AMBASSADOR RICE PREPS P5 ON U.S. PLANS FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000748

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/04/2019
TAGS: KNNP PARM PREL NPT UNSC
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR RICE PREPS P5 ON U.S. PLANS FOR
NON-PROLIFERATION AND DISARMAMENT SUMMIT

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Classified By: Ambassador Rice for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary. Ambassador Rice on August 4 briefed the P5
delegations on U.S. plans to convene a Security Council
summit on nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament
during the U.S. Presidency of the Council in September.
Ambassador Rice listed a number of possible topics that could
be included in the discussion, including UNSC resolution
1540, responsibility of the P5 to meet their NPT commitments
and work toward the elimination of nuclear weapons, support
for progress on START, FMCT, Additional Protocol, CTBT,
securing nuclear weapons material, and support for mechanisms
to ensure nuclear fuel supply, and stressed that the meeting
would not focus on any particular country. Rice underscored
the U.S. desire to adopt a substantive Security Council
product. U.K. PermRep Sawers was the most supportive of the
idea, while French PermRep Ripert, on instructions,
enumerated several potential obstacles to a successful summit
and wanted any product to make specific mention of Iran and
DPRK. Russian Deputy PermRep Shcherbak showed cautious
optimism and appeared to share most U.S. goals. Chinese
Deputy PermRep Liu was helpful in advancing the discussion
but noncommittal on substance as he said he was awaiting
final instructions from Beijing. The P5 agreed that
Ambassador Rice should share the proposed date and topic of
the summit with other Council members later that day during
Council consultations, which she did. End Summary.


2. (C) In an August 4 meeting with the P5, Ambassador Rice
briefed on U.S. plans to convene a Security Council summit on
nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament during the
U.S. Presidency of the Council in September, explaining that
we envision President Obama presiding over a substantive
Council meeting at 9 a.m. on the morning of September 24 that
would underline key nuclear disarmament and nuclear
non-proliferation goals and result in a Council product,
preferably a resolution. She listed a number of possible
topics to consider for the discussion and product, including
strengthening UNSC resolution 1540, START, FMCT, the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty, securing loose nuclear material,
building support for providing assurances of a nuclear fuel
supply, but stressed that these were merely suggestions and
that the U.S. looks forward to discussing specifics with
Council colleagues. She added that the meeting and product
would not focus on specific countries because the Security
Council has already acted on these, mostly recently with the
June 2009 passage of resolution 1874 on DPRK. Furthermore,
in September the Council will have just examined UNSC
resolution 1737 (2006),which imposed sanctions on Iran.

United Kingdom: Enthusiastic Embrace
--------------


3. (C) U.K. PermRep Sawers said the U.S. proposal was "very
welcome and timely," and that Prime Minister Brown shares the
same goal. He said a summit in September would move forward
the disarmament and non-proliferation issues in preparation
for the 2010 NPT Review Conference and as such the summit
should be a success. Sawers noted, "There is a good deal of
common ground in the P5 as seen in the success of the NPT
Preparatory Committee (in May)." Sawers echoed Ambassador
Rice's suggestion that a Council product not be
country-specific, because he said the Security Council
"already has a good record on North Korea and Iran," and that
individual leaders can make their own statements on Iran and
North Korea as they see fit. Lastly, he said the Council
should be clear that the focus is on nuclear disarmament and
non-proliferation, not conventional weapons, which is
thoroughly dealt with in the General Assembly.

Russia: Support with Caveats
--------------


4. (C) Russian Deputy PermRep Shcherbak welcomed the
initiative, though he caveated that given the nature of the
summit, it would take time to formalize a decision by
President Medvedev and said he hoped to have instructions by
Friday, August 7. Ambassador Rice said she understood the
need for more time to consider the issue, but she noted that
the ten elected members of the Council need time to consider
the proposal and must feel they are part of the negotiating
process. Shcherbak agreed that a Council product not focus
on specific countries "to avoid confrontation" among the P5
and that it be balanced to take into account the three
pillars of the NPT--nuclear disarmament, nuclear
non-proliferation, and assistance in the peaceful uses of
nuclear technology.

China: Non-Committal with a Smile
--------------

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5. (C) Chinese Deputy PermRep Liu said his mission had
received no firm instructions from Beijing and could not
firmly commit itself to the proposal, but based on his
overall comments China appears to support the general agenda
of a disarmament and non-proliferation summit. Broadly, Liu
said a UNSC product should be political not technical, it
should not single out DPRK or Iran, and it needs to reflect
unanimity of the Council. Liu offered his personal view that
it might be difficult procedurally to have the Security
Council take up a topic in which the General Assembly -- most
notably in the First Committee Disarmament) -- is engaged.
Liu said a summit could engender criticism by non-Council
members that the Security Council was appropriating an issue
historically handled by the General Assembly. Ambassador
Rice responded that it is appropriate for the Security
Council to take up these topics because the work of the
Council and the Assembly are not mutually exclusive.

France: Mildly Obstructionist
--------------


6. (C) French PermRep Ripert started off by asking a number
of cautionary questions: what would the elements of a product
be; what are the chances of getting something significant;
how will the elected members react; and how might Libyan
leader Qadhafi's presence (and likely objections) weaken an
ultimate product? He also stressed that a product should
mention specific countries, namely Iran and North Korea,
though he was alone in his insistence. Ripert asked, "How
can the heads of state agree to a product that does not
recall past Council decisions?" a reference to the various
resolutions on Iran and DPRK. He argued that omitting
mention of the two countries would signal to the rest of the
world that the Council could not reach consensus on naming
them as proliferators. (Note: The French poloff called U.S.
poloff later to stress that France is absolutely adamant that
any product include specific mention of DPRK and Iran, and
that merely recalling previous resolutions would not be
sufficient. End note.) Like Shcherbak Ripert said a product
must keep a balance between the three NPT pillars: nuclear
disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation, and assistance in the
peaceful uses of nuclear technology, and said it was
important to stress progress in multilateral fora, and to
mention CTBT prospects and the G8 Aquila declaration. Like
Liu, Ripert offered procedural obstacles to a summit on
disarmament and non-proliferation, mentioning the possible
pitfalls of Council action prior to the NPT Review Conference
in 2010. Ripert concluded his remarks by emphasizing that
there must be P5 agreement on a draft before the
non-permanent members begin negotiating the text.

Informing the E-10
--------------


7. (C) The P5 agreed that the U.S. should share the proposed
date and topic with the elected Council members in
consultations later the same day. Ambassador Rice raised the
issue during consultations and informed Council members of
the U.S. intention to hold a heads-of-state Security Council
summit during the U.S. Council presidency in September,
focused on the topic of nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear
disarmament.

Next Steps
--------------


8. (SBU) USUN will work on potential elements for inclusion
in a product to frame the discussion and begin discussions
with Council members to negotiate a potential outcome
document.
RICE