AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH FM PLASSNIK

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 VIENNA 000142

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/16/2016
TAGS: PREL EU AU IR AF RU
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH FM PLASSNIK

REF: A. STATE 6236

B. STATE 3627

Classified By: Ambassador Susan R. McCaw for reasons 1.4 (b)(d).


1. (C) Summary. During a cordial and lively first meeting
with Ambassador McCaw, Foreign Minister Plassnik expressed
her desire to continue the improved tenor of transatlantic
relations during the Austrian EU Presidency. She pledged
solidarity on Iran and Afghanistan, and agreed that the EU
needed to give greater attention to its energy supply
situation in view of recent Russian actions. Plassnik
thought that differences between the U.S. and Europe over
rendition flights and Guantanamo detainees were likely to
continue, but she promised to approach those differences in a
respectful and constructive manner. Ambassador was
accompanied to the meeting by DCM (notetaker). End Summary.

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IRAN
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2. (C) After Plassnik welcomed her warmly to Austria, Amb.
McCaw raised the issue of Iran's provocative nuclear policy.
Noting that U/S Burns was meeting the same day in London with
other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, she
stressed the importance of unreserved backing by the Austrian
Presidency and the entire EU. Any sign of hesitation among
EU members would only be exploited by the Iranian regime.
(Plassnik was also provided a copy of Ref. A points on Iran.)


3. (C) Plassnik replied that the EU3 had the full
cooperation and trust of all member states. Noting that she
was in close contact with IAEA DG El Baradei, the Minister
said she had publicly expressed her disappointment and
concern over Iran's actions, especially at a moment where
international confidence in Iran was lacking. Plassnik said
that FM Mottaki had called her directly within the last week,
and that she had given him the same message: Iran had
crossed a red line, and the entire EU was worried.

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Russian Gas
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4. (C) Amb. McCaw told Plassnik that the U.S. was very
concerned about the way Russia had used its control of
natural gas supplies and transport routes to pressure
neighboring states, especially Ukraine. We also doubted that
the agreement reached between Russian and Ukraine would prove
to be enduring and stable.


5. (C) Plassnik recalled that this issue had erupted on Day
One of the Austrian EU Presidency. Russian actions were of
great concern to Austria directly because of its dependence
on Russian gas deliveries; some other European states were
even more dependent. The Austrian Presidency had been quick
to react and express concern.


6. (C) Plassnik said she did not have sufficient information
to judge whether the Russia-Ukraine agreement was "solid" or
not, but at least it had momentarily kept the crisis from
boiling over. Clearly it would need to be watched. In this
context, Plassnik thought that keeping discussions centered
primarily with Energy Ministers had served the EU well and
would continue to be the right approach. At the same time,
the foreign policy dimension was obvious, as the prominence
of the issue at the Jan. 11 meeting of U.S. and EU Political
Directors had demonstrated.


7. (C) Plassnik also confirmed that energy would be an
important focus of the Austrian EU Presidency, including at
the spring meeting of the European Council. She said she had
to admit that a common EU policy in this area was "embryonic"
and would require considerable work.


8. (C) Amb. McCaw said the U.S. would fully support EU
efforts to diversify its energy supply, but also remained
very concerned about political dimensions of Russian actions.

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Afghanistan
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9. (C) Turning to Afghanistan, the Ambassador stressed the
importance of the upcoming London conference and asked for a
strong Austrian contribution. She also expressed U.S.
appreciation for Austria's financial and personnel support
for Afghanistan to date.

10 (C) Plassnik replied that Austria was very cognizant of
the international effort needed in Afghanistan and has tried
to make a meaningful contribution, financially and to ISAF.
Deploying 100 Austrian soldiers to monitor elections had not
been without controversy domestically, she noted.


11. (C) Plassnik also recalled the major conference last
November on "Islam in a Pluralistic World," which had drawn
President Karzai, President Talabani and many others to
Vienna. Austria felt it could make a particular contribution
in promoting dialogue between religions and between
civilizations, and would continue to promote this during its
EU Presidency. A May conference in Vienna on Imams would be
a cornerstone of this effort, and Plassnik said she had
already engaged the new Turkish Ambassador to Austria on the
event.

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Transatlantic Relations
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12. (C) Plassnik stated that she wanted to make
transatlantic relations a central element of the Austrian EU
Presidency. The effort President Bush and Secretary Rice had
made to reach out to Europe during the past year was
recognized and appreciated. Austria wanted to continue that
trend throughout its six month term, and felt moving forward
with both a meeting of Foreign Ministers and a US-EU Summit
would be especially important to maintaining momentum.
Regarding the latter, Plassnik said she supported a practical
approach that produced one or two important, concrete
results, rather than reams of documents.


13. (C) Plassnik argued that there had been far too much
focus on the perceived negatives in transatlantic relations,
often fed by European media. The Minister said she would
refuse to join in that game. We needed instead to highlight
the many common values we shared and areas where we could
work together. The Balkans was clearly one such area; the
Middle East was another. (Plassnik expressed satisfaction
with last week's quartet conference call, and was preparing
for a follow-up discussion in London on January 30.) The
Ambassador warmly welcomed this approach.

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Rendition Flights, Guantanamo
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14. (C) Along with the above, however, Plassnik cautioned
that differences of opinion between the United States and
Europe inevitably would occur during the next six months, and
that Austria, as EU President, would sometimes have to
express positions at odds with U.S. policy. Two such areas,
she predicted, would be CIA rendition flights and treatment
of prisoners at Guantanamo. "These issues are not going to
go away, and we will have to discuss them" in the context of
ongoing European investigations, said Plassnik. She quickly
added, however, that she wanted the tone of those discussions
to be respectful and constructive, citing German Chancellor
Merkel's recent talks at the White House as an example to be
followed. "What we hope for," Plassnik summed up, "is
clarification on what actually happened (regarding rendition
flights) and agreement on how such cases will be handled in
the future."


15. (C) Amb. McCaw said that the Secretary had tried hard to
address EU concerns. The United States did not torture or
condone a policy of torture anywhere or at any time.
European governments needed to remember they had a
responsibility to protect their own citizens and that
intelligence cooperation with the U.S. has greatly assisted
in that effort.

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Reframing a European Identity
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16. (SBU) In response to the Ambassador's question about
Austria's efforts stimulate a debate over Europe's identity
during its EU Presidency, Plassnik said that she wanted to
help frame the debate in a new way and to help Europeans
(including Austrians) feel more comfortably with a growing
European identity. Just as the U.S. had successfully created
a "positive and inclusive" sense of the American way of life,
so Europe should do the same thing. "There is a European way
of life," Plassnik argued, "which includes a competitive
economy, very high social protections, and solidarity between
generations (i.e. good pensions). We can take pride in this
and rally around it." Recognition of this common European
way of life, Plassnik hoped, would lead to a new sense of
compromise and cooperation with the EU.
MCCAW