VZCZCXYZ0002
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSK #0102 0440905
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
R 130905Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY MINSK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6901
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 1827
RUEHBS/USMISSION USEU 0278
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK S E C R E T MINSK 000102 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
S/CT FOR S. GAIL ROBERTSON 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/08/2028 
TAGS:          
SUBJECT: CI/KR RESPONSE FOR S/CT: BELARUS 
 
REF: A. STATE 6461 
 
      B. 07 MINSK 743 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Karen Stewart for reason 1.4 (d,,e,f,g). 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
 1.  (C) Post believes three objects in Belarus meet the 
definition of critical infrastructure (ref A): the Druzhba 
oil pipeline, the gas pipelines, and the Sosniy nuclear 
research facility.  The USG actively engages Belarus to 
improve security at Sosniy.  End summary. 
 
Druzhba Oil Pipeline 
-------------------- 
 
 2.  (SBU) The Druzhba pipeline transports approximately 1.35 
million barrels of oil per day to Europe.  Under normal 
conditions the main recipients of oil shipped through 
Druzhba, Poland and Germany, store at least a two-month 
supply of oil reserves.  However, alternate spare pipeline 
capacity could not fully meet European demand in the event 
the Druzhba pipeline did not function. 
 
Yamal-Europe Gas Pipeline 
------------------------- 
 
 3.  (SBU) Russia supplies 44 billion cubic meters of gas to 
the EU via the Russian owned Yamal-Europe gas pipeline and 
the Beltransgaz pipeline.  Excess capacity through Ukraine 
could allow some supplies to be rerouted in the event of a 
disruption in Belarus, but significant economic damage to 
Europe would still occur in the event of a long-term 
disruption. 
 
Sosniy Nuclear Research Facility 
------------------------------- 
 
 4.  (S) Belarus' Joint Institute of Power and Nuclear 
Research, Sosniy, houses significant amounts of fissile 
material for research purposes and exhibits security lapses 
reminiscent of most Russian facilities a decade ago (ref B). 
U.S. Department of Energy teams have visited Sosniy regularly 
to plan an upgrade to the Material Protection, Control and 
Accounting System, and recent visits have explored the 
possibility of cooperation on creating the proper regulatory 
environment to better secure nuclear materials. 
STEWART