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100723 MDLIAN 4834
WOULD, IN PRACTICE, MAKE THE MINIMUM POSSIBLE USE OF AN EMBARGO, AND WOULD CERTAINLY NOT USE IT AS A GENERAL DEVICE TO WITHHOLD INFORMATION FROM THE PUBLIC. THEY SUGGESTED THAT CAREFUL DRAFTING COULD RESOLVE THE PROBLEM.
7. LATE ON THE LAST DAY, THEY PRESENTED A NEW COUNTER-PROPOSAL (COPY BY FAX), WHICH, IN THEIR VIEW, MET OUR CONCERNS. IT DOES NOT EXPLICITLY MENTION CONFIDENTIALITY, BUT INSTEAD COMMITS BOTH SIDES TO ABIDE STRICTLY BY ARTICLE 5(3) OF THE IAEA CONVENTION ON EARLY NOTIFICATION OF NUCLEAR ACCIDENT, WHICH STATES THAT QUOTE INFORMATION MAY BE USED WITHOUT RESTRICTION, EXCEPT WHEN SUCH INFORMATION IS PROVIDED IN CONFIDENCE BY THE NOTIFYING STATE PARTY UNQUOTE. THEY REITERATED THAT, WITHOUT A CONFIDENTIALITY GUARANTEE, THEY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO ENTER INTO ANY MEANINGFUL DISCUSSIONS WITH US ON ON-SITE MATTERS. WE CLOSED BY AGREEING, WITHOUT COMMITMENT, TO STUDY THEIR NEW PROPOSAL. THEY SAID THAT THEY WOULD LOOK FORWARD TO QUOTE A POSITIVE RESPONSE UNQUOTE FROM US, AND THAT A NEW ROUND OF TALKS COULD BE SET UP ONCE THEY RECEIVED SUCH A RESPONSE.
COMMENT.
8.
THE AGREEMENT ON IMMEDIATE NOTIFICATION IS A WELCOME STEP FORWARD. WE THINK THAT THE GUANGDONG SIDE, PROBABLY PROMPTED BY CHEN AND WANG BEHIND THE SCENES, HAS SHOWN SOME WILLINGNESS TO MOVE, AND TO REACH AGREEMENT WITH US. BUT THE QUESTION OF CONFIDENTIALITY REMAINS AN OBSTACLE. WE ARE NOW CAREFULLY CONSIDERING THE ISSUE AND WILL LET YOU KNOW ONCE WE HAVE WORKED OUT PROPOSALS ON THE WAY FORWARD. IN THE MEANTIME, WE WOULD WELCOME YOUR VIEWS.
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