US embassy cable - 05ATHENS2810

C O N F I D E N T I A L ATHENS 002810 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR EUR/SE, PM, AND EUR/RPM - HOVENIER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/26/2015 
TAGS: PREL, MARR, GR, CY, CYPRUSARMS 
SUBJECT: GREECE DRAWING UP PLANS TO RESOLVE CYPRUS ARMS 
CONCERNS 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Charles P. Ries for Reasons 1.4(b/d) 
 
1.  (C)   Summary.  Greece is preparing a proposal to resolve 
U.S. concerns about illegal transfers of U.S.-origin 
equipment to Cyprus, according to the Foreign Minister and 
DCHOD.  Ambassador and embassy officers have made clear that 
the U.S. bottom line for any resolution is that it must 
unequivocally correct the violations of American law.  End 
Summary. 
 
2.  (C)  In an October 27 meeting with Ambassador, FM 
Molyviatis raised the Cyprus arms issue, saying that he 
understood the Hellenic National Defense General Staff would 
be briefing Embassy DATT on a proposal to bring the current 
situation into line with U.S. law.  Ambassador thanked 
Molyviatis for keeping this issue on his scope, and urging 
the Greek military to develop steps to deal with the illegal 
presence of U.S.-origin equipment on Cyprus.  Embassy and 
U.S. officials visiting Athens have repeatedly pressed Greek 
officials to address U.S. concerns about the continued 
illegal presence on Cyprus of U.S.-origin military hardware. 
In conversations with Ministry of Defense and Foreign Affairs 
officials involved in bilateral relations and procurement 
issues, we have been emphasizing that failure to address this 
issue would affect bilateral cooperation. 
 
3.  (C)  In an October 27 meeting with DATT, DCHOD Lt. Gen. 
Stylianos Panagopoulos said Greece was in the final stages of 
coordination of a proposal that would address U.S. legal 
concerns.  Already, Papagopoulos said, the most capable U.S. 
systems were completely under Greek control.  The Greek plan 
under consideration would put the remaining equipment into a 
status similar to U.S. prepositioning, in controlled storage 
under some form of Greek guard for use only in the event of 
need.  This proposal still needed to be approved at the 
political level, including by PM Karamanlis.  Hopefully, 
Panagopoulos said, this process would be complete by 
Wednesday, November 3. 
 
4.  (C)  Comment:  We have consistently told our 
interlocutors that, while we understand the political 
implications of this issue for the Greek government, the 
bottom line for any resolution of this issue must be that it 
unequivocally accord with U.S. law.  The ideal solution 
clearly would be the removal of this equipment from the 
island.  This may not be politically feasible for the 
government, however.  A Greek plan that conforms with U.S. 
law through repositioning the equipment under Greek 
operational control (with an effective means for U.S. 
verification) would be preferable to the remaining 
destabilizing alternatives: an increase in the number of 
Greek troops on the island, or the replacement of U.S. 
weapons with more capable, third-country systems. 
RIES