US embassy cable - 05ALMATY3629

C O N F I D E N T I A L ALMATY 003629 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/CACEN (J. MUDGE), EUR/PRA (J. CONLON), NP/RA 
(C. EVANS) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/06/2015 
TAGS: PREL, KNNP, PARM, KZ, POLITICAL 
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: DEMARCHE ON PROPOSALS TO ENABLE CIVIL 
NUCLEAR COOPERATION WITH INDIA BY THE NUCLEAR SUPPLIERS' 
GROUP 
 
REF: A. STATE 166864 
 
     B. ALMATY 3454 
 
Classified By: Ambassador John Ordway, reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). 
 
1. (SBU) In a September 27 meeting with Foreign Minister 
Tokayev, Ambassador delivered Ref A demarche outlining U.S. 
support of India's pursuit of civilian nuclear energy in 
exchange for a stronger non-proliferation regime.  The United 
States, he continued, would like to raise this further with 
the Nuclear Suppliers Group in October. 
 
2. (SBU) Tokayev responded that he would brief the 
Kazakhstani Ambassador in Geneva, without further comment. 
 
3. (C) As reported Ref B, in a separate September 27 meeting 
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Vladimir Shkolnik 
questioned how providing nuclear fuel to India for civilian 
use would serve nonproliferation goals.  Any external fuel 
supplied for civilian purposes would free up an equivalent 
amount of domestically produced fuel for military purposes, 
thus undermining our nonproliferation goals.  He noted that 
Kazakhstan has in the past refused to sell India uranium for 
that exact reason.  Shkolnik said that he would ask the head 
of Kazakhstan's nuclear regulatory agency, Timur Zhantikin, 
to discuss this issue with U.S. experts at the IAEA in 
October. 
ORDWAY 
 
 
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