GEORGIAN GOVERNMENT INFORMED ON NEXT STEP REGARDING SUKHUMI RADIOACTIVE SOURCES

CONFIDENTIAL C O N F I D E N T I A L TBILISI 002172 C O R R E C T E D COPY -- ADDED CLASSIFIED BY STATEMENT SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/21/2018 TAGS: KNNP, PARM, PGOV, PREL, GR, GG SUBJECT: GEORGIAN GOVERNMENT INFORMED ON NEXT STEP REGARDING SUKHUMI RADIOACTIVE SOURCES REF: A. 11/18/08 CARCANI-O'BRIEN EMAIL B. B. TBILISI 02085 Classified By: Ambassador John F. Tefft for reasons 1.4(B) and (D) 1. (C) As requested by the Department (se ref A), on November 21, PolOffs and Brent Eastman (ISN/WDMT) called on Giorgi Dolidze, MFA's Deputy Director of the Security Policy and Euro-Atlantic Integration Department, and Nestan Bejanishvili, Third Secretary of the same department. They informed Dolidze and Bejanishvili that the U.S. government, via Embassy Moscow, intends to approach the Russian government to confirm that the four high-level radioactive sources remain in Sukhumi and to request an update on the status of the sources. PolOffs further advised Dolidze and Bejanishvili that we would provide them with Russia's answers after this first step is accomplished, and based on Russia's response, we would discuss next steps. Dolidze supported this approach as the most appropriate way forward, and he said would inform his leadership of our discussion. He said that the Georgian government seeks the removal of these high-level radioactive sources from Sukhumi (ref B), and he offered his personal view that moving them to Russia is a better option than to the storage facility in Mtskheta. TEFFT