date:2005-04-14T02:53:00
source:Embassy Wellington
origin:05WELLINGTON310
destination:This record is a partial extract of the original cable.
The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L WELLINGTON 000310

SIPDIS

EAP/ANP - THOMAS RAMSEY
NP, T, L, EUR, EAP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/14/2015
TAGS: KNNP, MNUC, PARM, PREL, PHSA, EWWT, PGOV, NZ
SUBJECT: NEW ZEALAND RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR SUPPORT FOR
U.S. NONPROLIFERATION AMENDMENTS TO THE SUA CONVENTION

REF: A. STATE 66179
B. WELLINGTON 293

Classified By: Pol-Econ Counselor Katherine B. Hadda
for reasons 1.4 B and D

1. (C) Pol-Econ Counselor on April 13 passed talking points
(Ref A) to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Legal
Division's Deputy Director Caroline Bilkey and new Legal
Advisor Gerard Van Bohemen. Van Bohemen will formally start
his position in June and will lead the New Zealand delegation
to next week's SUA talks.

2. (C) On April 14, Van Bohemen reported they had read the
demarche and appreciated our attention to their position (ref
B). They continue to support the Canadian text because they
think it enables signatories to maintain their own
Non-proliferation Treaty policies. They are also not
convinced that the Canadian text is less ambiguous than the
alternate, France/UK/U.S. version. That being said, Van
Bohemen added he did not think there was a large gap between
the two texts, and he looked forward to working with us to
narrow our differences. He also reiterated that New Zealand
remained opposed to reopening other portions of the text, and
he hoped for a productive session next week. Van Boheman
leaves for London on April 15.
Burnett