RUSSIA/UKRAINE/EU - ANGRY PUTIN, FIRM EU AGREE AT

C O N F I D E N T I A L THE HAGUE 003094

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/25/2014
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR UP NL EUN RU
SUBJECT: RUSSIA/UKRAINE/EU - ANGRY PUTIN, FIRM EU AGREE AT
LEAST: "NO VIOLENCE"


Classified By: DCM Daniel Russel for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: At the Russia-EU Summit in The Hague
November 24, an "angry, aggressive" President Putin demanded
Ukrainian law should dictated the outcome and rejected EU
interest in finding a political solution as unwarranted and
unnecessary. Drawing on OSCE election monitoring
conclusions, Dutch PM Balkenende, representing the EU
Presidency, warned Putin that the "future EU-Ukrainian
relationship would depend on the quality of democracy in
Ukraine." According to the Dutch DepPolDir Herman Schaper
(who debriefed A/S Jones by phone),Putin characterized
Yuschenko in the meeting as a US pawn. At the press
conference, the leaders spoke of an "excellent meeting" that
made some progress in the four "Common Spaces," but the
EU-Russia working agenda was clearly overshadowed by serious
disagreement over Ukraine. End Summary.


2. (C) The DCM spoke with two EU DCMs on November 26, who
reported that Tony van der Togt (MFA Eastern Europe Director)
had debriefed EU COMs late November 24 along with lines of
Schaper's readout to A/S Jones. PM Balkenende told Putin
that Ukraine's CEC announcement did not reflect the will of
the people and the EU cannot accept the outcome. Putin
disagreed, saying it was not up to outsiders to validate the
results. Putin argued for a solution within the
constitutional framework of Ukraine, using dialogue and
consultation.


3. (C) Balkenende argued for a political solution to the
crisis, also urging consultation and dialogue among the
parties. Putin rejected a political approach, saying that
the laws of Ukraine cannot be replaced by a political
process. He reportedly acknowledged that "mistakes were
made" but these did not invalidate the results, according to
the CIS report he cited.


4. (U) Balkenende, Barosso and Solana held a joint press
conference with Putin after the Summit, where they first
spelled out the progress on the "four Common Spaces," the
most concrete being the expansion of the Agreement on
Partnership and Cooperation (PCA) with new EU Member States,
the beginning of the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol,
agreement on intensified trade and mutual investment,
fighting terrorism, and the establishment of a European
Training institute in Moscow. On Ukraine, Putin took
exception to Balkenende's insistence that the EU could not
accept the outcome of elections and had a right to "confirm
that the rules of democracy are working properly." Putin
said that the EU did not have right to "interfere from the
outside" with Ukraine's electoral process.


5. (C) MFA Ukraine/Belarus Desk Off Daniel Melchers told
the Acting Polcouns November 26 that Dutch Envoy Biegman is
returning from Kiev, where he had gone bearing letters for
Kuchma, Yanukovych, Rada President Lytvyn and the Head of the
Constitutional Court requesting all not to publish final
elections results -- this was done anyway. Melchers noted
the decision of the Supreme Court to review Yusckhenko's
appeal, but said the Netherlands expects the court will
change nothing. Characterizing Russia's reaction as
defensive, he observed "they lost the Baltics and Georgia,
they don't want to lose Ukraine."
SOBEL