ARGENTINA'S RESPONSE TO CITES COP 15 DEMARCHE

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000184 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV KSCA AORC UNEP AR SUBJECT: ARGENTINA'S RESPONSE TO CITES COP 15 DEMARCHE REF: STATE 6668 ¶1. On February 16, ESTCouns delivered reftel demarche to the Environment Secretariat's CITES representative Guillermo Lingua and CITES experts Maria Tonelli and Luis Arenas. All three will be part of Argentina's delegation at COP 15. While Lingua did not expect any Argentine objections to the USG submissions at CITES COP 15, he pointed out that official GOA positions on reftel points still had to be discussed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Fisheries Bureau. ¶2. On the issue of sharks, Lingua noted that the GOA would likely come out in favor of the FAO ruling. He added that the shark species of concern to Argentina are different from those in the U.S. submission, and closer to the list submitted by the EU and Palau. ¶3. The GOA does not have any objections to the USG position on coral, polar bears and bobcat, Lingua said, but will listen to remarks presented by other interested parties. Regarding snakes, he said that the GOA does not have any objections but will be attentive to the reactions of Asian countries. He pointed out that Argentina's main problem with snakes is illegal trafficking of skins and pets. MARTINEZ MARTINEZ