NAC COMMUNIQUE: DESPITE RESERVATIONS, FRANCE IS

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 008172 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/01/2015 TAGS: PARM PREL KCFE FR NATO SUBJECT: NAC COMMUNIQUE: DESPITE RESERVATIONS, FRANCE IS OPEN TO COMPROMISE ON CFE PARAGRAPH REF: A) STATE 217326 B) 12/1 RECINOS/LAURENDEAU E-MAIL Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt, Reason 1 .4 B/D ¶1. (C) On December 1, we delivered ref A points to Arnaud Roux, MFA Counselor following the CFE/Istanbul discussions and who also will be present at the NAC on December 2. Roux confirmed that he was aware of the debate on the use of "either" versus "or" paragraph proposals. He expressed some surprise about the U.S. position, however, saying that the MFA had thought the "or" language was a first draft that had already been superseded by the "either" text. ¶2. (C) On substance, Roux said France's aim was to ensure that a decision would be reached at the NAC. The problem was how to overcome continuing reservations by some countries, especially Italy, against the use of the words "urge" and "regret" in the same paragraph. Roux said France is fine with the use of the word "urge," but was less prepared to compromise on the use of "regret." The MFA did not support the inclusion of "regret," especially since it had not been used in last year's text. ¶3. (C) In an effort to find another compromise approach, Roux suggested a combination of the "either" and "or" texts to read as follows: "Given the lack of progress on the further withdrawal of Russian military forces from the Republic of Moldova, we urge its resumption and completion as soon as possible." Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm Stapleton