OSCE CO-CHAIRS BRIEF CIO RUPEL

C O N F I D E N T I A L LJUBLJANA 000629

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/30/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV SI
SUBJECT: OSCE CO-CHAIRS BRIEF CIO RUPEL


Classified By: CDA Maryruth Coleman for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: Minsk Group Co-Chairs briefed OSCE CIO
Rupel on the eve of his Caucasus trip. The Co-Chairs advised
that progress on Karabakh would be on hold until after the
November Azerbaijan elections. They encouraged the CIO to
probe with Presidents Kocharian and Aliyev for candid
readouts of their Kazan meeting and for next steps
post-November in the peace process. End summary.


2. (C) OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Steven Mann, Yuri
Merzlyakov (Russia),and OSCE Representative Kaspyrczk met in
Ljubljana August 28 with Slovenian FM and OSCE CIO Dmitrij
Rupel at the latter's request to brief him on developments in
the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiations. French Co-Chair Fassier
was unable to be present but dispatched his assistant to
attend the meeting. Rupel will travel to Tbilisi, Yerevan,
and Baku September 4-6 and requested an update from the
mediators. The Co-Chairs came to Slovenia from Russia, where
they met with Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers and
hosted a tete-a-tete meeting in Kazan between the two
presidents.


3. (C) Merzlyakov said the situation was well-timed for a
CIO visit and he complimented Rupel on being the first CIO to
do two visits to the Caucasus in his term in office. He
sketched out the situation in the talks since May (when Rupel
met with the Co-Chairs in Warsaw). The same basic positions
remain on the table since Warsaw; there are gaps between the
sides that still need to be narrowed. The Co-Chairs tried to
close those gaps in Kazan but did not succeed. They believed
that no progress would be possible before the November
elections. The Co-Chairs were, however, encouraged by the
continuing positive atmospherics between the two presidents.
The window for a resolution is 2006. Mann noted that the
Co-Chairs are planning to meet separately with each foreign
minister in the weeks ahead to get a candid view from each
side about the Kazan meeting, but that Rupel's visit offered
a superb opportunity to get such a readout. He would be the
first OSCE official to see either president after Kazan.
Rupel agreed to offer the Co-Chairs a readout after his trip.


4. (C) Rupel asked for advice on handling the Azerbaijani
request for OSCE assistance in conducting elections in
Karabakh for Azerbaijani parliamentary seats. The Co-Chairs
advised that they considered this request fundamentally
propagandistic and suggested that Rupel turn the question
around if raised: how would this move the negotiations
forward? How did Azerbaijan expect that this could be
practically implemented?


5. (C) Rupel looked forward to the OSCE Ministerial and
hoped strongly for an agreed statement on Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Co-Chairs assessed chances of a statement as very likely
and agreed to take on the task of developing a draft in
advance of the Ministerial.


6. (U) Ambassador Mann has cleared this cable.

COLEMAN


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2005LJUBLJ00629 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL



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