AMBASSADOR WAGNER'S MEETING WITH FM ASSELBORN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LUXEMBOURG 000162

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/25/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL LU
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR WAGNER'S MEETING WITH FM ASSELBORN
APRIL 28

REF: A. STATE 55201

B. LUXEMBOURG 0152

Classified By: AMB ANN L. WAGNER, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: Ambassador Wagner met privately with
Foreign Minister Asselborn April 28 to press home the U.S.
government's deep concerns about the unhelpful remarks he has
made about missile defense. Asselborn defended his comments
by stating that he was merely saying "what other people were
thinking." The FM said his talks with Russian FM Lavrov
suggested that the Russians would seriously consider missile
defense negotiations with the U.S. Asselborn requested a
meeting with Secretary Rice following his visit to
Afghanistan in June. (Note: Embassy is not ready to
recommend a meeting with the Secretary at this time. End
note.) Despite the USG's and the Government of Luxembourg's
own best efforts to rein him in, FM Asselborn will remain the
GOL's problem child - as well as a popular politician. End
summary.


2. (C) Ambassador Wagner told FM Asselborn April 28 that his
cumulative remarks has caused a "setback" in Luxembourg-U.S.
relations that would take care and time to repair. The
Ambassador noted that Russian objections to the missile
defense plan were baseless and illogical, to which Asselborn
grudgingly agreed. She strongly encouraged the FM to vent
any future concerns about U.S. foreign policy issues directly
with her and not in the media and reinforced the fact that
words carry great weight and his were not helpful. The FM
opined that he was only voicing aloud "what other people were
thinking" and that he believed what he was saying ("I must be
true to myself"). He did agree to a more "open and direct
dialogue" with the Ambassador in the future. He also noted
that his Ministry staff had taken a keen interest in his
public comments since engaging with Mission staff on the
issue of missile defense.


3. (C) FM Asselborn said that the missile defense debate "is
just beginning" and that the issue is more political than
military. He said that NATO was the right forum for missile
defense discussions, but added that it should also be
discussed by the European Union because it had broad
implications for Europe as a whole. The FM said that Russian
FM Lavrov had told him that Russia was "not closing the door"
to missile defense negotiations and that the Russian
government considered missile sites in Western Europe, for
example in Italy or the United Kingdom, preferable to Poland
and the Czech Republic. Asselborn closed the discussion
about Russia by reminding Ambassador Wagner that "I am not
the guy who invited Putin to Luxembourg." (Note: Press
reports credit Prime Minister Juncker with the invitation;
President Putin is scheduled to visit Luxembourg in May. End
note.)


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4. (C) Asselborn said that he was visiting Afghanistan June
11 and would like to meet with Secretary Rice when he
returned to give her a read-out. He proposed the meeting to
the Secretary on the margins of the April 26-27 Oslo meeting.
He said the Secretary's response was that any meeting would
"depend on Ambassador Wagner."


5. (C) Comment: Any Mission recommendation for a meeting
with the Secretary will depend on Asselborn's future public
comments. His promise of an open and direct dialogue in the
future acknowledges that he got the message, however he
showed no remorse for the harm his remarks caused and we
cannot guarantee that he will remain silent on missile
defense. He seems unwilling or unable to censor himself, and
senior officials at the MFA have had only limited success
getting their boss to stick to his talking points. Prime
Minister Juncker has publicly clarified Luxembourg's official
position (missile defense should be discussed in NATO and in
the NATO-Russia Council and Luxembourg recognizes the right
of its NATO partners to conclude bilateral agreements),but
Asselborn is likely to continue to be the GOL's problem
child. We will continue to monitor his public statements
very carefully.


6. (C) Comment continued: FM Asselborn enjoys solid - and
growing - popularity in Luxembourg, further enhancing his
position as PM Juncker's key coalition partner. An April
17-23 public opinion poll showed Juncker maintaining his huge
popularity among Luxembourgers with an 81 percent approval
rating. FM Asselborn, however, got the second highest
approval rating, knocking very pro-American Justice Minister
Luc Frieden to third place. Although there may be no
relationship between Asselborn's enhanced popularity and his
comments on missile defense, Embassy believes that a serious
public debate in Luxembourg on missile defense could easily
solidify opposition to our plans.
WAGNER