US embassy cable - 04YEREVAN456

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 000456 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/CACEN, INR AND NP/SC 
DOE FOR NNSA DENNIS MEYERS 
DOE FOR CHARLES WASHINGTON 
NRC FOR JOHN RAMSEY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ENRG, KNNP, ECON, AM 
SUBJECT:  ARMENIAN NUCLEAR REGULATION IN FLUX 
 
REFS: A) STATE 22020  B) 02 STATE 256512 
 
1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect 
accordingly.  Not for internet distribution. 
 
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SUMMARY 
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2. (SBU) On February 18, 2004, we met with Ashot 
Martirosyan, the head of the Armenian Nuclear Regulatory 
Agency (ANRA) to encourage Armenia to commit to the IAEA 
Code of Conduct on Radioactive Sources (ref A), to follow up 
on concerns about the discovery of a radioactive source 
found by the customs service at the Iranian border, and to 
inquire about the status and of ANRA after its 
reorganization under the Ministry of Nature Protection 
(MNP)(ref B).  Martirosyan said that he believed that the 
government intended to commit in writing to the 
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Code of Conduct, 
confirmed that GOAM customs authorities found and seized an 
unregistered radioactive source (strontium 90) at the 
Iranian border crossing, and said that the status of ANRA 
has caused bureaucratic problems, especially in his 
cooperation with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
(NRC), but that a compromise resolution, again changing the 
status of ANRA, is forthcoming.  End Summary. 
 
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ANRA:  ARMENIA LIKELY TO COMMIT TO IAEA CODE OF CONDUCT 
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3. (SBU) Martirosyan told us that he expected Armenia to 
make a political commitment, in the form of a letter to the 
IAEA Director general, that the government is working toward 
following the Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of 
Radioactive Sources (ref A).  Mr. Martirosyan responding to 
Secretary Powell's letter urging Armenia to commit, said 
 
SIPDIS 
that there "had been a lot of talk recently" that led him to 
believe that Armenia would commit. 
 
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ARMENIAN CUSTOMS FINDS RADIOACTIVE SOURCE AT IRANIAN BORDER 
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4. (SBU) Martirosyan confirmed recent press reports that 
customs officers found and seized a radioactive source 
(strontium 90) at the Iranian border crossing.  The source 
was in a pile of scrap metal being exported from Armenia. 
Border guards found the metallic container of the source 
badly damaged and the major part of the material absent. 
Martirosyan said that the source is now in the radioactive 
waste storage facility (RADON).  He added that this source 
had not been registered in Armenia:  he has contacted the 
Russian Federation for information about its origin. 
According to Martirosyan, ANRA has been involved since the 
discovery of the source and has also sent a report to IAEA. 
(Note:  For a copy of the IAEA report or photographs of the 
source, e-mail Econoff at gudiet@state.gov.  End Note.) 
 
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ANRA'S STATUS STILL IN FLUX 
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5. (SBU) While Martirosyan claims that ANRA's placement 
under the Ministry of Nature Protection (MNP) is temporary, 
ANRA remains in the same limbo that it was in a year ago. 
Martirosyan claimed that his office had been moved under the 
MNP due to a government decision that no agencies would 
report directly to the prime minister.  (Note:  This 
decision was ostensibly part of an overall effort to 
consolidate government.  End Note.)  He acknowledged that 
the ANRA's current status violates Armenia's Atomic Law, but 
added that it had been a temporary measure.  The Minister of 
Nature Protection has asked him to draw up a plan that would 
give ANRA a legal status (probably as committee) that would 
have more autonomy than an inspectorate.  He said that 
President Kocharian is aware of ANRA's shaky status and that 
they would discuss proposals for a solution "in the coming 
days."  He did not seem optimistic that ANRA would 
completely regain its former independent status. 
 
6. (SBU) In a separate, informal meeting February 23, Dr. 
Aram Gevorgyan, Head of Department of Atomic Energy, 
Ministry of Energy, said that ANRA would not change status. 
He said that at a meeting about the future of ANRA, 
President Kocharian asked Martirosyan when the last time 
Martirosyan had met with the Prime Minister.  When the 
latter replied "1998," Kocharian noted that ANRA probably 
had better access to the government under the MNP than it 
did before.  Comment:  It's been more than one year since 
Martirosyan last told us that the government would soon 
consider proposals to resolve ANRA's status (ref B). 
Martirosyan gave us no reason to believe that a resolution 
is around the corner, and Gevorgyan strongly implied that 
moving ANRA again is a non-starter for the government at 
this time.  End Comment. 
 
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ANRA'S STATUS CAUSES BUREAUCRATIC PROBLEMS 
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7. (SBU) Speaking about the effects of ANRA's status, 
Martirosyan cited two legal problems:  ANRA cannot negotiate 
directly with assistance providers, like the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Agency (NRC), and ANRA's legal mandate is far 
narrower than its necessary activities.  ANRA's status does 
not allow it to sign on its own behalf a Memorandum of 
Cooperation with the NRC.  (Note:  Martirosyan told us that 
the U.S. position is that the NRC memorandum of cooperation 
can only be established with its counterpart regulatory 
agency and not with a ministry.  End Note.)  According to 
Martirosyan, this has held up important assistance programs 
coming from the United States.  Another legal problem stems 
from ANRA's official status as an inspectorate.  Although he 
claims everyone is currently ignoring this legal conflict, 
an inspectorate is empowered only to make inspections and 
impose sanctions, but cannot wield regulatory authority. 
ANRA has nevertheless carried on the same functions as 
before: licensing and setting requirements through norms and 
regulations.  Martirosyan told us he did not feel that he 
had lost control over substantive issues of regulation. 
 
8. (SBU) ANRA has recently experienced other administrative 
difficulties:  the transfer to MNP put the staff in lower 
pay brackets, and ANRA now has a hard time recruiting and 
retaining its staff.  According to Martirosyan, seven of 
their 26 positions are vacant, and three current employees 
intend to leave.  Head of ANRA's Nuclear Information and 
Foreign Affairs Section, Vladimir Kurghinyan, told us he 
intended to leave to take a position for IAEA in Vienna. 
Kurghinyan added that it was difficult to recruit capable 
new people because the organization's new status lacked 
prestige and qualified candidates did not want to take the 
civil service exam. 
 
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MARTIROSYAN FLUNKS OUT 
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9. (SBU) Not least of ANRA's staffing worries is the 
precarious position of Martirosyan himself.  Because ANRA is 
under the MNP, employees are subject the Civil Service Law 
which requires that all civil servants pass the civil 
service exam.  Martirosyan explained that he failed the 
exam, which covers only the provision of the civil service 
law and nothing about nuclear regulation.  Having failed the 
exam, MNP had to fire Martirosyan from the Civil Service, 
but they have retained him in his same position as a 
contractor because, he said, no qualified civil servant has 
sought the position. 
 
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COMMENT 
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10. (SBU) Martirosyan is clearly concerned about the ongoing 
changes in his agency.  While he believes that ANRA's status 
within the bureaucracy will change, he seemed unconvinced 
that ANRA would again become an independent agency. 
Martirosyan has not lost substantive control over the 
agency's responsibilities, but ANRA's legal limbo has 
created bureaucratic problems that influence ANRA's work in 
concrete ways, not least by holding up USG Assistance and 
making it difficult to recruit and retain staff. 
Martirosyan was grateful for U.S. expressions of concern 
about the GOAM decision, and remained keen to resolve the 
status of ANRA so that he could address pressing concerns of 
staff problems and his own tenure. 
ORDWAY