AFGHANISTAN: LOW-KEY RUSSIAN PARTICIPATION IN

UNCLAS MOSCOW 003141 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KJUS AF RS SUBJECT: AFGHANISTAN: LOW-KEY RUSSIAN PARTICIPATION IN ROME RULE OF LAW CONFERENCE REF: STATE 87370 ¶1. (SBU) We met with MFA Afghanistan Section Chief Yuriy Khokhlov to urge Russian participation at the Rome Rule of Law Conference on Afghanistan and encourage Moscow to contribute to the Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund for justice projects. Khokhlov said that Russian participation in the conference was not yet decided but Moscow was likely to be represented by the Russian Ambassador in Rome. Noting that the Italians had already asked for higher-level participation, Khokhlov said it was possible Deputy Foreign Minister Yakovenko might attend. ¶2. (SBU) Khokhlov said that Russia was not planning on contributing to the Trust Fund for justice projects. While stressing that Russian assistance for humanitarian projects was likely to rise in the coming year, he said Moscow was skeptical about the usefulness of funding multilateral justice projects. Afghanistan needed to take on greater ownership of its own governmental structures and build a justice system that was sustainable with Afghan resources. He was dubious that raising judges' salaries would be sufficient to dispel Afghan perceptions that the justice system was corrupt and ineffective. BURNS