US embassy cable - 04BRASILIA2762

UNCLAS BRASILIA 002762 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KNNP, PARM, MNUC, BR, IAEA, Non-Proliferation 
SUBJECT: BRAZIL AND THE IAEA: AGREEMENT PENDING ON RESENDE 
NUCLEAR ENRICHMENT FACILITY 
 
REF: BRASILIA 2621 
 
1.  (SBU)  Reacting to press reports concerning preliminary 
IAEA approval to Brazil's proposed inspection regime at the 
Resende nuclear enrichment facility, Ministry of External 
Relations (MRE) Disarmament and Sensitive Technologies (DDS) 
Division Chief Santiago Mourao acknowledged that the reports 
sounded correct, although to his knowledge the GOB had yet to 
receive a formal reply from the IAEA approving the inspection 
regime. He anticipated such a response shortly. 
 
2.  (SBU)  Mourao again reiterated the routine and technical 
nature of the pending agreement on Resende, reminding poloff 
that Brazil already had IAEA safeguards agreements on 35 
other domestic nuclear facilities.  Many of the very 
technical issues at Resende, Mourao confessed, were 
understandable only by the experts.  Following months of 
intensive negotiations, the October IAEA visit to Resende, he 
understood, dealt primarily with mundane technical matters. 
Despite the overwhelming political attention, the GOB and the 
IAEA officials involved with the process were experienced 
enough to know how to reach closure.  Unfortunately, costs 
associated with such IAEA inspections have gone up 
substantially in recent years -- a problem both the GOB and 
the Agency recognized and are seeking to address, Mourao 
noted. 
 
Danilovich