FRANCE WILL LIKELY SEND A/S-EQUIVALENT TO RUSSIAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 004406 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/RUS JOHN ARMSTRONG AND DRL/PHD WENDY SILVERMAN E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/25/2016 TAGS: PREL RS PGOV PHUM SOCI FR SUBJECT: FRANCE WILL LIKELY SEND A/S-EQUIVALENT TO RUSSIAN NGO EVENT REF: STATE 101780 Classified By: POLITICAL MINISTER COUNSELOR JOSIAH ROSENBLATT, FOR REAS ONS 1.4 B/D (C) On June 22, poloff discussed ref demarche encouraging French high-level participation at the July 11-12 NGO conference in Moscow with Aurelia Bouchez, the MFA's DAS-equivalent for Russia and the former Soviet space. Bouchez received with great interest the news that Assistant Secretaries Fried and Lowenkron will represent the United SIPDIS States. She added that our demarche was a "good idea" and promised to quickly pass on this information to MFA colleagues. On June 26, poloff contacted Charles Denier, the MFA's senior desk officer for Russia, for an update. Denier cautioned that a decision was not final, although it appeared that France would also be represented at the Director (A/S-equivalent) level. Denier said he believed Pierre Levy, the head of the MFA's Policy Planning division, would represent the GOF. Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm STAPLETON