GOI AGREES ON NEED TO COORDINATE "STEP BY

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 002137 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/13/2013 TAGS: PREL EU BO OSCE SUBJECT: GOI AGREES ON NEED TO COORDINATE "STEP BY STEP"/BENCHMARKS PROCESS FOR BELARUS REF: A) STATE 11642 B) MINSK 690 CLASSIFIED BY: POL MINISTER COUNSELOR TOM COUNTRYMAN. REASON: 1.5 (B)( D) ¶1. (C) MFA RUSSIA OFFICE DIRECTOR ROSA ANNA CONIGLIO SAID THAT POINTS REFTEL, WHICH POLOFF ORIGINALLY DELIVERED MAY 6, WERE USED AS FOOD FOR THOUGHT AT THE EU COEST MEETING (AT 25) IN BRUSSELS THE FOLLOWING DAY. SHE SAID THAT ALL EU MEMBERS AND ASPIRANTS AGREED - THE US "STEP BY STEP" AND EU BENCHMARKS PROCESSES WILL BE FAR MORE EFFECTIVE IF COORDINATION CONTINUES. THE GOI AGREES THAT THE US AND EU MUST CONTINUE TO "KEEP THE PRESSURE ON" THE LUKASHENKO REGIME TO ENACT REAL, VERIFIABLE REFORMS. EXCEPT FOR SOME MOVEMENT ON SECONDMENT OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICER AT THE OSCE MISSION, THUS FAR THERE HAS BEEN NO PROGRESS, ONLY RHETORIC, FROM THE GOB. ¶2. (C) CONIGLIO WONDERED IF NEWLY APPOINTED FM MARTYNOV, WHO HAS WORKED ON NATO AND EU ISSUES AND "KNOWS THE SCORE," REPRESENTED AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PROGRESS; A SIGNAL THAT THIS TIME MINSK WAS SINCERE IN ITS DESIRE TO REFORM. POLOFF NOTED THAT MARTYNOV HAD AGREED IN PRINCIPLE, IN A LETTER TO THE SECRETARY AND MEETING WITH EU PRESIDENCY REPRESENTATIVES, TO SIPDIS THE "STEP BY STEP" AND BENCHMARKS PROCESSES. HOWEVER, RECENT, CONTINUED GOB EFFORTS TO CRUSH FREE EXPRESSION AND THE WORK OF NGOS (REF B) IS A DISTURBING SIGN THAT THE HARD-LINERS REMAIN THE DECISION MAKERS IN MINSK. CONIGLIO AGREED. THERE COULD BE NO NEGOTIATION, EVEN WITH MARTYNOV, ONLY DIALOGUE. ITALY WILL PUSH FOR LANGUAGE IN THE UPCOMING EU TROIKA STATEMENT ON BELARUS TO REFLECT JUST SUCH AN APPROACH. SEMBLER NNNN 2003ROME02137 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL