UKRAINE: DFM KHANDOHIY, U/S DOBRIANSKY DISCUSS FM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KIEV 000965

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/07/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV KFLU NATO
SUBJECT: UKRAINE: DFM KHANDOHIY, U/S DOBRIANSKY DISCUSS FM
TARASYUK'S DC VISIT, HOLODOMOR MONUMENT, AVIAN INFLUENZA


Classified By: Charge d'Affairs Sheila Gwaltney for reasons 1.4 (b,d).


1. (C) Summary: In a March 3 meeting with Under Secretary
Dobriansky and Ambassador, DFM Volodymyr Khandohiy pushed for
a Presidential drop-by during FM Tarasyuk's March 9 meeting
with the Vice President in Washington. Dobriansky and
Ambassador frankly described the poor timing (in view of the
unsettled state of a Ukraine-Russia natural gas deal) of
Khandohiy's request for favorable USG consideration of a
bilateral statement on energy security. Dobriansky said she
would check further into the background of what Khandohiy
described as a hold-up in the approval process of a
"Holodomor" (1932-33 Stalin-induced famine in Ukraine)
monument in Washington. Dobriansky suggested that the
Ukraine-inspired Community of Democratic Choice meeting in
Vilnius should implement a specific program or initiative.
She fended off Khandohiy's suggestion to hold a special U.N.
General Assembly session on the topic of avian influenza.
Khandohiy said the Ukrainian government (GOU) would more
actively implement a NATO public education campaign after the
March 26 parliamentary and local elections. End summary.

Tarasyuk's March 9 Visit to Washington
--------------


2. (C) The March 3 meeting with DFM Khandohiy came a day
after U/S Dobriansky's meetings with President Yushchenko and
PM Yekhanurov, both of which Khandohiy attended (septels).
At the end of the March 3 meeting, DFM Khandohiy focused on
deliverables for FM Tarasyuk's March 9-10 meetings in
Washington. The GOU was pleased that Tarasyuk would meet
with the Vice President; Khandohiy delicately inquired about
the possibility of a Presidential drop-by. He implied that
the Ukrainians were hoping to maintain parity with, or
one-up, Russia during Tarasyuk's Washington visit, coming on
the heels of Russian FM Lavrov's March 6-7 visit. Dobriansky
replied that she was not certain that the President would be
in Washington during Tarasyuk's visit.


3. (C) Khandohiy also inquired about the possibility of
signing a bilateral statement on energy security during
Tarasyuk's visit. The Ukrainian government had welcomed the
strong and positive USG support during the initial stages of
its dispute with Russia over natural gas supplies. Khandohiy
sought continuing favorable U.S. support in the form of an
energy security statement. Dobriansky and Ambassador
stressed that, in the context of the questionable deal with
Russia and questions about RosUkrEnergo's role, circumstances
did not favor such a statement. Khandohiy urged them to
consider the Ukrainian request favorably, pointing out that
the supply arrangements for Russian natural gas still had not
been conclusively finalized.

The Holodomor Memorial
--------------


4. (C) Khandohiy asked for State Department support to
overcome Department of the Interior/National Park Service
opposition to the establishment in Washington of a monument
to the victims of the Ukrainian "Holodomor" (the
Stalin-engineered famine in 1932-33, leading to an estimated
10 million deaths). The House of Representatives had voted
November 16, 2005 in favor of allocating land for the
monument, but in order for the bill to be enacted, the Senate
needed to have passed a similar measure by February 16.
Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oleh Shamshur had testified
in favor of the monument during a recent Senate hearing.
Unfortunately, the Senate Subcommittee on National Parks had
not passed the bill to the Senate floor due to opposition of
the National Park Service, which argue that a specific
Holodomor memorial was unnecessary since another memorial to
victims of communism was under consideration. Dobriansky
said she was hearing about the issue of the Holodomor
monument for the first time and would look into it when she
returned to Washington.

Community of Democratic Choice
--------------


5. (C) Dobriansky noted that she had arrived in Kiev from
Mali, where she attended the launch of the Malian
chairmanship of Community of Democracies (CD). At the CD
Convening Group meeting in Mali, she had spoken about how
Ukraine had given the Community of Democracy mechanism a
regional expression by establishing the Community of
Democratic Choice (CDC). In the run-up to the next CDC
meeting in Vilnius, Dobriansky urged that the primary
countries motivating CDC -- Ukraine, Georgia, Lithuania, and
Romania -- focus on a concrete initiative or program that
would make the CDC relevant to regional needs. This could
take the form of a roundtable discussion of best practices
that emerging democracies could employ, or the importance of
civil society in a new democracy, Dobriansky offered. The
theme could be integrated into the CDC meeting. For example,
if the role of civil society were under discussion, the CDC
could invite NGOs from countries such as Belarus that were
struggling to develop democratically.


6. (C) Khandohiy said he understood and agreed with
Dobriansky's suggestion. CDC organizers were wrestling with
the challenge that she had highlighted. While planning
remained in the formative stages, they were thinking about
possible initiatives regarding the so-called frozen
conflicts. Georgia, for one, was dealing with two frozen
conflicts on its territory (South Ossetia and Abhazia),while
Ukraine and Romania had a direct interest in a frozen
conflict in Moldova (Transnistria).

Avian Influenza - partnerships and cooperation
-------------- -


7. (SBU) Khandohiy expressed his appreciation for USG efforts
on avian influenza (AI) after Dobriansky briefed him on the
concrete measures being taken to improve Ukraine's ability to
combat a possible outbreak of AI. She said the issue was not
just one of public health, but was also a transborder issue
affecting national security. In recognition of this reality,
the USG was coordinating its own efforts on AI with the
governments of Canada and Mexico; Dobriansky urged Ukraine to
consider a similar regional approach based on partnership to
the problem. Khandohiy responded that Ukraine had floated
the idea of holding a special UN General Assembly session
devoted to avian influenza and asked for Dobriansky's views
on the merits of this proposal. Dobriansky said a special
session would not be necessary in light of the establishment
of an international partnership to combat AI. The
international partnership brought together representatives of
the ministries of agriculture and health from over 88
countries and relevant international organizations. The EU
was preparing to hold an international partnership meeting in
early June that would also have a focus on the situation in
Europe. The United Nations could take up AI, but perhaps
this could be done as part of its regular session, Dobriansky
suggested.

Progress towards NATO: public outreach
--------------


8. (C) Khandohiy said a third of the Ukrainian public favored
NATO membership, a third opposed it, and a third was
undecided. A positive NATO signal on a Membership Action
Plan (MAP) for Ukraine would provide the momentum necessary
to change undecided votes to positive ones. MFA officials
were traveling to various cities and towns of Ukraine,
engaging in meetings, seminars, and other efforts to inform
the Ukrainian public better about NATO. The GOU had provided
the MFA with a modest sum of about $4-5 million for public
education outreach. While the funding was aimed primarily at
boosting Ukraine's image abroad, the MFA also hoped to
implement a domestic education campaign over the 2006-2007
timeframe. The campaign was in low gear for the moment, but
the MFA hoped to accelerate it after the March 26
parliamentary and local elections.


9. (U) Visit Embassy Kiev's classified website:
www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/kiev.
Gwaltney