ESTONIA: PRIME MINISTER ANSIP VISITS AFGHANISTAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TALLINN 001131

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/22/2016
TAGS: MARR PGOV PREL AF EN
SUBJECT: ESTONIA: PRIME MINISTER ANSIP VISITS AFGHANISTAN

Classified By: CDA Jeff Goldstein for reasons 1.4 (b) & (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: During a visit to Afghanistan December 10-
12, Prime Minister Ansip assured President Karzai that
Estonia and NATO are in Afghanistan for the "long haul."
Karzai expressed gratitude for Estonia's support to
Afghanistan and complained bitterly about Pakistan's
unwillingness to deal with the Taliban. Foreign Minister
Farhang expressed strong reservations about the French
proposal to form a "Contact Group" for Afghanistan,
reservations that the Estonians share. Ansip visited
Estonian troops based in Helmand Province who reported good
cooperation on the ground with British forces leading the
PRT. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) Prime Minister Andrus Ansip traveled to Afghanistan
December 10-12 to visit with Estonian troops serving in the
UK-led PRT in Helmand Province. The Prime Minister also
met with President Hamid Karzai, Minister of Economy M.
Amin Farhang and Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament,
Yunus Qanon. Ansip was accompanied by newly-appointed
Chief of the Defense Forces (CHOD) Major General Ants
Laaneots, Ministry of Defense (MOD) Permanent U/S Lauri
Almann, Ansip's Foreign Affairs Advisor Kyllike Sillaste-
Elling, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director for
Security and Arms Control Arti Hilpus. Following the
visit, Sillaste-Elling and Hilpus (separately) briefed
Poloffs on their impressions of the trip.


3. (C) In Kabul, Ansip met with President Karzai, who was
accompanied by the Ministers of Defense and Foreign
Affairs. According to Sillaste-Elling, Karzai was very
well prepared for his discussions with Ansip - it was clear
the GOA had "really done its homework." Karzai expressed
gratitude for the international support Afghanistan is
receiving, and noted his particular appreciation for help
from countries like Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia who have
"not been independent very long and don't have to be in
Afghanistan." Karzai thanked Ansip for Estonia's
development assistance, the GOE's donation of 4000
Kalashnikov rifles to Afghan security forces and for the
130 Estonian troops who are participating in the UK-led PRT
in Helmand.


4. (C) Ansip assured Karzai that Estonia and NATO are in
Afghanistan for the "long haul." He said that Estonians
recognize that Afghanistan's struggle against the Soviet
Union contributed to the USSR's collapse. After re-
independence, Estonia received a lot of support from other
countries. Estonia's presence in Afghanistan is an effort
to repay that support. On reconstruction, Ansip advised
Karzai that, based on Estonia's own experience, it is
necessary to pay attention to rule of law and corruption
issues in order to attract foreign investment.


5. (C) Both Sillaste-Elling and Hilpus commented on
Karzai's rancor toward Pakistan. Karzai told Ansip that he
believes the GOP is not really interested in cooperation
with Afghanistan. Rather, Pakistan wants to benefit from
Afghanistan's current weak state. Karzai said Afghanistan
has a "clear idea and clear goals" but Pakistan does not
really want to do anything to stop the extremists roaming
within its borders. Hilpus remarked on how surprised he
was by the "bitterness and anger in Karzai's voice" when he
spoke about Pakistan.


6. (C) On the issue of NATO-EU cooperation in Afghanistan,
Sillaste-Elling said that that she believes things are
working fine on the ground. The donor community in
Afghanistan is small enough that "everyone talks to each
other," despite ongoing coordination issues in Brussels.
These coordination problems, however, are problematic for
the GOE in terms of managing their own limited resources,
Sillaste-Elling added. She also expressed concern that the
drop in the European Commission's budget for Afghanistan
next year sends a bad signal about EU priorities.


7. (C) In a separate meeting with Ansip, Economic Minister
Farhang expressed GOA concerns about French President
Jacque Chirac's proposal for a Contact Group (similar to
the one in Bosnia) for Afghanistan. Farhang pointed out
that in Bosnia, the Contact Group was created in the
absence of a government. According to Hilpus, Farhang
repeatedly asked what the GOA's role would be with the
Contact Group and why the GOA was not consulted before the
proposal was announced. Hilpus told us that the GOE

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believes Chirac's proposal is premature at best, that it is
not clear it would enhance the reconstruction and
development work going on now, and that Ansip shares many
of the same concerns as Farhang. Additionally Hilpus
confided that that he found the manner in which the Contact
Group was announced "insulting to the Afghan government."


8. (C) In Helmand, the GOE delegation received briefings
from both civilian and military officials and visited a
children's hospital where Estonia plans to donate medical
equipment as part of its first development assistance
project in Afghanistan. Ansip and General Lanneots were
both impressed with the professionalism and high morale of
the Estonian troops. Hilpus said that while information
sharing between the Estonian and British forces is good,
Estonian troops did complain that they are not receiving
timely intelligence from UK forces. The British commanders
on the ground characterized the Estonian platoon as an
asset to the mission.


9. (C) Sillaste-Elling noted that there had been "some
problems" for the previous Estonian rotation (that had
deployed in the spring). Everyone had been surprised at
the level of violence they encountered and the British had
had to "get a grip." Since then, however, the British
forces have changed tactics - making their units more
mobile - which has improved their ability to react to
Taliban activity. The British have also made progress
identifying key Taliban figures and distinguishing them
from less hard-core supporters. The goal, Sillaste-Elling
said, is "not to create any more enemies."


10. (C) Both Sillaste-Elling and Hilpus reported that Ansip
was very pleased with the trip. The Prime Minister had
accomplished all of his goals - the most important of which
was to demonstrate strong support for the troops.
Sillaste-Elling noted that while this type of public
support comes naturally in other countries, this has not
always been the case for Estonia. In the past, the public
perception has been that once the Government approves a
deployment, everyone "just forgets about the troops." She
said Ansip was very happy that he has been able to visit
both Iraq and Afghanistan.
GOLDSTEIN