DEMARCHE TO AUSTRIA IN ADVANCE OF OCTOBER 3 EU

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 VIENNA 003245 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/ERA AND EUR/AGS - VIKMANIS-KELLER E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/28/2015 TAGS: KDEM KPAL PREL TU AU EUN SUBJECT: DEMARCHE TO AUSTRIA IN ADVANCE OF OCTOBER 3 EU FOREIGN MINISTERS MEETING REF: A. (A) STATE 177048 ¶B. (B) VIENNA 3157 ¶C. (C) VIENNA 2944 Classified By: Economic-Political Counselor Gregory E. Phillips. Reaso ns: 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) EconPolCouns delivered ref (a) demarche on September 28 to Andreas Riecken, the Austrian Foreign Ministry's European Union "correspondent." -------------- Turkey -------------- ¶2. (C) Riecken noted continuing discussions between the British Presidency and his colleagues in Brussels on the text of the negotiating framework for Turkish accession negotiations. Riecken said Austrian Political Director Thomas Mayr-Harting had told EUR PDAS Volker in a telephone conversation September 28 that Austria was not arguing for inclusion of the words "privileged partnership" in the negotiating framework. Riecken said the Austrian position remained that which Austrian FM Ursula Plassnik had described in her August 29 letter to UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw (ref c). In that letter, Plassnik had called for language on "specific alternatives to full membership" to appear in the negotiating framework. Riecken said the Austrian negotiators thought they were making progress in convincing the British to make changes to the text (he had no specific language), and considered the process constructive. "There is still drafting going on," he said, "and not just on Austrian issues." He said the Cypriots, for instance, were asking for bracketed text on Cypriot participation in NATO and PfP -- "but that's not our issue," Riecken said. -------------- Turkey-Croatia -------------- ¶3. (C) Riecken reiterated that Austria has no desire for a "deal" to trade the start of talks with Turkey for the start of talks with Croatia. That said, Austria very much wanted "something to be done" on Croatia. "It would be hard to tell the public that it is possible to start with Turkey, but not with Croatia," he said. -------------- Croatia -------------- ¶4. (C) Much would depend on what Carla del Ponte said after her visit to Zagreb on Friday, September 30 about Croatia's cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Riecken said. If she said Croatia was cooperating, there would be room for the EU to craft a way to start accession talks with Croatia. For EU members, Riecken said, the definition of cooperation with ICTY was not the presence of Ante Gotovina in the Hague for trial. "No one" in the EU, including the British, takes this position, Riecken asserted. Instead, the aim was for Croatia to prove that it has "destroyed the networks" that protected Gotovina in the past. However, even if del Ponte declared that Croatia was cooperating with ICTY, Austria believed it was necessary to create a mechanism that would keep the pressure on Croatia to continue its cooperation. Austria had proposed establishment of a monitoring structure to perform this function, Riecken said. ¶5. (C) If del Ponte announced that Croatia was not cooperating with ICTY, it would be hard for the Council to declare that she is wrong, Riecken admitted. There would be at least a few EU member states which would block accession talks under these circumstances. ¶6. (C) Riecken said Austria believed it was important not to destroy the hopes of Croatia's entire population for the sake of one criminal, Gotovina. If Croatia was now cooperating with ICTY, Austria hoped accession talks could begin immediately. -------------- Western Balkans/Kosovo -------------- ¶7. (C) Austria agrees with our position favoring the start of the future status process. The Austrians think it is not necessary to await the end of Kai Eide's Comprehensive Review to begin the process. ¶8. (C) Austria plans to invite the Foriegn Ministers of the five Western Balkan countries to a meeting on the margins of the March Gymnich meeting in Salzburg. After consideration of whether the meeting would be at Heads of Government or Foreign Ministers' level, Austria has decided on a "Thessaloniki format" at ministerial level. Kosovo will, of course, be one of the topics. -------------- Uzbekistan -------------- ¶9. (C) Riecken said Austria, and the EU as a whole, shares our concerns. The October 3 GAERC meeting would discuss the specifics of sanctions, including the question of whom to target. -------------- Russia and Russia's Neighbors -------------- ¶10. (C) Riecken said there would be a discussion of the way forward on the EU-Russia relationship. The EU-Russia Summit in London October 4 would, of course, be a primary topic of discussion. Riecken said Austria basically agrees with our points on Georgia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine, but he said he did not foresee a discussion of these topics at the October 3 GAERC meeting. -------------- Iraq/Middle East -------------- ¶11. (C) Riecken said he expected a discussion of the Middle East Peace Process on October 3, but not of Iraq. The EU agrees on the importance of supporting Quartet Special Envoy James Wolfensohn, Riecken said. ¶12. (C) On the UN Holocaust Remembrance Resolution, Riecken said Austria supported the initiative. Riecken said Austria's UN mission had urged the Palestinians not to oppose the resolution, pointing out that it took nothing away from Palestinian or broader Arab interests. Riecken said the Austrian mission expressed frustration that the Palestinians appeared not to accept their argument. Brown