SIX-PARTY TALKS: GOR VIEWS ON THE FIFTH WORKING

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 001100 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/14/2017 TAGS: PREL PARM MNUC KNNP KN RS SUBJECT: SIX-PARTY TALKS: GOR VIEWS ON THE FIFTH WORKING GROUP REF: MOSCOW 849 Classified By: Pol/Min Alice G. Wells. Reasons 1,4(B/D). ¶1. (C) On March 14, Aleksandr Ignatov, MFA Deputy Director of the ASEAN Department and a participant in the Fifth WG on the Northeast Asia Peace and Security Mechanism, shared with us GOR expectations for the upcoming talks. Ignatov, who has served in South Korea, will be deputy to Ambassador Vladimir Rakhmanin. Russia's Six-Party Talk negotiator, DFM Aleksandr Losyukov, will also be present at the plenary. Ignatov said the GOR does not have a specific agenda, but plans to have informal meetings March 15 to survey other participating counties' views before convening the WG the next day. ¶2. (C) According to Ignatov, the GOR considers the fifth WG an important mechanism and its launching is a meaningful step for the overall success of the Six-Party Talks. Although no "serious" results are expected, the first meeting will set the future direction in trying to keep North Korea within the 1994 Agreed Framework. Ignatov agreed on the importance of first establishing a set of principles and objectives for the WG. ¶3. (C) Ignatov emphasized that the last round of the talks showed that agreement with North Korea is possible. The Russian Chair hopes to capitalize on the current positive atmosphere. Ignatov agreed with the USG view that the WG should avoid duplicating other regional structures such as the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF),and that Taiwan and other regional issues should be excluded. He added that the WG is for the six parties only, and could not be opened to additional members, as has been the case with ARF and CSCAP (Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific). ¶4. (C) Ignatov told us that talk of signing any document, even for the scheduled May ministers' meeting, is premature. The GOR sees its function as the chair as streamlining WG procedures and avoiding any "slamming the door" and unhappy departures as has happened in other North Korea-related fora. BURNS