Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07HELSINKI427
2007-06-06 08:19:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Helsinki
Cable title:  

VANHANEN-FRADKOV: A SHARP EXCHANGE

Tags:  PREL ETRD PGOV ECON RS FI 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO6724
RR RUEHAG RUEHROV
DE RUEHHE #0427 1570819
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 060819Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY HELSINKI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3428
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 4782
C O N F I D E N T I A L HELSINKI 000427 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/01/2017
TAGS: PREL ETRD PGOV ECON RS FI
SUBJECT: VANHANEN-FRADKOV: A SHARP EXCHANGE


Classified By: POLCHIEF GREGORY THOME FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L HELSINKI 000427

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/01/2017
TAGS: PREL ETRD PGOV ECON RS FI
SUBJECT: VANHANEN-FRADKOV: A SHARP EXCHANGE


Classified By: POLCHIEF GREGORY THOME FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Finnish PM Vanhanen and Russian PM
Fradkov met May 29 in Helsinki but were unable to resolve
a rapidly emerging dispute over Russian tariffs on wood
exports. Vanhanen also raised human rights and sharply
criticized Moscow's handling of the Bronze Soldier
incident in Estonia. In side meetings, senior Finnish
officials pressed Deputy FM Titov to allow a UNSCR in
support of Ahtisaari's Kosovo proposals to go forward,
but Titov offered the same old arguments. End Summary.


2. (SBU) Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen hosted his
Russian counterpart, Mikhail Fradkov, for a day of
meetings in Helsinki May 29. Johan Schalin, Vahnanen's
Senior Advisor for Foreign Affairs, offered PolChief the
following readout.

Little Progress on Wood Tariffs
--------------

3. (C) Vanhanen was able to make little progress in
convincing Fradkov that Russia needed to rethink its
decision to unilaterally impose a tariff on wood exports.
Finland's huge paper industry depends on Russian wood for
more than 30 percent of its production, and the tariffs
would present an enormous cost to Finnish business.
Vanhanen also emphasized to Fradkov that the tariffs are
clearly not WTO-compatible, Schalin reported. The WTO
question is also particularly problematic for the GOF;
like the US, it is a strong supporter of Russian entry
into the WTO, Schalin said, but it fears that the wood
tariff issue could turn into an obstacle to Russia's
accession process. However, this worry notwithstanding,
Vanhanen made it clear that Finland would hold Russia to
the commitments it made when it began its WTO bid.
Moscow has consistently demanded that the dispute be
handled bilaterally, and Fradkov brushed aside Vanhanen's
insistence that both the EU and WTO considerations had to
be included in the discussion. While the two sides made
little progress, Schalin said that the conversation
remained amiable.

Sharp Words On Estonia
--------------

4. (C) Things turned less amiable when Vanhanen expressed
-- in nuanced tones -- the GOF's concerns about human
rights in Russia. Fradkov responded by complaining about
a "European double standard" on these questions, and he
then launched into a diatribe about the "abuse" Estonia
committed when it decided to move the bronze statue.
Vanhanen responded sharply, telling Fradkov that Moscow
had over-reacted to the issue; had caused the
international community to question its commitment to the
Vienna Conventions; and that, for Finland, it was
"absolutely not acceptable to mess in the affairs of an
elected, democratic state." According to Schalin, the
room fell silent for several awkward moments, then the
two PMs turned to other issues.

Nothing New on Kosovo
--------------

5. (C) Fradkov was not authorized to discuss other
issues, Schalin reported, but Deputy Foreign Minister
Titov did discuss Kosovo on the margins of the PMs'
meetings with Finnish MFA State Secretary Pertti Torstila
and U/S for Political Affairs Markus Lyra. According to
the Finnish MFA's Russia desk, the Finns pressed Russia
to find a way to allow a UNSCR in support of UN Special
Envoy (and former Finnish President) Martti Ahtisaari's
Kosovo final status recommendations to go forward. Titov
did not "use the 'veto' word," our contacts reported, but
trotted out the usual laundry list of why Russia does not
support such a resolution (i.e., Belgrade must support
it; it sets a precedent for the Frozen Conflicts, etc.)

Comment
--------------

6. (C) Although the Finns made little headway on the wood
tariff or on Kosovo during Fradkov's visit, it was clear
that the GOF does not intend to give any ground either --
a point that Vanhanen's sharp comments on Estonia further
emphasized. End Comment.
WARE