US embassy cable - 05PARIS89

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 000089 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NP; UNVIE FOR IAEA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/05/2015 
TAGS: PARM, AORC, PREL, FR, IAEA 
SUBJECT: IAEA: FRANCE HAS NOT TAKEN A DECISION ON A THIRD 
TERM FOR IAEA DG ELBARADEI 
 
REF: A) 2004 STATE 270920 B) 2004 BERLIN 4278 
 
Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt, reason 1 
.4 b/d 
 
1. (C) In the absence of MFA DAS-equivalent director for 
disarmament issues Francois Richier, we presented reftel 
demarche December 21 to the desk officer covering the office 
during the holidays.  On January 5, we met with Richier's 
deputy, Veronique Vouland-Aneini, who voiced skepticism that 
IAEA Director General ElBaradei could be prevented from 
pursuing a third term as DG.  She noted that France does not 
believe that Geneva Group policy on term limits applies (also 
see ref B).  She observed that the issue of a third term for 
ElBaradei is a political decision, while the Geneva Group's 
focus is on financial issues.  Technically, the IAEA is not a 
UN agency, which is another reason why the two-term limit 
does not come into play, she added.  On a more practical 
level, Vouland reminded us that no other candidates had 
surfaced prior to the December 31st deadline for nominations. 
 The MFA was therefore unclear how the United States could 
envision an alternate candidate emerging before the June IAEA 
meeting or whether we could muster sufficient support to 
block ElBaradei's own candidacy. 
 
2. (C) Despite these reservations, Vouland stressed that 
France has not/not yet decided how to handle ElBaradei's 
request for a third term.  While France has not taken a 
position, it plans to factor in the views of other Europeans, 
she added.  In response to our prodding, she said that the 
British might object to a third term, but that they likely 
would not want to maintain that position if other Europeans 
took the opposite view.  When pressed further, she said Spain 
may have decided to support ElBaradei, but she wasn't 
certain.  Vouland agreed to keep us informed as the French 
position is finalized. 
Leach