EUR DAS PEKALA'S VISIT TO LITHUANIA: ENERGY,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 VILNIUS 000850 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/10/2016 TAGS: PREL ENRG LH BO SUBJECT: EUR DAS PEKALA'S VISIT TO LITHUANIA: ENERGY, NEIGHBORHOOD ISSUES, JEWISH PROPERTY RESTITUTION REF: A. VILNIUS 637 B. VILNIUS 801 Classified By: Pol/Econ Chief Rebecca Dunham for reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (C) Summary. During DAS Mark Pekala's September 8 visit to Vilnius, the foreign policy advisors to the President and Prime Minister, the MFA's State Secretary, the leader of the opposition, and the Vice Minister of Economy outlined Lithuania's main foreign policy concerns. Our interlocutors emphasized Lithuania's commitment to missions abroad -- especially in Afghanistan and Iraq -- and the importance of its efforts to promote democracy in its "neighborhood." All expressed frustration about Lithuania's dependence on Russia for energy resources and the lack of a common European energy security strategy. They also expressed the political will to solve two outstanding issues of concern to the Jewish community: a law on communal property restitution and the preservation of a historical Jewish cemetery site. End Summary. -------------- Broad Support for Missions Abroad -------------- ¶2. (C) Advisors to the President and Prime Minister, the MFA's State Secretary, and the head of the opposition all reiterated Lithuania's broad-based political support for its overseas missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Balkans. MFA State Secretary Algimantis Rimkunas told DAS Pekala that "Lithuania takes its contribution naturally as we are members of NATO, and it is our duty to contribute." Echoing this sentiment, all interlocutors stressed the importance of support from other countries, especially the U.S., to Lithuania's ability to contribute to security abroad. ¶3. (C) The President's chief foreign policy advisor, Valteris Baliukonas, and the Prime Minister's new policy advisor, Mindaugas Jurkynas, reaffirmed Lithuania's commitment to pay for the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) that Lithuania leads in Ghor province, Afghanistan, but nevertheless stressed that it will pose a financial burden for Lithuania. Both asked DAS Pekala if it would be possible to obtain U.S. assistance to develop the civilian component of the mission, which Lithuania is working to expand. The support of the USAID advisor in Ghor is crucial to their work, they said, and Jurkynas expressed his hope that the advisor would remain indefinitely with the PRT. -------------- Baltics: An Energy Island -------------- ¶4. (C) Nearly all interlocutors expressed frustration over Lithuania's energy dependence on Russia and Russia's pursuit of "political goals by economic means," highlighted by the current cessation of oil supply to Lithuania's refinery Mazeikiu Nafta via Russia's Druzhba pipeline (ref B). Baliukonas told DAS Pekala that the recent visits of Polish President Lech Kaczynski (September 5) and Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom (September 6-8) focused on energy. Baliukonas said that talks with Poland concerned a project to link the Polish and Lithuanian electricity grids (ref A) as well as the possibility of building a liquefied natural gas terminal in Gdansk to serve Poland and the Baltic states. Baliukonas was optimistic about both projects despite doubts over their economic viability. These deals would be political, not commercial, Baliukonas said, pointing out that three high-level visits from Poland have made clear that the political will exists to realize the projects. ¶5. (C) Baliukonas expressed frustration with Lithuania's inability to get the EU to speak with one voice to Russia about energy. He said that Lithuania's credibility on Russia is generally undermined by the perception that Lithuania is "the hooligan of Europe, always shouting and complaining" -- especially when it comes to the EU's Russia policy. The government's new point man on oil and gas, Vice Minister of Economy Nauduzas, made the same point, saying that despite Russia's antagonistic energy policy, "the EU is sleeping on the energy issue." He emphasized that all the member states seemed to pursue their own strategy vis-a-vis Russia. Nauduzas agreed to DAS Pekala's suggestion to get regional players together to discuss information, strategy and tactics on energy issues, and DAS Pekala offered to get back to him with a more concrete proposal. -------------- Lithuania pushes Neighborhood Policy -------------- ¶6. (C) All interlocutors expressed the importance of Lithuania's neighborhood policy, noting that the U.S. and VILNIUS 00000850 002 OF 002 Lithuania generally agree on policy in the region and that Lithuania aspires to be an effective advocate of EU engagement to both the target countries as well as EU institutions. PM's advisor Jurkynas and Rimkunas at the MFA emphasized Lithuania's ambitions to develop soft power, citing their sponsorship of conferences on EU engagement such the September 8-9 conference in Moldova and technical assistance programs to Ukraine, Moldova, and the South Caucasus. ¶7. (C) Baliukonas expressed disappointment that the Finnish EU presidency has not more strongly supported Lithuania's neighborhood policy goals. According to him, Finnish President Halonen warned President Adamkus during a May 13 bilateral meeting in Vienna not to make problems with policy towards Belarus or Ukraine during Finland's EU presidency. (Halonen had just two weeks prior to this meeting declined to take part in Lithuania's May 5 Community for Democratic Choice conference in which Vice President Cheney participated.) Baliukonas said that the Finns have since encouraged "silent diplomacy" with Russia over the interruption of oil supply to Lithuania's refinery, Mazeikiu Nafta. "We don't believe the Finns are ready for open talks about Russia," Baliukonas concluded. -------------- Belarus -------------- ¶8. (C) Lithuania will continue its policy towards Belarus, supporting civil society there, most visibly by hosting the European Humanities University in Vilnius, while also engaging mid-level Belarusian officials to protect its bilateral interests. MFA State Secretary Rimkunas told DAS Pekala that the recent death of a Lithuanian diplomat under suspicious circumstances in Belarus will not change Lithuania's policy towards Belarus. Rimkunas added that EU sanctions (which Lithuania strongly advocated) against the Belarusian regime should not harm the interests of the Belarusian people. Rimkunas expressed concern that when Lithuania enters the Schengen zone it will no longer be able to extend discounted five euro visas to Belarusian citizens. The Schengen fee of 60 euros will be prohibitively high for Belarusians, discouraging cross-border person-to-person contacts. The MFA has tried unsuccessfully to solve this visa problem with its European counterparts. -------------- Jewish cemetery, property restitution -------------- ¶9. (C) All of DAS Pekala's interlocutors expressed the government's will to pass a law on the restitution of Jewish property and reach a negotiated settlement on the fate of the historical Jewish cemetery site in the Snipiskis area of Vilnius. While everyone agreed that responsibility for the working group on the cemetery was likely to move from the MFA, its future remained uncertain as the government awaits a new Chancellor. All parties agreed that Vilnius Mayor Arturas Zuokas has an important role in the future of the site, as the city of Vilnius now owns the land. Zuokas, for his part, seemed more willing to compromise on the issue than in previous meetings, and agreed to host and work with international experts to conduct a scientific examination of the cemetery, a possibility echoed by presidential advisor Baliukonas. Zuokas even said that he was willing to consider limiting any building on the site to the footprint of the current sports arena which stands there now. ¶10. (C) On the property restitution law, opposition leader Andrius Kubilius said that he believed that parliament would likely pass the draft law on restitution in this session, but cautioned that in this minority government everything can become politicized. The PM's advisor said that the Prime Minister would not forget the issue, but highlighted differences between the Jewish communities in Vilnius and Kaunas as an impediment to progress. ¶11. (U) DAS Pekala has cleared this cable. CLOUD