LITHUANIA SEEKS TO USHER UKRAINE TO BRUSSELS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 VILNIUS 000572

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/NB, EUR/UMB, EUR/ERA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/02/2014
TAGS: PREL LH UP
SUBJECT: LITHUANIA SEEKS TO USHER UKRAINE TO BRUSSELS


Classified By: POLITICAL/ECONOMIC OFFICER ALEXANDER TITOLO FOR REASONS
1.4 (B) AND (D)

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SUMMARY
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1. (U) Lithuania is mobilizing a full court press to promote
Ukraine's integration into transatlantic and European
institutions. Building upon the relationship that President
Valdas Adamkus forged by mediating (with Poland's
Kwasniewski) Ukraine's post-election crisis, Lithuania's
Defense Minister visited Kiev May 10-12 and announced new
areas of cooperation and offers of technical assistance.
Lithuanian leadership will continue to prioritize the
political and economic transformation in Ukraine as part of a
strategy for establishing and ensuring security in a
difficult neighborhood. End Summary.

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DEFENSE MINISTER FINDS ENTHUSIASM MIXED WITH CAUTION
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2. (U) Lithuania's Minister of Defense Gediminas Kirkilas
and Ukrainian Defense Minister Anatoliy Grytsenko signed an
MOU declaring their governments' intention to form a joint
Kosovo peacekeeping battalion with Poland (LITPOLUKRBAT).
Alvydas Kunigelis, the MOD's Acting Director of International
Relations, and Dr. Janina Sleivyte of the MOD's 2nd
International Cooperation Division accompanied Kirkilas to
Kiev and provided a readout of the trip. According to
Kunigelis, the visit achieved its modest purpose of
establishing a springboard for future cooperation. Kunigelis
and Sleivyte said that Lithuania has recent and relevant
experience to share in conducting NATO public outreach
campaigns. They also told us that the GOL is willing to
offer Ukraine advice and assistance in building
administrative capacity and developing resource management
systems.

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JOINT ASSEMBLY
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3. (U) The Speakers of Parliament from Lithuania, Poland,
and Ukraine jointly announced on May 13 the establishment of
a tripartite parliamentary assembly. Through this
initiative, Lithuania and Poland will offer Ukrainian
parliamentarians assistance and guidance on harmonizing their
laws with the European Union's acquis communautaire.
Lithuania's Mindaugas Kacerauskis, Head of the MFA's Belarus,
Moldova, and Ukraine Division, told us that the Assembly will
also focus on regional goals, including promoting democracy
in Belarus. The Assembly's first meeting will take place in
late June 2005.

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VILNIUS POINTS THE WAY TO BRUSSELS
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4. (U) Kacerauskis told us that the GOL plans to sustain the
pace of high-profile meetings with its Ukrainian counterparts
over the next six months. A broad range of Lithuanian
institutions are ready to provide technical assistance to
Ukraine on integration into European institutions. The GOL
will push to include Ukraine in the NATO Defense Ministers'
conference in Vilnius in October.


5. (C) Kacerauskis remarked that the GOU is particularly
eager to engage with the GOL on issues of defense
restructuring. He noted less enthusiasm regarding GOL offers
of assistance with domestic reform but hoped more interest in
such cooperation will follow Yushchenko's transfusion of new
blood into the GOU. Kacerauskis voiced concern over Russian
intentions in Ukraine and opined that the Kremlin will try to
"regain what it has lost" in next year's parliamentary
elections. To thwart that effort, he said, the EU should
provide Ukrainians a tangible benefit, such as facilitated
travel to EU countries, as proof that Ukraine's turn to the
west was a smart move.


6. (C) COMMENT: Lithuania continues to demonstrate its
conviction that regional security depends on developing
democratic initiatives in the nations on the EU's borders.
The stream of high-level visits and offers of assistance
reflect the priority Lithuania attaches to ensuring Ukraine's
tilt toward the West. Lithuania will likely advocate an
early offer of a NATO Membership Action Plan and will press
the EU to take bold steps to nurture the euro-integration
aspirations of the Ukrainian people.
Mull