DELIVERY OF NOTE REQUESTING OBSERVER STATUS TO THE

UNCLAS ISTANBUL 000470 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECIN ETTC KFPC KTIA TU XG SUBJECT: DELIVERY OF NOTE REQUESTING OBSERVER STATUS TO THE BLACK SEA ECONOMIC COOPERATION COUNCIL (BSEC) REF: A. STATE 43828 ¶B. ANKARA 398 ¶C. STATE 4274 Sensitive but unclassified. Not for internet distribution. This message was coordinated with Embassy Ankara. ¶1. (SBU) Post delivered diplomatic note contained in ref A para 5 to the International Secretariat of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Council on Wednesday, March 23. In P/E Chief's meeting later that day with the organization's Secretary General, Ambassador Tedo Japaridze, his three SIPDIS deputies, and the organization's legal advisor, Japaridze us he welcomed the U.S. application and promised that it will be given speedy consideration. He and his staff confirmed the procedure outlined in ref A, para 4, noting that the U.S. application had already been circulated to the capitals of BSEC members. He encouraged the United States to undertake its own bilateral demarches in hose capitals in support of its application. Headded that the timing is fortuitous, in that the pplication can be addressed at an upcoming meeting of Senior Officials on April 20, and then by the organization's Counci itself. He confirmed tha Cunil apprval mut be by a consensus of all emes. nce granted, observer status is valid fr two years, after which it must be renewed by te Council. ¶2. (SBU) Japaridze and his colleagus did note one potential complicating factor, thugh he was at pains to characterize it as a techicality that should be overcome witout ifficut. He explained that whilethere re currently a number of observ s, incluing Egypt, Poland, Germany and France, the Council has not approved any new applications for observer status since 2002. At that time, he said, the Council was faced with a large number of applications, and decided that "clear criteria" should be established by which they could be judged. (BSEC rules currently state only that an observer should make a "practical and valuable" contribution to the organization's work.) In the intervening three years, no progress in establishing such criteria has been registered, and consequently nine applications for observer status are currently pending. Japaridze noted that it is up to the council's chair to initiate the work to establish the criteria (Greece's term will end in May; it will be followed by Moldova, Romania, Russia and Turkey, each serving consecutive six month terms),but that there is no indication of a "readiness to do so" at the present time. ¶3. (SBU) Japaridze predicted that the U.S. application will be a catalyst that will either break the logjam or lead to a political decision to grant the U.S. observer status and thereby "jump the queue." Such a decision was taken in the past for France, and BSEC has also taken the political decision to continue to renew the status of its existing observers. ARNETT