VZCZCXRO1081
RR RUEHAST RUEHDBU RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHSK RUEHTM
RUEHTRO RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHMO #0454/01 0551510
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 241510Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2109
INFO RUEHVK/AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 3142
RUEHYG/AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG 3496
RUEHLN/AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG 5257
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEAEPA/HQ EPA WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF INTERIOR WASHDC
RUCPDC/NOAA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 000454 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR OES/PCI 
EPA FOR ELLA BARNES 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV ECON PREL RS
SUBJECT: RUSSIAN ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY PROPOSES MEETING WITH NEW EPA 
ADMINISTRATOR, REINVIGORATED COOPERATION 
 
MOSCOW 00000454  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED -- NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On January 23, the Director of International 
Cooperation at the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology 
(MNRE) praised past U.S.-Russian environmental cooperation and 
suggested an initial meeting between EPA Administrator Jackson and 
MNRE Minister Trutnev this spring.  MNRE and Embassy representatives 
discussed options for further joint work, which the Russian side 
suggested might best be advanced through a non-binding memorandum of 
cooperation.  This enthusiasm at the MNRE was an encouraging 
contrast to the more cautiously optimistic tone of other GOR 
ministries responsible for environment, science and health issues. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) On January 23, EST Counselor and the Embassy's environment 
affairs staff accompanied Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
Program Manager Eleonora Barnes to a meeting with Igor Maydanov, 
Director of the MNRE Department of International Cooperation. 
Maydanov was accompanied by his deputy Igor Shumakov; Dmitriy 
Kuznetsov of the Arctic Contaminants Action Program (ACAP) 
Secretariat; Andrey Peshkov, Director of the Office of Cooperation 
in Radiation Security and Waste Management in the International 
Cooperation Department; and staff member Igor Zotov. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Noting that there had been important changes in the Russian 
government structure, Maydanov explained that functions previously 
dispersed among ten or so different agencies had been consolidated 
within MNRE.  Maydanov welcomed the appointment of new EPA 
Administrator Lisa Jackson and expressed his hope that both sides 
would look together at key sectors and determine priorities for 
future work.  He proposed an exchange of proposals for introductory 
meetings between EPA's new senior team and Russian counterparts, 
hopefully at the level of Administrator-Minister.  He said that the 
Russian side would be prepared to exchange initial proposals as 
early as the end of February, with a visit to be organized -- in 
either Moscow or Washington -- as early as May.  When the U.S. side 
cautioned that arrangements might take longer than one month because 
of the political transition, Maydanov proposed allowing two to three 
months to agree upon a meeting date and priorities for cooperation. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Both sides agreed that environmental cooperation plays a 
key role in bilateral relations.  Maydanov recalled past discussions 
about a non-binding memorandum of cooperation between MNRE and EPA 
encompassing a wide range of cooperative activities, possibly to 
include conservation of biodiversity, hazardous waste remediation 
and management, scientific cooperation, innovations and 
partnerships, and emerging issues related to pollution from marine 
transportation to address problems related to climate change, 
technical exchange programs, and training on legal and regulatory 
enforcement.  Maydanov said that the Russian Ministry of Finance had 
approved the ratification of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent 
Organic Pollutants, and that the Duma would discuss the ratification 
documents in the spring of 2009.  Barnes agreed that MNRE and EPA 
should continue to explore deepening work on issues of mutual 
concern, including persistent organic pollutants (POPs), 
transboundary pollution, and mercury management.  Maydanov proposed 
that it would be wise to begin with an agreement among top officials 
of the two agencies to strengthen cooperation, perhaps through a 
signed document. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Maydanov noted the history of successful work under the 
Arctic Council's Arctic Contaminants Action Program (ACAP).  Peshkov 
noted that the United States is one of the largest supporters of 
ACAP activities. 
 
¶6. (SBU) EST Counselor suggested cooperation to combat illegal 
logging, including by U.S. and Russian law enforcement.  Maydanov 
said that this topic could be complicated, depending upon its 
context and focus.  The Russian State Forestry Agency, an autonomous 
agency formerly affiliated with MNRE but reassigned in June 2008 to 
the authority of the Ministry of Agriculture, is responsible for 
forestry management on land where logging is permitted.  MNRE 
oversees federally protected lands, where logging is banned.  If 
illegal logging takes place on federally protected lands, then law 
enforcement agencies must be involved. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment: There is already a wide range of ongoing and 
productive cooperation on environmental protection between our two 
countries at the working level.  MNRE's enthusiasm to begin 
 
MOSCOW 00000454  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
cooperation with the new U.S. administration is an encouraging 
contrast with the more cautiously optimistic attitude we have 
encountered at other GOR ministries responsible for environment, 
science, and health issues.  A written understanding would not only 
reaffirm our joint political commitment to environmental 
cooperation, but also advance projects that have been delayed and 
assist in launching new initiatives. 
 
BEYRLE