GREEK POSITIONS ON NOV 19-20 GAERC ISSUES

C O N F I D E N T I A L ATHENS 002236 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/16/2017 TAGS: EUN PREL PGOV GR BK BM CH IR IS IZ KV LE PK, SY, ZI SUBJECT: GREEK POSITIONS ON NOV 19-20 GAERC ISSUES REF: SECSTATE 156474 Classified By: POLCOUNS ROBIN QUINVILLE. REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On November 15, DepPolCouns delivered reftel points on the November 19-20 EU Foreign Ministers' meeting (GAERC) to MFA A11 EU Common Foreign Policy Directorate Counselor Antonia Katzourou. (NOTE: Katzourou recently replaced A11 Counselor Penny Douti, who has transferred to Moscow. END NOTE.) On November 16, DepPolCouns met with Katzourou to discuss Greek/EU positions. Katzourou said the main topics of discussion at the GAERC would be the Middle East and Kosovo. Greece was awaiting a response to its request submitted through the Embassy in Washington for an invitation to the Annapolis meeting. The responses below are keyed to major agenda items in reftel. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) -- Israeli-Palestinian Peace: Katzourou said the GAERC would hear a report from SYG Solana on his recent tour of the Middle East and would discuss what it could do to help move the process along. Greece had submitted a request through its Embassy in Washington for an invitation to the Annapolis meeting, based on its credentials as an interested country in the region, but had not yet received an answer whether it would be invited. On the December 17 Paris Donors' Conference, Greece recognized its importance and was considering a donation, though no decision had yet been made. -- Lebanon-Syria: Katzourou noted the UN SYG's visit yesterday, as well as the French FM's recent visit. Greece was interested to hear their perspectives. -- Kosovo: Katzourou said Ambassador Ischinger would attend the GAERC to report on developments. Greece recognized there was now only a "slim chance" of a positive outcome of talks before the December 10 deadline. Nevertheless, Greece believed a negotiated settlement was critical and hoped that a breakthrough might somehow be possible even at the last minute. Greece was above all concerned about stability in the region and feared the consequences of proceeding with the UDI. It also believed that the outcome had to be legitimized through the UN. -- Bosnia: Katzourou thought there would not be a discussion of Bosnia at the GAERC. Agreed conclusions supported High Representative Lajcak. -- Iran: Solana would report on developments with Iran as well and Greece was waiting to hear the report before drawing conclusions. In addition, Greece had just received DG El Baradei's report but had not yet digested it. On the question of separate EU sanctions, Katzourou said Greece favored working as far as possible through the UN. -- Iraq: Katsourou did not expect this issue to be on the agenda. -- Pakistan: The EU had not yet formulated its conclusions, but Katzourou expected them to be virtually identical to the positions advocated by the U.S.: lifting of the state of emergency, respecting rule of law and human rights, free and fair elections, and Musharraf giving up his military position. -- EU-Africa Summit: Katzourou thought invitations had been issued yesterday, though she did not know whether Mugabe had been invited. Greece's position was that the summit was of utmost importance, whether or not Mugabe attended. But if he were to attend, Greece advocated a pointed discussion of human rights in Zimbabwe. "Mugabe should not be allowed to prevail at the summit," she said. -- Burma: Greece agreed on the importance of keeping pressure on the Burmese regime, but Katzourou did not think the issue would be discussed at the GAERC. -- Georgia: Though not among the U.S. points, Katzourou said there would be a discussion of developments in Georgia. There would be no agreed conclusions, but there would be a press statement by the Presidency stressing the importance of freedom of the press and a free and fair presidential election in January. SPECKHARD