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

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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,

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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
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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)
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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

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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

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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

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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
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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"

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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

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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