UKRAINE: CFE EXTRAORDINARY CONFERENCE: REQUEST FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L KYIV 001327 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT ALSO FOR EUR/UMB, EUR/PRM, AND EUR/PRA E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/31/2017 TAGS: PARM PREL KCFE OSCE UP SUBJECT: UKRAINE: CFE EXTRAORDINARY CONFERENCE: REQUEST FOR U.S. POSITION REF: A. USOSCE 232 ¶B. USOSCE 230 Classified By: Political Counselor Kent Logsdon for reasons 1.4(b,d) ¶1. (U) This is a guidance request. See para 6. ¶2. (U) We met May 31 with MFA Arms Control and Military Technical Cooperation Department Director Volodymyr Belashov at his request to discuss the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Extraordinary Conference called by Russia for June 12-15. Belashov began by asking who would lead the U.S. delegation, or at least at what level the U.S. would be represented. Belashov said he or Ukrainian OSCE PermRep Volodymyr Yelchenko was likely to lead the delegation, but if a number of other delegations were led by deputy ministers, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Veselovsky could head the delegation. ¶3. (C) Belashov said MFA was prepared to attend the Extraordinary Conference. He had just completed a draft of instructions for the delegation, deliberately keeping them general so that the delegation head, who could very likely be Belashov, would have the flexibility to make adjustments to the Ukrainian position. MFA would shortly forward the directive for the President's signature. A Ukrainian MFA press statement was also nearly ready. ¶4. (C) Belashov foresaw that Russia would be isolated at the Extraordinary Conference, with only Belarus in its corner and possibly with Kazhakhstan's tepid backing. The most likely result would be a Russian decision to suspend its participation in CFE, but recent Russian statements had persuaded Belashov that this was not a foregone conclusion. Belashov noted what he saw as the correctness of the Russian view that adapted CFE was necessary in light of changes, such as NATO expansion and other developments since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He suggested that the Extraordinary Conference could be an opportunity to consider adjustments that might ease Russian fulfillment of its Istanbul Commitments to withdraw Russian forces from Georgia and Moldova and pave the way for adoption of adapted CFE. He floated several ideas about how this might be done, stressing that he had not received approval from his superiors regarding his suggestions, although he knew they were in general agreement regarding the approach. ¶5. (C) Belashov said he would be meeting with a German diplomat, possibly together with a European Commission official, later in the day on the same topic. He had a list of 17 countries with whom he would ideally consult, but meetings with the U.S. and EU representatives were the most important. He asked to know what position U.S. would take at the Extraordinary Conference. He would be willing to arrive in Vienna a few days early for pre-meetings and consultations with his U.S. counterparts, but noted that a pre-meeting a day before the event would be too late. ¶6. (U) Request information on who will lead the U.S. delegation and the U.S. position that we can share with Belashov. Please advise whether there is interest in arranging for pre-meetings in Vienna with the head of the Ukrainian delegation. ¶7. (U) Visit Embassy Kyiv's classified website: www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/kiev. Taylor