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