FRENCH HAVE NOT RECEIVED RUSSIAN PROPOSAL ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 001178 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/23/2014 TAGS: PREL PARM PBTS MD FR OSCE SUBJECT: FRENCH HAVE NOT RECEIVED RUSSIAN PROPOSAL ON TRANSNISTRIA REF: STATE 28476 Classified By: POLITICAL MINISTER COUNSELOR JOSIAH ROSENBLATT, FOR REAS ONS 1.4 B/D (C) On February 23, Poloff spoke with Pierre Cochard, the MFA's DAS-equivalent for Russia and the former Soviet space, to determine whether the GOF had received a Russian demarche in support of bilateral consultations on Transnistria (reftel). Cochard said he was aware of the Russian demarche in Washington from the French Embassy, and confirmed that no one in the French government, including the MFA and intelligence services, had received anything along those lines from the Russian Government. In the event that the Russians did demarche the French on bilateral consultations, Cochard speculated that the GOF wouldn't refuse, given the current lack of dialogue on Transnistria. Nevertheless, Cochard said the GOF's clear, long-term preference was for consultations on Transnistria to be multilateral. Wolff