HUMAN RIGHTS OMBUDSMAN LUKIN SUGGESTS CHANGES TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 007047

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/30/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM PINR RS
SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS OMBUDSMAN LUKIN SUGGESTS CHANGES TO
USG PROPOSAL ON U.S-RUSSIAN ROUNDTABLE ON DEMOCRACY AND
HUMAN RIGHTS

REF: BURNS/KRAMER TELCON 6/30

Classified By: Ambassador William J. Burns, for reasons 1.4 (B & D)


1. (C) SUMMARY. In a June 30 meeting, Human Rights Ombudsman
Vladimir Lukin discussed the paper outlining the proposal for
a U.S.-Russian Roundtable on Democracy and Human Rights with
the Ambassador. Lukin was positive about the proposal, but
based on his consultations with the MFA and Kremlin Foreign
Policy Advisor Sergey Prikhodko, Lukin noted four GOR
concerns about the document. First, the GOR believed an
announcement at the G8 summit might be too much too soon --
though Lukin expressed his personal support for some kind of
public reference at the summit. Second, Lukin proposed
reducing the number of participants from eight to ten experts
on each side to four to five experts to a side, at least at
the start. Third, the GOR opposed a joint report after the
first session. Fourth, the GOR wanted a Russian organization
to share control of the roundtable with the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace. Lukin stressed the need
to move quickly to address GOR concerns; he suggested making
changes in the paper to reflect those concerns and then
sending it back to his office early in the week of July 3.
END SUMMARY.


2. (C) Human Rights Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin opened a June 30
meeting with the Ambassador by noting that his recent trip to
the U.S. had been productive, and he thanked the USG for its
support. He said that after his office had received the
paper on the U.S.-Russian Roundtable Table on Democracy and
Human Rights, he discussed the proposal with Kremlin Foreign
Policy Advisor Sergey Prikhodko and the MFA. Based on his
review of the document and his discussions with other
officials, Lukin said the proposal was a good one and that he
wanted his office to play a role in the roundtable. However,
Lukin noted four GOR concerns with the proposal.


3. (C) The GOR concerns are listed in the order they appear
in the text of the paper. First, a joint presidential
announcement about the initiative at the G8 summit would be
too much too soon. It was important to avoid raising
expectations too high at the outset. The roundtable had not
been sufficiently developed for the presidents to publicly
commit to it. While the GOR might be comfortable saying that
it was exploring new ideas for a forum to discuss human
rights and democracy, it did not want to get too specific
about the roundtable. However, if both sides were completely
satisfied with the proposal, it might be possible for the
organizers of the roundtable to make an announcement around
the time of the summit. The announcement could then be noted
by both governments at the summit. Lukin said he personally
thought it a good idea to have an announcement be part of the
summit, but he would need to have a quick response to the
GOR's other concerns with the roundtable to help him convince
others in time.


4. (C) The second change that Lukin proposed was to reduce
the number of participants. Eight to ten experts on each
side were too many, especially in the beginning. Having such
a large number of participants would likely lead to a more
confrontational style of discussion. He suggested that four
to five experts to a side would be better to allow the
participants to have a more meaningful dialogue. Once the
core group of four to five had established a good working
relationship, it might be possible to expand the group.
Third, Lukin said the GOR opposed issuance of a joint report
after the first session. Too much publicity about
disagreements between the two sides early on could hurt the
roundtable before it could gel.


5. (C) Fourth, the GOR wanted a Russian organization to work
in partnership with the Carnegie Endowment for International
Peace in running the roundtable. Carnegie would be an
acceptable U.S. coordinator, but there also needed to be a
Russian partner. The two would share control for
implementing the roundtable, including choosing the
participants. He said that his office might be able to play
a role as a partner to Carnegie, but no final decision on
that question had been made. If a Russian counterpart to
Carnegie could be identified and all the other issues were
concluded, it would strengthen the chances of an announcement
at the summit.


6. (C) Lukin stressed the need to move quickly to try and
reach agreement on the four concerns he outlined. He
suggested making changes in the paper to reflect those
concerns and then sending it back to his office early in the
week of July 3. Lukin could then discuss the changes with

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others in the GOR with the goal of reaching agreement in time
for the summit. The text of the paper proposing a
U.S.-Russian Roundtable on Democracy and Human Rights is
included below.


7. (SBU) Begin paper:

U.S.-RUSSIAN ROUNDTABLE ON DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Concept: Establishing a U.S.-Russia private/public sector
roundtable on democracy and human rights will create a new
channel for regular dialogue on these key issues. The
roundtable will not obviate the need for other official
channels, but will complement them with more in-depth
discussions by and among experts. A joint announcement of
the initiative by Presidents Bush and Putin at the G8 Summit
would give the dialogue a strong initial boost, improve the
prospects that it will be productive, and demonstrate both
sides' commitment to engaging in serious discussions in this
new forum.

The roundtable should focus on the broad range of democracy
and human rights issues, including rule of law, media
freedom, and civil society independence. It would include
about eight to ten experts on each side. Representatives of
civil society, as well as independent experts, would
constitute the bulk of each side's delegation, with some
government officials also taking part. Sessions would be
held alternately in Russia and the U.S., and would take place
at regular intervals to foster real dialogue. The sessions,
each lasting 1-2 days, would lead to a joint report
highlighting areas of agreement and varying perspectives on
issues. Between sessions, participants would be encouraged
to communicate informally.

Procedures: The dialogue will be organized and run by the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, with its Moscow
Center. Carnegie will have full control of implementing the
initiative, including organizing and setting dates for each
session, establishing an agenda and choosing participants.
Costs of the initiative would be modest. To make the
dialogue a real government-private effort, funding should
come from both governments and other non-governmental sources
such as grants, as needed.

Key Elements of a Joint Statement: The U.S. and Russia
announce the establishment of the U.S.-Russia Roundtable on
Democracy and Human Rights. The Roundtable would bring
together civil society activists, analysts and government
officials from both countries to discuss the whole range of
issues involving democratic societies, including rule of law,
independent media and a vibrant civil society.

End paper.




BURNS