Directives for the Soviet Delegation to the Session of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (14-21 June 1966)

Per Point 16, Prot. No. 6^[1]

Top Secret

Directives

for the Soviet delegation to the session of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency

(14-21 June 1966).

In the case that issues will be touched on at the Board of Governors about the participation of the IAEA in the development an treaty by Latin American countries on the declaration of a Latin American non-nuclear zone and the use of the IAEA as a control mechanism for the observance of such an treaty, the delegation is to proceed from the following:

1. The participation of the IAEA in the development of a treaty about a Latin American non-nuclear zone by way of providing consultations or some other method is allowable only to the extent that it is compatible with the provisions of the Agency’s charter. Taking into account that the leadership of the IAEA Secretariat is in the hands of the West, the Soviet delegation must speak out against this, such that any participation of this kind is accomplished by means of granting the General Director and the IAEA Secretariat the right to designate experts for consultations to Latin American countries and to proffer conclusions on drafts developed by these countries. Motivate our position by the fact that this exceeds the functions laid out in the IAEA charter for Secretariat personnel and its head. Proceed on the premise that in the case that Latin American countries appeal for consultations, there is one path before the Board of Governors per the IAEA charter: to create, in accordance with Article VI-I of the Charter, a group of experts from the representatives of the Agency member-states for consultations of the Latin American countries on issues pertaining to the IAEA activities in the area of safeguards. Add that the group of experts should be formed on the basis of equal representation from socialist, non-aligned, and Western countries.

2. The use of the IAEA for monitoring nuclear facilities and fissile materials in Latin American countries can take place only by way of implemention by the Agency of functions laid upon it per the Charter and should not flow from the provisions of any treaty about a non-nuclear zone in Latin America. In case of the promotion of proposals to lay obligations on the IAEA in this regard, which go beyond the present functions of the Agency, declare that the expansion of these functions would contradict the Charter. Keep in mind in this case that, in general, the use of the IAEA to monitor a non-nuclear zone in Latin America is not advantageous for us since that may create a precedent for conferring monitoring functions on the Agency and the possible creation of non-nuclear zones in other regions of the world in the future. For these reasons, it is not expedient for us to get caught up in a discussion within the framework of the IAEA on the substance of the issue of creating a Latin American non-nuclear zone.

Along with this, the Soviet delegation should not speak out against the use of a document on IAEA safeguards (INFCIRC/66) by Latin American countries in developing the text of a treaty.

3. Inform the representatives of other socialist country-members of the IAEA (except Albania) of our position, for which a meeting in Vienna of socialist countries should be held two to three days before the opening of the session of the Board of Governors.

^[1] Translator’s Note: The following information is extracted from Protocol No. 6 of the CPSU CC Politburo meeting, finalized on 11 June 1966 and covering numerous resolutions made during 29 May to 11 June 1966. A number of decisions were made during the meeting and listed in numbered points.