OSCE KAZAKHSTAN DEMARCHE: FINLAND AGREES AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L HELSINKI 000897 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/27/2017 TAGS: OSCE PGOV PREL KZ FI SUBJECT: OSCE KAZAKHSTAN DEMARCHE: FINLAND AGREES AND COMMENTS REF: SECSTATE 167807 Classified By: POLOFF LISA CONESA FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) & (D) ¶1. (C) PolOff delivered subject demarche to Ms. Paivi Peltokoski, First Secretary, Finnish OSCE Chairmanship Task Force December 20. Peltokoski stated that the GoF agrees with the Kazakhstani commitments and &practically everything8. Peltokoski characterized the delay itself as minimally significant to Kazakhstan since Kazakhstan came willing to negotiate on the year. First Commitments First -------------- ¶2. (C) Peltokoski noted that the Kazakhstanis publicly withdrew their support for Russia in making their commitments to preserve the ODIHR and maintain the existing access Non-Governmental organizations currently enjoy. GoF views the 1992 Helsinki and 1994 Budapest documents as viable with unchanged principals. They perceive the Kazakhstani speech and commitments in Madrid November 29 as significant. At Home in Kazakhstan -------------- ¶3. (C) Peltokoski views domestic commitments as harder to verify. The OSCE is limited in mechanism and resources to verify domestic compliance in the field in such a large country. She raised concern twice that the OSCE field mission in Almaty, the former capital, must continue at an effective level, citing the reduction to project coordination level, in the Uzbek and the Ukrainian missions, and now possibly the Tajik mission. Kazahkstanis must also ensure political opposition groups have a voice; Peltokoski cited the lower house, currently occupied by only one political party. She noted that many OSCE delegations were disappointed with the outcome of Kazahkstani parliamentary elections. Kazakhstan Success at OSCE as a Bridge for the Future -------------- ¶4. (C) The GoF sees potential in Kazakhstan,s OSCE Chairmanship as the first Chairmanship of a former Soviet Republic and hopes the OSCE is ready to help. Kazakhstan could be a bridge, ending discussion once and for all on east-west divisions in the OSCE, finally squelching the feeling of two groups in one. Kazakhstan actively approached Finland and Romania for OSCE training and has already taken some training in Vienna, pursuing practical information on personnel, travel and budget, study, and organizational issues. GoF views Kazakhstan as seriously preparing for its role. Comment on Response -------------- ¶5. (C) The GoF is deeply focused on moving into its own Chairmanship. They are attentive to what the Chairmanship turnover requires. They believe that the decision to set up 3 chairmanships instead of 2 was crucial and that the OSCE was close to crisis. This way will be more pragmatic in their view and could ensure long term planning and a potentially common approach to priorities. They recognize that each Chairmanship comes with an agenda. They embraced the potential success of a Kazakhstani Chairmanship as a forum for the active demonstration of OSCE successes on a number of levels. HYATT