ITALY SUPPORTS ENHANCED EU PRESENCE ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 000921

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/17/2015
TAGS: PREL ZJ RS CG PBTS IT EUN OSCE
SUBJECT: ITALY SUPPORTS ENHANCED EU PRESENCE ON
GEORGIA-RUSSIA BORDER

REF: A) STATE 43096 B) ROME 861

Classified By: POL MINISTER COUNSELOR TOM COUNTRYMAN. REASON: 1.4 (B)(
D)


1. (C) As reported ref b, MFA EU CFSP Director Luigi
Mattiolo told poloff March 11 that the EU strategy at the
moment would be to reinforce the office of the recently
created EU Special Representative for the Caucuses, to
include the 6
trainers mentioned in ref a. He underlined that this was an
"interim step" in response to Russian opposition to
continued operation of the OSCE BMO. Italy would not
necessarily oppose a further reinforcement of the SREP or a
monitoring mission as suggested ref a but only after a period
of "assessment" by the SREP. Mattiolo noted that
consensus for an EU mission to replace the OSCE BMO "is
nowhere in sight" in Brussels.


2. (C) Taking advantage of DAS Stephens' March 15 call on
POLDIR Terzi and EUR DG Caracciolo (readout septel) POL
Minister-Counselor underlined with both the strong US view
that a continued monitoring presence was essential to reduce
tensions along the border. With the OSCE gone, the EU was
the most logical choice to take on the role. Terzi voiced
his government's disappointment with the Russian action. He
noted that FM Fini had emphasized to Russian FM Lavrov during
his February 7 visit to Moscow the need for Russia to take a
more positive role on the full range of "frozen conflicts,"
including Moldova, Georgia and Chechnya. Terzi said that
Italy would urge its EU partners to be supportive of our
request. He agreed that the OSCE monitoring mission had
proven its value and needs to be continued in a new guise.
Repeating his concern about Russian behavior, he emphasized
that the EU would have to take on a more robust role in a way
that did not let the Russians think that they could get away
with a rolling sabotage of the OSCE as an organization. Terzi
does not want to give up the possibility of restoring the
OSCE mission.


3. (C) Carracialo was even more critical of the Russians,
confiding that when Fini raised the "frozen conflicts" issue
in Moscow, Lavrov's response was nothing more than a "pack of
lies." The Russians prefer to see these destabilizing
conflicts continue rather that risk what they perceive to be
a loss of influence in the region. Caracciolo agreed in
principle on the necessity of continued monitoring on the
border and promised to discuss the specifics of the ref a
proposals with his MFA colleagues.

SEMBLER


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2005ROME00921 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL