THE DEPUTY SECRETARY'S MEETING WITH MONGOLIAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 002597 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR D AND EAP E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/08/2027 TAGS: ASEAN ETRD PREL EXBS MG SUBJECT: THE DEPUTY SECRETARY'S MEETING WITH MONGOLIAN DEPUTY FM TSOLMON Classified By: Deputy Secretary Negroponte, reasons 1.4 c, d ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Mongolian Deputy Foreign Minister Tserendash Tsolmon offered to host Six Party working group meetings, SIPDIS requested U.S. support for its APEC membership bid, and discussed the possibility of signing Mongolia's Millennium Challenge Compact during President Enkhbayar's fall visit to Washington during an August 1 meeting with Deputy Secretary Negroponte on the margins of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Manila. The Deputy Secretary also encouraged Tsolmon to consider an alternative to Mongolia's proposal for a bilateral Comprehensive Partnership Framework Agreement (CPFA). END SUMMARY. Introduction -------------- ¶2. (C) Deputy FM Tsolmon noted that this is the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which will culminate with Mongolian President Enkhbayar's visit to the United States in October. Tsolmon said that he hoped that one outcome of President Enkhbayar's planned visit to the U.S. in the autumn would be the conclusion of the Millennium Challenge Compact (MCC). Millennium Challenge Compact (MCC) -------------- ¶4. (C) The Deputy Secretary expressed hope that the Compact would be completed and ready for signature this autumn. Since a lot of work has already occurred, including during Assistant Secretary Hill's recent visit to Mongolia, Deputy Secretary Negroponte opined that it might be possible to have SIPDIS the document's signing coincide with President Enkhbayar's proposed visit to Washington in the fall. Comprehensive Partnership Framework Agreement (CPFA) ¶5. (C) Tsolmon noted several times during the discussion his country's key foreign policy goal of maintaining "balanced relations" given its strategic location between two massive neighbors, Russia and China. As a result, in Mongolia's view, the country needed a third force to maintain a more equal balance, namely the United States. According to Tsolmon, his country was previously in a position of "no SIPDIS balance" but now has "rather" balanced relationships. Politically, there is a general openness with both China and Russia, and Mongolia hopes to have the same with the U.S. Tsolmon suggested that Mongolia wants to conclude negotiation SIPDIS of a Comprehensive Partnership Framework Agreement (CPFA) by the time of President Enkhbayar's visit to the U.S. as a way to solidify bilateral relations. He conceded that it was unusual for the U.S. to sign this type of agreement, but said Mongolia had similar ones with Russia and China. ¶6. (C) The Deputy Secretary said that while the U.S. certainly wants to deepen ties with Mongolia, it remains unclear whether such an agreement was the best way to go about this. The document as proposed would be legally binding and the U.S. is not prepared at this time to undertake such a step. The Deputy Secretary suggested that an alternative would be to continue discussions to achieve a nonbinding declaration encompassing areas like peace and security, cultural exchanges, and education. The U.S. would look at possible alternatives. APEC Membership & Six Party Talks -------------- ¶7. (C) Tsolmon expressed a desire for Mongolia to join APEC. Acknowledging that there is a moratorium on expanding APEC membership until the end of 2007, he said he hoped Mongolia could join soon with U.S. support. ¶8. (C) Observing that Mongolia is the only country in Northeast Asia not involved in the Six-Party Talks, DFM Tsolmon said Mongolia is hoping to end that "discrimination" SIPDIS and proposed that a working group on peace and security meet in Mongolia. He also said Mongolia had offered to host the Japan-DPRK bilateral working of the Six Party Talks. ¶9. (C) Deputy Secretary Negroponte noted that APEC might not MANILA 00002597 002 OF 002 be ready to lift the membership moratorium until 2010. He stressed the importance of a denuclearized Korean Peninsula and said that while the current Six Party structure is set, over time there may be opportunities in the future to allow for participation from other parties. Iraq ¶10. (C) Deputy Secretary Negroponte thanked Mongolia for its contribution of troops to Iraq and noted that they were valued greatly. He expressed the hope that Iraq would continue to receive such support from the Mongolian people. ¶12. (U) August 1,2007; 0900-0930 hours; Manila, Philippines. ¶14. (U) Meeting Participants: nine U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte Kaye Lee, Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of State Edith Spruill, Notetaker Mongolia Deputy Foreign Minister Tserendash Tsolmon Ms. Shagdar Rinchenmyadag, Department of Multilateral Cooperation Antonio A. Rufino, Honorary Consul General KENNEY