SFO-VIII GUIDANCE 001: INSTRUCTIONS FOR U.S.

S E C R E T STATE 009671

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/28/2030
TAGS: BO KACT KZ PARM RS UP US START
SUBJECT: SFO-VIII GUIDANCE 001: INSTRUCTIONS FOR U.S.
DELEGATION TO U.S./RUSSIA NEGOTIATIONS ON THE NEW START
TREATY, GENEVA,
SWITZERLAND, BEGINNING FEBRUARY 1, 2010

REF: A. MOSCOW (REPORTING CABLE ON JONES/MULLEN MEETING)

B. U.S. MODIFICATIONS TO DECEMBER 12 RUSSIAN
TELEMETRY PROTOCOL TEXT

C. U.S. UID PAPER

Classified By: ROSE E. GOTTEMOELLER, ASSISTANT SECRETARY, VCI
Reason: 1.4 (B) & (D)


1. (C) Assistant Secretary for Verification, Compliance,
and Implementation Rose Gottemoeller will head the U.S.
delegation to the eighth round of New START Treaty
negotiations with Russia in Geneva, Switzerland, beginning
on February 1, 2010. This is the first of several cables
providing guidance for the beginning of this round;
Delegation should request further guidance as needed. The
U.S. objective is to conclude the Treaty and Protocol
texts so they can be signed as soon as possible, and to
continue work on the Annex texts so that they can be
completed soon after the Treaty and Protocol are signed.

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Recording Agreement on Five Core Issues
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2. (S) During their January 21-22 trip to Moscow, General
Jones and Admiral Mullen reached oral agreement on the
five outstanding core issues in the new START Treaty,
which are critical to finalizing the Treaty (Ref A).
Accordingly, as the first order of business of the eighth
round of Geneva negotiations on the New START Treaty, the
Delegation is instructed to implement agreements on the
five core issues into written treaty text. Elements of
agreement on the five core issues are outlined below.

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Telemetry
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3. (S) Russia accepted most of the U.S. January 15
modifications to President Medvedev's December 12 proposed
telemetry Protocol language (Ref B) to include:
-- Exchange of telemetric information on up to five
launches of ICBMs and SLBMs per year;
-- Annual Review of telemetry provisions;
-- A separate Annex with additional implementing details;
-- Removal of any reference to UK Trident.
In addition, Russia agreed that any changes to the
telemetry exchange procedures would require mutual
agreement in the BCC, but did not agree to include
language to this effect because that goes without saying
and including it here would require including it in a
hundred other places in the agreement. As a result,
agreement was reached on Protocol language based on the
Russian December 12 draft and the U.S. January 15 changes,
revised as discussed above.


4. (S) The Russian side indicated its intention to table
additional language for the telemetry Protocol, including
language which specifies that the testing Party will
select which launches it will share with the monitoring
Party. Delegation is authorized to negotiate ad ref to
Washington Russian proposed language on selection of
launches and additional mutually acceptable language as
tactically required. Washington does not believe that any
additional language on telemetry is required in the
Protocol, given the Russian agreement in Moscow on January
22 that there will be an annex on telemetry.

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Unique Identifiers
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5. (S) The Russian side agreed "in principle" to the U.S.
proposal for unique identifiers on all strategic delivery
vehicles as part of a larger package on launcher and
warhead numbers. The exact wording on UIDs in the
Protocol and Annex are to be negotiated. The Delegation
is authorized to negotiate language drawing on the U.S.
paper entitled "Implementing Unique Identifiers for
Strategic Offense Arms" presented to General Makarov by
Admiral Mullen (Ref C).

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Inspections
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6. (S) The U.S. and Russia agreed to an annual quota of 18
inspections, of which ten will Type One inspections and
eight will be a mixture of inspections of non-deployed
systems and formerly declared facilities and inspections
to monitor the conversion and elimination of systems.
The Russian side agreed to "batch" eliminated solid fuel
missiles and mobile launchers of ICBMs for periodic Type
Two inspections to monitor the results of elimination.
The U.S. delegation is authorized to negotiate language in
the Treaty and Parts Three and Five of the Protocol, ad
ref to Washington, that implements this approach to
monitoring conversions and eliminations.

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-
Aggregate Limits on Strategic Delivery Vehicles and
Warheads
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-


7. (S) In addition to an aggregate ceiling of 700 on
deployed strategic delivery vehicles, the Russian side
agreed to an aggregate ceiling of 800 deployed and
non-deployed launchers, provided bombers are included
along with deployed and non-deployed ICBM and SLBM
launchers. The U.S. delegation is authorized to table a
change in the U.S. language in Article IV of the Treaty to
reflect the broadened 800 limit on deployed and
non-deployed ICBM and SLBM launchers and nuclear-capable
heavy bombers and to work out with the Russians the
definition and concept regarding non-deployed heavy
bombers.


8. (S) The U.S. and Russia agreed to an aggregate limit of
1550 warheads associated with deployed strategic delivery
vehicles.

End guidance.
CLINTON