GOP AGREES COMPLETELY WITH U.S. CONCERNS OVER

C O N F I D E N T I A L WARSAW 002339 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/05/2011 TAGS: PREL PBTS ELTN RS MD UP SUBJECT: GOP AGREES COMPLETELY WITH U.S. CONCERNS OVER RUSSIAN SEVERING OF MOSCOW-CHISINAU RAIL LINKS REF: A. STATE 181103 ¶B. EUR/UMB E-MAIL TO DESKOFFS 11/01/2006 Classified By: Political Counselor Mary Curtin, reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Pol External Chief delivered reftel demarche (as amended by refmail) on November 3 to Mieczyslaw Kuzinski, action officer for Security Threats and Eurasian Conflicts in the MFA Security Policy Department. Kuzinski confirmed that GOP fully shares U.S. concerns over the Russian shutdown of Moscow-Chisinau rail links and the prospective establishment of a new Moscow-Kyiv-Tiraspol rail link without the involvement or consent of the Moldovan government. He also reiterated GOP support for Chisinau's right to exert sovereign control over rail routes within its borders. ¶2. (C) With regard to next steps, Kuzinski said that the GOP would probably not raise the issue in bilateral with contacts with Moscow, as Polish-Russian relations were only just recovering from a very low point and there were enough contentious problems on the agenda at this point. However, he did agree that Poland was in a particularly good position to discuss the problem with Kiev, given the longstanding record of close Polish-Ukrainian bilateral relations. Kuzinski noted that the Ukrainian government under President Yushchenko had taken a refreshingly constructive approach to the Transnistrian problem, and he hoped that PM Yanukovich would continue this trend. Kuzinski added that he expected the EU would likely weigh in on the Moscow-Chisinau rail link problem. he also anticipated a discussion at the OSCE Permanent Council. ¶3. (C) COMMENT. Post agrees that this would not be an appropriate time for the GOP to raise the issue with Moscow, given the overall tension in the bilateral relationship. END COMMENT. ASHE