LUXEMBOURG URGED TO INCREASE ITS SUPPORT FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L LUXEMBOURG 000042

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/23/2017
TAGS: NATO PINS PREL MARR MOPS AF LU
SUBJECT: LUXEMBOURG URGED TO INCREASE ITS SUPPORT FOR
AFGHANISTAN

REF: A. STATE 4834

B. STATE 7434

C. LUXEMBOURG 0012

D. LUXEMBOURG 0029

Classified By: DCM Steven Kraft for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Ambassador Wagner met with Defense Minister Jean-Louis
Schiltz January 23 to encourage increased Luxembourg support
for Afghanistan. Offering the Minister an overview of U.S.
policy in the Middle East including Afghanistan, Iraq,
Lebanon, and the Middle East Peace Plan (MEPP),the
Ambassador emphasized that all were interrelated and that
Luxembourg,s contributions to long-term peace and stability
in the region were greatly appreciated. The Ambassador
pressed the Minister to find ways to increase Luxembourg,s
assistance to Afghanistan in preparation for the January 26
NATO Informal Foreign Ministerial.


2. (C) Schiltz acknowledged that the level of Luxembourg,s
humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan had dropped off
beginning in 2004, but he said that he had moved to return
the amount of assistance provided in 2007 to that which was
offered in 2003 (roughly 2,000,000 Euros). The Ambassador
urged Luxembourg to consider a variety of methods in
supporting Afghanistan, including more troops, higher funding
levels, and deploying teams of reconstruction specialists
from the interior ministry's Civil Protection Unit to work
with Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs). She said that
Luxembourg might consider using its considerable financial
and technical resources in partnership with other nations
able to commit more troops. Schiltz said that Luxembourg had
tried to recruit skilled professional civilians to serve in
Afghanistan, but noted that the effort to attract engineers
and other technicians had not been successful. He added that
Luxembourg,s recent decision to reform its military would
make it easier to train and deploy troops on international
missions, though he did not suggest that Luxembourg had plans
to increase the number of troops it committed abroad.



3. (C) Following the Ambassador,s conversation with Defense
Minister Schiltz, the DCM met with the MFA,s Director of
Political Affairs, Sylvie Lucas. The DCM noted that the U.S.
was pressing all its NATO allies to do more in Afghanistan.
Lucas agreed with the U.S. assessment of the need to counter
a Taliban offense in the spring, and said Luxembourg was, in
fact, exploring other avenues for providing assistance. One
such possibility was working through the European Security
and Defense Policy (ESPD) to provide police and judicial
support to Afghanistan, including doing so through PRTs.
Lucas indicated that this idea would likely be further
fleshed out at the February GAERC meeting.
WAGNER