MFA DISCUSSES COORDINATING ASSISTANCE ON BELARUS

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 006486

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/22/2015
TAGS: EAID KDEM PREL BO FR RU
SUBJECT: MFA DISCUSSES COORDINATING ASSISTANCE ON BELARUS
AND POTENTIAL VISITS TO RUSSIA, UKRAINE AND KAZAKHSTAN

REF: STATE 168836

Classified By: POLITICAL MINISTER COUNSELOR JOSIAH ROSENBLATT, FOR REAS
ONS 1.4 B/D


1. (C) Summary: Aurelia Bouchez_, the MFA's DAS-equivalent for
Russia and the former Soviet space, welcomed reftel demarche
on promoting democratic and election reforms in Belarus,
although she wondered how effective external broadcasts would
be given the technical difficulties of transmitting
radio/satellite signals into Belarus. She said that FM
Douste-Blazy was hoping to visit Moscow sometime in 2005,
possibly in October. In addition, she said that President
Chirac's recent illness had only postponed his announced
visits to Ukraine and Kazakhstan until early 2006; the GOF
had assured the two countries that the visits would not be
cancelled. End summary.

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COORDINATING ASSISTANCE ON BELARUS
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2. (C) On September 21, Poloff discussed reftel demarche on
coordinating democracy and election reform assistance in
Belarus with Bouchez_ and Antoine Gosset, desk officer for
Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine. Bouchez_ said France agreed
that the upcoming elections in Belarus were an opportunity to
focus on democratization and election reforms. There was
broad agreement about this within the EU, said Bouchez_. As a
first step, France believed it necessary to educate citizens
of Belarus about the EU, its "European Neighborhood Policy,"
and the importance of democracy and free elections. Gosset
added that the population of Belarus was very isolated, and
that it was certainly conceivable that if genuinely free
elections were held, President Lukashenko would still win.


3. (C) Responding to the demarche, Bouchez_ asked if the USG
had any specific proposals to counteract the Belarus
government's blocking of broadcasting from outside the
country. She said radio signals could only penetrate a few
kilometers into Belarus territory. Still, she said, the GOF
recognizes external broadcasting could be quite useful in the
pre-election period and it looks forward to discussing
technical options. Bouchez_ emphasized in particular the
possible utility of the Internet as a medium to disseminate
election information.

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GOF VISITS TO RUSSIA, UKRAINE AND KAZAKHSTAN
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4. (C) Bouchez_ confirmed that Commerce Minister Christine
Lagarde would visit Russia September 21-23 with a delegation
of business leaders of small and medium-sized companies. She
said the MFA was not planning the trip, nor did it plan on
participating in Lagarde's meetings, although Bouchez_ said an
as-yet-unannounced trip by Economic Minister Thierry Breton
in October or November would necessitate more intensive MFA
participation. FM Douste-Blazy also planned on visiting
Russia before the end of 2005. Although no date had been
fixed, the MFA and the Russian government were looking at
October as a possibility.


5. (C) Poloff asked whether President Chirac still planned on
visiting Ukraine and Kazakhstan despite postponement due to
the President's recent illness. Bouchez_ said the GOF had
contacted both governments to assure them that President
Chirac planned on visiting both countries, and expected that
these visits would take place in early 2006.
Please visit Paris' Classified Website at:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm
STAPLETON