VZCZCXYZ0031
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHUNV #0433/01 2651254
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 221254Z SEP 09
FM USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0079
INFO RHMFISS/HQ AFTAC PATRICK AFB FL
RHEBAAA/DOE WASHDC
RUEKJCS/CJCS WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L UNVIE VIENNA 000433 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR ISN/MNSA, VCI/NA, L/ACV, IO/GS, IO/UNP 
DOE FOR NN-40 
JCS FOR J5/DDIN 
SECDEF FOR OSD/ISP, ATSD/NCB/NT AND DTRA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/21/2019 
TAGS: AORC KTBT PARM
SUBJECT: PC-600: U.S. DELEGATION DISCUSSES POSSIBLE JOINT 
PROJECTS WITH CTBTO 
 
Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION GEOFFREY PYATT FOR 
 REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. An interagency delegation from Washington 
met with officials from the Provisional Technical Secretariat 
(PTS) of the Preparatory Commission (PrepCom) for the 
Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) in 
Vienna to discuss prospective funding issues and PTS 
priorities.  PTS Executive Secretary Tibor Toth, 
estimated the PTS would need 85 million dollars in 
 
extrabudgetary support through 2013.  In the event that 
additional U.S. funding becomes available for the PTS, the 
U.S. delegation requested the PTS provide a prioritized list 
of projects or areas in which supplementary funding is needed 
or would be helpful to CTBTO operations.  During two days of 
meetings, the PTS's three technical divisions briefed the 
U.S. delegation on areas in which additional U.S. funding 
could improve the PTS's operational capabilities.  A common 
theme among the three divisions was the need for Cost Free 
Experts (CFE), an area where the U.S. is uniquely suited to 
provide support.  The OSI Division was widely recognized as 
needing the most support, and the OSI Division Director 
cautioned that we and the CTBTO need to be careful in 
describing the OSI Division as "ready" for entry-into-force, 
especially if EIF is sooner rather than later.  The 
delegation was also able to meet with the newly installed 
Chief of the Legal and External Affairs Division and the 
Procurement Division who emphasized that the May 2010 Review 
Conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty will be 
the "litmus test" to see what progress is possible in 
convincing Middle East states to ratify the CTBT and gaining 
cooperation on nuclear issues in general.  END SUMMARY 
 
¶2. (SBU) UNVIE Mission Counselor opened the meeting by 
stating that the U.S. sees this meeting as the beginning of a 
conversation, not the final meeting on these topics.  He made 
very clear that the U.S. goal was to gather information on 
PTS priorities and hear what the PTS believes is needed, but 
that the U.S. is not in a position to promise any additional 
monetary support or assistance at this time.  Further, the 
delegation warned the PTS that the U.S. is unlikely to ratify 
the CTBT before the May 2010 Review Conference for the 
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; and that there are a number 
of issues that need to be addressed before attempting 
ratification.  PTS Executive Secretary Ambassador Tibor Toth 
thanked the delegation for initiating the meeting, but warned 
that the PTS combines technical and political issues, so 
messages are important.  The messages coming from the new 
U.S. administration are "inspiring," and everyone is 
listening carefully, so the statements that the U.S. makes on 
CTBT ratification efforts will have an effect on others. 
Ambassador Toth reminded the delegation of the progress the 
PTS has made since 2000, with the number of certified 
monitoring stations increasing from zero to almost 250 today, 
and made a point of highlighting and thanking the U.S. for 
having 90% of its stations certified ) the highest of any 
nuclear weapons state and among the highest percentage 
overall.  However, he continued by noting that the easy parts 
are over, and where we are going are the "challenges" of 
making sure ratifications are secured. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Turning to funding issues, Ambassador Toth told the 
delegation that there is a "limit to being able to skirt the 
budgeting rules," but that they must be cognizant of the 
international economic situation and not expect too much 
additional support.  Even with all payments, he said it is 
clear that the PTS needs a "force multiplier" in the form of 
experts, cooperation, equipment, expertise, etc., not just 
from the U.S. but from others.  For example, the European 
Union has been providing some support, but the level is low. 
The PTS has estimated that it needs 85 million dollars in 
extrabudgetary support through 2013.  For the purposes of 
this meeting, the PTS used the 2009-2013 Medium Term Plan and 
a priority list of "must-do" activities to determine areas 
that would benefit from additional U.S. resources. 
Ambassador Toth ended the initial session by reminding the 
U.S. delegation of the need for the U.S., among others, to 
pay its arrears, not just as a financial obligation, but as a 
political commitment. 
 
TECHNICAL DIVISION WISH LIST 
---------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The delegation met separately with the three 
 
technical divisions of the PTS ) the International 
Monitoring System (IMS) Division, the International Data 
Centre (IDC) Division, and the On-Site Inspection (OSI) 
Division.  Each Division presented the delegation with a list 
of projects, activities, and needs that would benefit from 
additional U.S. financial support.  The U.S. delegation asked 
that each Division rank each list in priority order, and 
provide information on the current situation and how 
additional funding would help improve each area.  A common 
theme among the three divisions was the need for Cost Free 
Experts (CFE), an area where the U.S. is uniquely suited to 
provide support.  The three divisions identified a total of 
more than twenty-five areas that could benefit from U.S. 
expertise.  The requests were provided to the delegation in 
hard copy. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The IMS Division provided the delegation with eight 
projects that are viewed as needing either U.S. financial 
assistance or CFEs.  These projects included: noble gas 
station maintenance and support for existing stations 
(250,000 dollars annually, plus one CFE); logistics support 
(one CFE); additional U.S. funding for auxiliary seismic 
stations that have a relationship with the United States 
Geological Survey, Incorporated Research Institutions for 
Seismology, or the International Deployment of Accelerometers 
network (1,000,000 dollars initially; 250,000 dollars 
annually; and the equivalent  of one-quarter of a CFE); major 
repairs and equipment replacement (five million dollars over 
five years); technology development (21 million dollars over 
5-10 years); development of an off-site disaster recovery 
solutions for the PTS (5 million dollars); funding for the 
additional IMS stations that have yet to begin construction 
(various costs); and funding to install additional noble gas 
detection systems as Cooperative National Facilities (1 
million dollars per station plus 3 CFEs).  Most of these 
projects are long-term IMS development priorities that will 
support and improve the ability of the CTBTO to monitor for 
nuclear tests. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The IDC Division had a number of areas that could 
benefit from CFEs, including in areas of capacity building 
for personnel training for National Data Centres, a 
radionuclide spectra analyst, a software testing expert, a 
software documentation expert, and 10 data analysts that 
could assist in data mining and support of data collection. 
Most of these positions were indicated to be one year 
positions, focused on radionuclide spectra analysis and 
training for permanent CTBTO experts.  No cost estimate was 
given for the CFEs. 
 
¶7. (C) The OSI Division was widely recognized as needing the 
most support, and the Director cautioned that we and the 
CTBTO need to be careful in describing the OSI Division as 
"ready" for entry-into-force, especially if EIF is sooner 
rather than later.  This division identified 9 CFE positions: 
a radionuclide expert, a multispectral imagery export, a 
geophysicist, a health and radiation safety officer, a 
logistics expert, a contracting and services expert, two 
training officials and an operations analyst.  The OSI 
Division also provided a list of items that are necessary for 
a full set of equipment.  The OSI Division estimates that in 
order to meet its 2013 readiness goals, some 10 million 
extrabudgetary dollars worth of equipment is necessary.  In 
addition, the OSI Division intends to host a second 
Integrated Field Exercise to test the On-Site Inspection team 
abilities; they estimate that an additional six million 
dollars will be necessary to fund this exercise.  The OSI 
Director was quite frank about the needs of the Division, and 
the fact that the Division is lagging behind the two 
technical Divisions in terms of readiness.  He also 
emphasized that what is needed are true experts, and most of 
these can come only from the P-5 states. 
 
¶8. (C) The On-Site Inspection Division Director, a Russian, 
stepped out of his role as CTBTO employee and stated that he 
was "putting on his P-5" hat to discuss the CTBT in general. 
He said he had been at the negotiating table in Geneva during 
the initial negotiations of the CTBT, and thinks that 
cooperation and coordination among the P-5 is necessary in 
order to achieve EIF.  We need similar ideas of what to do 
specifically in an OSI situation, and also need an 
agreed-upon activities-not-prohibited list that may need to 
be updated and discussed among Russia, China, and the U.S. 
 
CTBT IN THE CONTEXT OF THE 2010 NPT REVCON 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶9. (SBU) The delegation also met with the external relations 
branch and with a broader section of the secretariat after 
meeting with the technical divisions.  These branches drove 
home the point that the May 2010 Review Conference on the 
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty will be the "litmus test" to 
see what progress is possible in convincing Middle East 
states to ratify the CTBT and gaining cooperation on nuclear 
issues in general.  They also warned the delegation that if 
North Korea was the last country to sign and ratify the CTBT, 
it may empower the DPRK so the issue should be dealt with as 
part of a nuclear package.  This could also be true for Iran. 
 In parting, all in attendance thanked the U.S. delegation 
for their support and attention, and emphasized again the 
importance of the NPT Review Conference.  The U.S. delegation 
again stated that there is no guarantee of any additional 
support, but that we will study their requests carefully and 
follow up with the CTBTO. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Participants: 
    U.S.: 
    - Robert Blum (DOS/ISN) 
    - Theodore Bowyer (DOE/PNNL) 
    - Michael Elbert (OSD/ATSD) 
    - Whitney Raas (DOS/VCI) 
    - Eric Sandberg (UNVIE) 
    - Michele Smith (DOE/NNSA) 
 
    PTS: 
    - Ambassador Tibor Toth, Executive Secretary 
    - Genxin Li, Director, Legal and External 
      Relations Division 
    - Boris Kvok, Director, On-Site Inspection 
      Division 
    - Federico Guendel, Director, International 
      Monitoring System Division 
    - John Coyne, Acting Director, International 
      Data Centre Division 
 
DAVIES