US embassy cable - 05PARIS2349

S E C R E T PARIS 002349 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO NP/ECNP, NEA/ARP, EUR, PM/WRA, AND 
EAP/CM. 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/07/2015 
TAGS: PARM, PREL, MASS, ETTC, FR, YE 
SUBJECT: (S) FRENCH APPLAUD YEMENI STEPS TO CURB SA/LW 
PROLIFERATION 
 
REF: SECSTATE 60618 
 
Classified By: Political Minister/Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt 
for Reasons 1.4(b) and (d). 
 
1.  (S) Reftel points were delivered to Small Arms/Light 
Weapons (SA/LW) action officer, Jean-Francois Guillaume in 
the MFA's Bureau of Strategic Affairs on April 4.  In a 
follow-up conversation on April 6, Guillaume told poloff that 
France is glad to see that Yemen, a country notorious for its 
abundance of SA/LW, appears to be taking the issue more 
seriously.  He said that information on recent changes to 
Yemen's regulations, especially those concerning the validity 
of end-user certificates, would be forwarded to the French 
Commission for Export Control of Armaments and to the French 
Embassy in Sana'a.  He added, however, that France does not 
deal in small arms to the extent that countries like Germany 
and the Czech Republic do, and that such information would be 
more pertinent to them.  He also warned that Sudan, given its 
proximity to Yemen and its growing capacity as an arms 
producer, is well poised to benefit if there is a black 
market arms vacuum for SA/LW. 
 
2.  (C) Guillaume said that an official public statement from 
Yemen addressing their new attitude towards the proliferation 
of SA/LW would serve to put pressure on other countries 
(notably Egypt) who are blocking SA/LW initiatives.  He said 
that there are several opportunities at upcoming seminars on 
SA/LW that would serve as excellent fora for such a statement. 
 
3.  (U) Dushanbe minimize considered. 
LEACH