NATO ASSISTED RUSSIA IN ITS SEARCH FOR THE MISSING SHIP "ARCTIC SEA"

CONFIDENTIAL C O N F I D E N T I A L USNATO 000355 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/18/2019 TAGS: NATO, PREL, EWWT, PHSA, MOPS, MCAP, RS SUBJECT: NATO ASSISTED RUSSIA IN ITS SEARCH FOR THE MISSING SHIP "ARCTIC SEA" Classified By: Charge Kate Byrnes. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d) 1. (C) Following comments by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen at the August 19 meeting of the North Atlantic Council that he had been asked by Russia to assist in the strange case of the missing Russian ship "Arctic Sea," Poloffs met with NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General Robert Simmons to discuss the case. Simmons confirmed that Russian Ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin had approached the Alliance to request assistance in locating the missing ship. After conferring with Allied Maritime Component Command Headquarters Northwood (MCC Northwood), the NATO International Staff had passed location information to the Russian Mission concerning the position of the "Arctic Sea" on August 13 and 14. Simmons was unable to comment on whether NATO's information had been crucial to Russia's ability to eventually locate the ship, noting that he was not in a position to determine whether nations had supplied Russia bilaterally with useful information. Nevertheless, Rogozin had responded by writing a letter of personal thanks to NATO for its assistance. BYRNES