INITIAL REACTIONS IN MOSCOW TO DPRK MISSILE LAUNCH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 007084 SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D COPY - PARA 6 AND 7 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/05/2016 TAGS: PREL MNUC KN RS SUBJECT: INITIAL REACTIONS IN MOSCOW TO DPRK MISSILE LAUNCH MOSCOW 00007084 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: A/POL Bruce Donahue. Reasons: 1.4 (b/d). ¶1. (C) Summary. The Russian MFA issued a strongly worded statement at 2:00 p.m. Moscow time on July 5 in response to the DPRK missile launches. The MFA spokesman was on the record as day began in Moscow calling the launches a "provocation." Our colleagues in the ROK and Japanese embassies told us their Foreign Ministers were reaching out the same day to Russian Minister Lavrov. The Chinese told us they had no new message for the Russians, though they expressed regret at the launch. Russian media covered the launches extensively, focusing on reports that at least one of the test missiles may have landed closer to Russia than to Japan, though commentators were divided on how to interpret those reports. End summary. Russians React Firmly But Cautiously -------------- ¶2. (U) The Russian Foreign Ministry released its official statement at 2:00 pm Moscow time to the DPRK's missile launches several hours prior. (Note: The Embassy faxed a copy of the statement in Russian to the Operations Center. End Note.) MFA spokesman Mikhail Kamynin had expressed an initial GOR reaction in interviews published by the news agencies Interfax and RIA Novosti as the day began. Kamynin called the launches a "provocation (which) seriously complicates the situation surrounding the Korean nuclear program" and said they clearly harmed prospects for regional stability and confidence-buliding in the region. Diplomatic Efforts in Moscow -------------- ¶3. (C) We spoke the morning of July 5 with colleagues in the ROK, Japanese and Chinese embassies. ROK political officer Jung Ben-hu told us that Ministers Ban and Lavrov had spoken by telephone at 11:00 a.m. Moscow time. Jung was also attempting to arrange a meeting for himself with the MFA First Asia Department to reiterate the ROK position on the launch, which he said President Roh had already expressed publicly. He said he would also ask the Russians whether they had had advance notice of the launches. He said they had told him only a day earlier that they had no information that the DPRK planned to carry them out. ¶4. (C) Japanese political officer Jun Miura said a phone call between Ministers Aso and Lavrov had been arranged for early afternoon. In the meantime, the Japanese ambassador, on instructions from Tokyo, had already spoken briefly with DFM Aleksandr Alekseyev. The ambassador conveyed Tokyo's resolve for UNSC action "within a week" to denounce the launches. Alekseyev reportedly responded that Russia's position on DPRK missile launches was well known, and that the MFA would be releasing a statement before the end of the day. Our Japanese colleague said he had delivered the same message to the MFA International Organizations Department. ¶5. (C) Chinese Political Counselor Gui Tsunyu told us his last contact with the Russians on the launches was a meeting with MFA First Asia Department Deputy Director Aleksandr Timonin a week earlier. Gui said Russia's and China's positions on a then-potential launch were the same. He said there were no plans for Ministers Li and Lavrov to speak July 5, and that China awaited the UNSC meeting later in the day in New York. Gui conveyed Chinese reget over the launch. Further Press Coverage -------------- ¶7. (U) Commentary in the Russian press on the launches appeared thoughout the day. Several stories took note of reports that two of the DPRK missiles had been fired in the direction of the Russian Far East. Some expressed alarm at Japanese reports that one of the rockets may have fallen 250 km from the Russian city of Nakhodka. In apparent response to these reports, MFA spokesman Kamynin stressed that "for our part, we are continuing to gather the information necessary to determine the precise location where the missiles came down. We are preparing our official reaction accordingly." No news report we saw accused the DPRK missiles of violating Russian airspace, though at least one said the missiles "infringed on our maritime economic zone." Several Duma Deputies, including Igor Barinov and International Affairs Committee Chairman Konstantin Kosachev were cited as saying the Russian military had not yet confirmed the missiles' landing points. ¶8. (C) One news outlet published comments by Federation Council International Affairs Committee Chairman Mikhail Margelov, who called on the international community to give a "proportionate" reaction to the missile launches -- avoiding MOSCOW 00007084 002.2 OF 002 attempts to isolate North Korea or "senseless sanctions or other 'punishments'" -- and for more dialogue with the DPRK, in which he said Russia and China would participate actively. BURNS