SCO: MFA, SCO SECRETARIAT AND RUSSIAN EMBASSY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 BEIJING 009673

SIPDIS

NOFORN
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E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/19/2016
TAGS: PREL MARR RS CH KZ TI UZ
SUBJECT: SCO: MFA, SCO SECRETARIAT AND RUSSIAN EMBASSY
DISCUSS UPCOMING SUMMIT, IRANIAN PRESIDENT'S PARTICIPATION
AND DOWNPLAY EXPANSION

REF: A. SECSTATE 72746 BEIJING 8117 BEIJING 9506


B. BEIJING 8927

Classified By: Political External Unit Chief Edgard Kagan.
Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

Summary
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1. (C) Senior Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
official Du Wei, who serves as Assistant to SCO Secretary
General Zhang Deguang, expressed understanding of U.S.
concerns regarding the possibility of statements critical
of the U.S. presence in Central Asia being issued at the
June SCO Summit and said he would convey our views to the
group's members. Russia's Permanent Representative to the
SCO Secretariat stated that the declaration will not
address the issue of coalition forces in Central Asia.
According to an MFA official handling SCO affairs, Beijing
recognizes U.S. apprehension and does not wish to see any
"unpleasant stance or situation" at the June Summit that
does not serve the interests of U.S.-China relations. Our
contacts highlighted that statements made by individual
observer country representatives do not represent the
official SCO or Chinese position. The Iran nuclear issue
will not be "specifically or formally" raised during the
Summit, Du asserted. There is no plan for the joint
Declaration to address the Iran or Coalition force issue,
but the document will outline members' views on certain
international situations. In preparation for the Summit,
the May 15 Foreign Ministers' Meeting approved draft
documents on SCO election observers, cooperation between
SCO member and observer states and coordination between
Afghanistan and the various SCO institutions for the heads-
of-state to endorse at the Summit, the MFA reported. While
the SCO will not become a "security haven" for member
countries, security cooperation is fundamental for further
development. End Summary.

Declaration Not Likely to Include Coalition Forces
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2. (C) Assistant to Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
Secretary General Zhang Deguang, Du Wei, thanked poloff for

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his May 18 delivery of Ref A points on the June SCO Summit
and expressed understanding of U.S. concerns. While poloff
explained that the United States is delivering the same
message separately to all SCO members, Du stated that the
Secretariat has the responsibility to pass the information

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along to member nations, pending Secretary General Zhang's
approval.


3. (C) Deputy Director of the MFA Department of European
and Central Asian Affairs Fifth (SCO) Division Wang Wenli
(Ref B),in a separate meeting on May 19, noted that she
was aware of the concerns recently conveyed by high-level
U.S. officials to the MFA (Ref C),as well as discussed by
Presidents Bush and Hu, over the July 2005 Astana
Declaration's call for a deadline for U.S. troop withdrawal
from Central Asia. Wang said that following the Astana
Summit, China stressed on several occasions its respect for
other SCO members' requests and decisions, which were the
main factors behind the statement's inclusion in the Astana
Declaration. The PRC understands that the United States
does not wish to see similar language issued during the
Shanghai Summit in June, she remarked, adding that the two
countries share the interests of regional peace, stability
and prosperity. Wang maintained that the member states
have not discussed incorporating language on the Iran
nuclear issue or the presence of Coalition forces in the
region in the joint Declaration to be issued in Shanghai.
Beijing does not want such issues to be included in the
Declaration or see any "unpleasant stance or situation" at
the June Summit that does not serve the interests of U.S.-
China relations.


4. (C) In a separate May 18 meeting, Russian Federation
Permanent Representative to the SCO Secretariat Gregory

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Logvinov told the A/DCM that the SCO Summit Declaration
would not address Coalition forces in Central Asia. He
said that the SCO's current position is that the issue
should be handled bilaterally.

Iranian President Will Attend
--------------


5. (C) Du said that he had "heard" that Iranian President
Ahmadinejad will attend the Summit, and the MFA
subsequently confirmed Iran's acceptance of the invitation.
Wang noted that Ahmadinejad has begun to arrange bilateral
meetings during the Summit and that China and Iran are also
discussing a possible bilateral event. Du asserted that
all observer nations have the right to attend most SCO
events. President Ahmadinejad attended and spoke at last
September's UN High-Level Event, and neither the U.S.
Government nor UN Secretary-General Annan would have denied
him these rights.

Iran's Statements not Representative of SCO or China
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6. (C) Du and Wang stressed, however, using almost
identical language, that statements by individual observer
country officials do not represent the official SCO
position. Wang added that they also do not represent the
PRC position. The SCO does not want any statement issued
at the Summit to run contrary to the principles and spirit
of the SCO, Du remarked. He said he did not expect
sensitive issues involving its observers, such as India-
Pakistan tensions or the Iran nuclear issue, to negatively
affect the SCO's operation. The SCO offers observer
nations a favorable environment for resolving their
internal problems and preventing an "escalation of
disagreements." Du also highlighted that they are not full
members and therefore exert limited influence on the
organization.


7. (C) Wang exhibited a greater degree of anxiety over the
possibility that President Ahmadinejad might make certain
contentious statements at the Summit and that the media
would play up these remarks. The MFA does not have the
authority or leverage to persuade him to soften his
rhetoric. She maintained, nonetheless, that the Iranian
President will not have the opportunity to manipulate the
SCO into adopting a common stance in support of Tehran's
position on the nuclear issue. As an observer, Iran is
only invited to the general session, not the closed-door
heads of states' or working-level meetings reserved for
members. President Ahmadinejad will not be permitted to
sign the Declaration or other agreements, she noted.


8. (C) Logvinov stated that Beijing is very anxious about
Ahmadinejad's involvement in the Summit and predicted that
future developments in the Iran nuclear crisis could
preclude Ahamdinejad's participation (Ref C).

Iran Issue Will Not Be "Formally" Addressed
--------------


9. (C) Asked whether the SCO would adopt a position on
Iran's nuclear program at the Summit, Du stated that the
Iran nuclear issue has not been "formally" adopted into the
Summit agenda and will not be "specifically or formally"
addressed during the event. Remarking that he had not seen
a finalized version of the agenda, Du reported that the
joint Declaration will summarize and evaluate the SCO's
progress over the past five years, analyze the current
state of SCO cooperation in various fields and outline
goals for the next five years of development. The document
will also touch on member states' views toward certain
international and regional issues. Based on the procedures
and discussions among SCO members, there is no current plan
to raise the Iran nuclear issue at the Summit, Wang
confirmed. She remarked, however, that given SCO
countries' concern over the issue, an escalation in the
situation could force the SCO to adopt a common position in

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the future.


10. (C) Logvinov commented that the SCO "does not support"
Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons, pointing out that as
an observer Iran is obligated to uphold the principle of
nonproliferation. He also said that Iran is expected to
uphold the principle of mutual respect for all nations,
cultures and civilizations.

The SCO Will Not Serve as a "Security Haven"
--------------


11. (C) While some member states hope the SCO will focus
more on security, Wang asserted that the SCO will not
become a military alliance or an organization that provides
a "security haven" for its members. Remarking that the SCO
must expand into a wide range of fields, she stated that
security cooperation is nonetheless the foundation for
further development in Central Asia, particularly through
combating the "Three Forces" of terrorism, extremism and
separatism, as well as drug trafficking. Central Asian
countries also want to see China and Russia play a greater
role in their development through increased economic and
trade cooperation. Wang stated that at the June Summit
China will announce some large-scale bilateral assistance
projects funded with the USD 900 million in preferential
credit loans pledged by Beijing last year.

No New Membership, New Observers Unlikely
--------------


12. (C) Responding to poloff's question about a possible
announcement of new members during the Summit, Du noted
that he is frequently asked about plans for SCO expansion.
Echoing previous MFA statements (Ref B),he highlighted
that the SCO lacks the legal foundation for and a common
stance on absorbing news members. The topic will not be
"officially" included in the Summit agenda. Du
acknowledged that there is strong interest among current
observers to obtain full membership and remarked that
observers are theoretically "one step closer" to becoming
full members. Noting that the four current observers all
border SCO member states, he asserted that geographic
proximity is a necessary precondition for potential new
members. Du expressed doubt that new observers will be
admitted in the near future, remarking that the
organization still requires some time to "digest" its
current observers. The SCO is now formulating an agreement
that will standardize the relationships between member and
observer nations. Logvinov said that it is "impossible" to
expand the SCO at present and noted that drafting the legal
procedures for expansion has been "hell work." Logvinov
claims that despite pressure to expand, the SCO will not
address this issue at the Summit.

Other Summit Participants
--------------


13. (C) In addition to the six member and four observer
countries, representatives from Afghanistan, ASEAN, CIS and
possibly the UN, in which the SCO possesses observer
status, will attend the June Summit, Du stated. Wang
reported that Pakistani President Musharraf, CIS Executive
Secretary Rushailo and an unspecified ASEAN Deputy

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Secretary General have already responded positively to the

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SCO's invitations. China is still discussing participation
with Mongolia and India.

Foreign Ministers' Meeting: Focused on Internal Regulations
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14. (C) Wang stated that the May 15 SCO Foreign Ministers'
Meeting in Shanghai focused on preparations for the June
Summit, although the agenda and schedule will be finalized
at a vice foreign minister-level meeting a few days prior
to the Summit. The May 15 Foreign Ministers' Meeting
approved several draft documents for the heads-of-states to
endorse at the Summit, the first of which standardized the

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procedures and strengthened the legal framework for the SCO
election observer mechanism. While the SCO has already
begun to send observers during member countries'
presidential elections, this agreement discusses procedures
for forming observer committees and standard reporting
practices, she said. The Foreign Ministers also approved a
document regulating cooperation and interaction between
members and observer states. The third draft approved was
an internal SCO document on enhancing coordination between
Afghanistan and the various SCO institutions, including the
Secretariat, building on the 2005 establishment of the SCO-

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Afghanistan Contact Group. Wang stated that SCO countries
have provided significant assistance to Afghanistan in
counterterrorism and counter-narcotics over the past few
years and highlighted the importance the SCO places on
Afghanistan's stability.


15. (C) Logvinov claims that the Foreign Minister's meeting
approved 10 draft documents for approval at the Summit. In
addition to the drafts on SCO's internal mechanizations,
the Summit will announce statements on education, economic
development and cooperation, energy cooperation, and joint
law enforcement activities. Logvinov also noted that the
SCO observers have requested that English be adopted as the
third formal language of the organization after Chinese and
Russian.

China's Future Role in Secretariat Undecided
--------------


16. (C) According to SCO procedures, Kazakhstan will be
offered the role of Secretary General at the Summit, Wang
noted. It is unclear whether China will retain a deputy-
level position within the Secretariat. Wang said that
member states have still not reached a final decision on
which country will receive the next Regional Anti-Terrorism
Structure (RATS) directorship.
RANDT