VZCZCXRO2685
PP RUEHFL RUEHNP
DE RUEHRO #1451 3360727
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 010727Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY ROME
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1237
INFO RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1525
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN PRIORITY 1865
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PRIORITY 1825
RUEHDO/AMEMBASSY DOHA PRIORITY 0152
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID PRIORITY 1879
RUEHMIL/AMCONSUL MILAN PRIORITY 9683
RUEHFL/AMCONSUL FLORENCE PRIORITY 3316
RUEHNP/AMCONSUL NAPLES PRIORITY 3477
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO PRIORITY 2981
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 001451 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PM/WRA FOR KATHERINE BAKER AND SHO MORIMOTO 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/29/2018 
TAGS: PARM NATO MOPS PREL IT
SUBJECT: CLUSTER MUNITIONS: ITALY SUPPORTS U.S. 
INTERPRETATION OF ARTICLE 21 
 
REF: STATE 125632 
 
Classified By: Acting Political Minister-Counselor J. Liam Wasley for R 
easons 1.4 (B) and (D) 
 
¶1. (C)  Poloff delivered reftel demarche to Italian MFA 
Director for Nonproliferation and Arms Control Emanuele 
Farruggia on November 28.  Farruggia confirmed that the GOI 
intends to sign the convention but shares our interpretation 
of Article 21 as allowing not only for interoperability but 
also storage and transit of U.S. Cluster Munitions (CM) on 
U.S. bases in Italy.  Farruggia noted that Italy had pushed 
for Article 21 to be included in the CCM for precisely this 
reason and had recently proposed to the British a joint 
statement at Oslo to this effect, but the British demurred on 
the grounds that their position on CM on U.S. bases in the UK 
was still under discussion.  He said that the GOI would 
consult with the U.S. before taking any steps that might 
compromise the principle of interoperability or CM storage 
and transit.  He noted that the Italian Parliament would 
probably not be able to ratify the CCM before the end of 2009 
because of provisions that would have to be included in the 
legislation to fund the destruction of Italian CM stocks and 
their replacement with non-cluster munitions. 
DIBBLE