GERMANY WELCOMES POINTS ON NPT REVCON AND NSS, BUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L BERLIN 000113 SIPDIS ISN FOR AMB. BONNIE JENKINS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/25/2020 TAGS: PARM EAID TRIO IAEA NPT AORC CDG ENRG MUNC PGOV, PREL, UNGA, GM SUBJECT: GERMANY WELCOMES POINTS ON NPT REVCON AND NSS, BUT CAUTIONS ON BURDEN OF NON-PROLIFERATION INITIATIVES REF: STATE 5891 Classified By: Global Affairs Unit Chief Don Brown, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (SBU) German MFA desk officer for nuclear energy Joerg Polster welcomed Reftel points distinguishing the April Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) and the May Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference (NPT RevCon). These points, he said, will be helpful, for example, in responding to press inquiries about the two meetings. Polster said he also expects inquiries about the selection criteria used for the 44 invitees to the NSS. ¶2. (C) Polster said he was concerned about the burden the various non-proliferation initiatives are placing on the MFA. Polster cautioned that the U.S. should be prepared for a discussion at the G8 ministerial in March regarding how the various initiatives work together. He said the MFA is concerned about a proposal to institutionalize the heretofore loosely-arranged Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT),citing the increased administrative burden of such a move. While the GOG supports the goals of the various non-proliferation regimes and initiatives (citing a lengthy list: Megaports, Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI),GICNT, Global Partnership Working Group (GPWG), Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG),IAEA, etc.),there is a practical limit, he continued, of how much the GOG can and will do. The 2011 GOG budget may be even tighter than this year's, he lamented. Putting a fine point on this, he asked, rhetorically, if the USG had a dictionary with the word "cohesive" in it. DELAWIE