PUTIN IN LAHTI: MAKING FRIENDS AND INFLUENCING

C O N F I D E N T I A L HELSINKI 001093

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/26/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM FI MOPS ENRG ETRD EUN RU
SUBJECT: PUTIN IN LAHTI: MAKING FRIENDS AND INFLUENCING
PEOPLE

REF: A. (A) HELSINKI 1058


B. (B) BRUSSELS 3646

Classified By: ECONCHIEF JANE MESSENGER FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (U) Summary: Russian President Vladimir Putin was the
guest of honor at a dinner following the EU Heads of State or
Government summit in Lahti on October 20. The leaders were
also joined by Finnish President Halonen who has faced
criticism for inviting Putin at all. Prime Minister Vanhanen
took pains that evening and in public statements since the
dinner to stress that the EU was unified in its approach and
message to Russia; however, other EU leaders and press in
attendance immediately stated that the dinner had not been as
pleasant as portrayed in the final press conference and that
deep divisions within the EU persist as the Presidency looks
to the EU-Russia summit next month. End Summary.

FACING OFF OVER HUMAN RIGHTS
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2. (U) According to press contacts and later confirmed by an
advisor in the Finnish Prime Minister's office, the dinner
turned sour during discussions of human rights, not energy as
had been predicted. Finnish hosts had warned member states
in advance that this dinner was not the place to air lengthy
criticisms of the Russian state. Instead, the Presidency
hoped to control the event by gaining member state consensus
on talking points and having one or two pre-selected speakers
address each topic (see ref A). According to a press contact
with sources in the French President's office, the discussion
deteriorated to "yelling and screaming" when the leaders of
Poland, Latvia, and Denmark questioned Putin on escalating
tensions with Georgia. Putin's anger was still apparent
hours later at the closing press conference where, in
response to a reporter's question on Georgia, he emphasized
that Georgia alone is responsible for the worsening situation
and implied that he had information proving Georgia planned
to use force to settle its frozen conflicts. "This is
heading for disaster," Putin said. The question elicited
Putin's longest and most emotional answer of the night.


3. (C) Johan Schalin, Finnish Prime Minister Vanhanen's
foreign policy advisor, confirmed to emboff that the dinner
had gotten tense when discussing Georgia, Chechnya, and the
recent murder of a prominent Russian journalist critical of
the Kremlin. He was hesitant, however, to characterize the
dinner as anything other than a frank and open discussion
with brief flashes of anger and a few sharp exchanges.
(Comment: Given the Finnish tendency toward understatement
and the clear desire to confirm Vanhanen's assessment of the
dinner, the atmosphere was probably a good mix of both the
French and Finnish interpretations.) When questioned about
corruption, Putin asked how many Spanish mayors were in jail
for real estate fraud. When questioned about organized
crime, the Russian president snapped that "Mafia" is an
Italian word, not Russian.

ENERGY: THE PAPER TIGER
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4. (U) Pre-summit press focused on energy security and supply
as another source of potential conflict with Putin during the
dinner. In contrast to the human rights discussion, the EU
leaders appear to have stayed on the Finnish message that a
new, legally-binding agreement spelling out Russia-EU energy
cooperation is necessary. Though Putin publicly brushed
aside the idea that the Kremlin would sign the European
Energy Charter, he expressed Russian support for its general
concepts and appeared willing to discuss either an energy
section within the next Partnership and Cooperation Agreement
or a separate bilateral agreement.

COMMENT
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5. (C) Since Lahti, Vanhanen has made several public
comments, including a speech to the European Parliament on
October 25 where he emphasized that the EU needs to speak to
foreign partners with a single voice to avoid the perception
of weakness and that Lahti was a success because the EU did
so with Putin. The Finns' reputation for quiet diplomacy and
working behind the scenes limited the potential damage that a
free-for-all approach to Putin could have caused, although
some member states chafed at the organization the hosts
imposed on the dinner, making the strain of the unified
approach more evident. The Finnish presidency appears to
have set the stage for a productive energy discussion at the
EU-Russia bilateral summit next month, despite the
disagreement over human rights.
WARE