ITALY SHARES US CONCERNS OVER RISING TENSIONS IN

UNCLAS ROME 003115

SIPDIS


SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM PBTS MD IT UN
SUBJECT: ITALY SHARES US CONCERNS OVER RISING TENSIONS IN
MOLDOVA/TRANSNISTRIA

REF: STATE 169792


1. (SBU) On August 10, MFA Russia/NIS desk officer Lucia
Pasquilini told poloff that Italy supports a more active EU
role in addressing the growing tensions in
Moldova/Transnistria. Italy supported and awaits the
conclusions from EU Director General Cooper's fact finding
mission to Moldova August 9-10. She said that those
conclusions would be used as the basis for discussions, and
hopefully concrete actions, in Brussels. Italy supports a
visa ban which would bar travel by Transnistrian officials
directly involved in school closures. Pasquilini noted that
discussions in Brussels were focused on a separate ban to
deal with this issue specifically, rather than an extension
of the current ban on visas for those involved in the general
political situation.


2. (SBU) Pasquilini said that the EU had delivered a demarche
recently in Moscow to encourage a stronger Russian role in
solving the conflict. While there was no indication Moscow
intended to launch another "Kozak" plan which would shut out
the ongoing five-sided negotiations, she said it was unlikely
that Russia would agree to expand the negotiations, even for
a one-time high-level meeting, to include the EU and US in
the mediating process. Pasquilini said that Italy would
consider a joint US-EU demarche in Moscow to propose the idea
to the Russians.

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2004ROME03115 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED