reluctant to agree to additional protocols to the NPT until they saw some progress on disarmament, since they feel the nuclear weapon states are more interested in nonproliferation than disarmament. The Ambassador pressed him on why it needs to be set up as an "either/or" situation, to which Chidyausiku replied that the developing countries are unhappy with a variety of actions related to nonproliferation. He cited the U.S.-India peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement, arguing that the IAEA has no access to India and that commercial interests drove that deal, and said that agreement and subsequent French interest in working with the Pakistanis send a bad message. He characterized it as an issue of trust, saying that the non-nuclear weapon states need to see a genuine desire for disarmament on the part of the nuclear states, and urged the U.S. to engage in a dialogue with the Non-Aligned Movement on this. The Ambassador emphasized that the U.S. is working on these two issues in parallel. ¶3. (C) Progress on implementing the 1995 resolution on the Middle East would also be helpful, Chidyausiku commented. Movement on that would help bring along Egypt and Algeria, which are the most outspoken during these discussions, and might even help with Syria. Mention of a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East would be positive, he said, but then added that the French were not eager to acknowledge a nuclear-free zone in Central Asia, implying that he was not optimistic about movement on nuclear-weapons-free zones. ¶4. (C) Chidyausiku noted that the incoming RevCon president, Ambassador Libran Nuevas Cabactulan of the Philippines, had mentioned a desire to hold an event in Manila before the RevCon. Chidyausiku said he would work closely with Cabactulan, and that he himself had found the UN Secretariat to be very helpful and a good source of information and expertise, and he hoped Cabactulan would continue to take advantage of the Secretariat. RICE