EXBS: RUSSIA ADVISOR MONTHLY REPORTING CABLE - JANUARY

UNCLAS MOSCOW 000292 SIPDIS STATE FOR ISN/ECC JFRIEDMAN, ACHURCH, NJOHANSON, LSPRINGER CBP FOR INA, PLEASE PASS TO TCORWIN USDOE WASHDC ALSO FOR NNSA, PLEASE PASS TO TPERRY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC MNUC PARM PREL KSTC KNNP UP RS SUBJECT: EXBS: RUSSIA ADVISOR MONTHLY REPORTING CABLE - JANUARY 2010 REF: MOSCOW 191 ¶1. Begin summary: BROAD ITEMS OF INTEREST TO ADVISORS AND AGENCY MANAGERS: The embassy was shut down, as were Russian government offices, January 1-8 for New Year's and Russian Orthodox holidays. The Advisor is working with the Human Resources Department in the embassy and with EXBS Washington on the search for a new EXBS Assistant. Final agenda and logistical arrangements were put in place for the EXBS-supported and coordinated bilateral Program Review and Export Controls Exchange in Washington February 2-4. End summary. ¶2. Completed Actions for Reporting Period. ¶A. Site Assessments and Meetings During the Reporting Period. i. January 12 - EXBS Advisor met with representatives of the export controls section within the Security and Disarmament Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry. Present were the Deputy Director of the department, Grigory Ivanovich Mashkov; Advisor Anatoliy Mikhailovich Bulochnikov; Attache Leonid Nikolaevich Kozlov; and Attache Alexander Odoevskiy. The meeting was organized to present to MFA the revised agenda of the Program Review in early February and the Program Plan for ongoing activities allocated among FY08, FY09, and FY10. In previous meetings, MFA has taken the opportunity to raise concerns about issues outside the focus of the meeting agenda, such as the proposed implementation of UNSCR 1540. However, this time, our discussions remained strictly within the purview of EXBS. MFA agreed to coordinate review of the agenda among various Russian government agencies and provide feedback to the Advisor. MFA offered a few minor comments about Program Plan activities, which were passed on to EXBS Washington. ii. January 22 - EXBS Advisor met with representatives of the export controls section within the Security and Disarmament Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry. The meeting was organized to hear the MFA-coordinated Russian government interagency response to U.S. revisions to the Program Review agenda. Present were Advisor Anatoliy Mikhailovich Bulochnikov and Attache Alexander Odoevskiy. MFA indicated several areas in which U.S. nonproliferation policy did not agree with Russia's, and which it wanted to see discussed. Changes were subsequently made to the agenda to reflect those topics (REF 191). ¶B. Training Conducted During Reporting Period. i. No training was conducted during this period. ¶C. Equipment Delivered During Reporting Period. i. The EXBS Russia program does not distribute equipment. ¶3. Imminent Training or Equipment Status Update i. On January 25, the EXBS Advisor and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)Program Manager for Russia agreed, following a telephone conversation, that EXBS would re-approach Rosgranitsa in February concerning its interest in an IVP to U.S. ports of entry. Rosgranitsa is a new Russian federal agency charged with security of border facilities. The visit was postponed to at least March 2010 due to the December and January holidays and the extended medical leave of the CBP Program Manager. EXBS has been working with CBP on this trip and may also develop program activities depending on the outcome of this visit. ¶4. Significant Developments in Export Controls, Nonproliferation, or Related Border Security i. A recent press release issued by Russian Customs describing the visit of federal and Moscow region customs officials to U.S. ports of entry in December 2009 contained the following statement: "The effective functioning of customs in Russia currently is not possible without interaction with the customs services of other governments." Validations such as these from the Russian side are useful in assessing the qualitative value that EXBS-supported activities such as the December visit add. ¶5. Country Plans and Other Assistance i. On January 26, the Advisor participated in a meeting of the USAID-coordinated Assistance Working Group called to distribute materials and to explain procedures for the FY 2010 Operating Plan. As in the past, EXBS will be responsible for coordinating its own submission with that of the U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) under Program Area 1.2, Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction. ¶6. CONTACT INFORMATION. Joan Agerholm is the EXBS Advisor for Russia and can be reached at AgerholmJA@state.gov, or +7 (985) 410-30-87. BEYRLE