FM LAVROV'S LETTER TO THE SECRETARY ON IRAQ

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 003433 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/13/2017 TAGS: PREL OPDC IZ RS SUBJECT: FM LAVROV'S LETTER TO THE SECRETARY ON IRAQ Classified By: Ambassador William J. Burns. Reasons: 1.4(B/D). ¶1. (SBU) On July 10, by diplomatic note, the MFA passed us the original of a letter in Russian from FM Lavrov to the Secretary regarding Iraq, a copy of which has been conveyed SIPDIS by the Russian Embassy to the Department. The letter is dated July 2007. ¶2. (C) Comment: We have been pushing the GOR for some time to engage the Iraqis and have suggested that the Intergovernmental Committee could be an effective vehicle to reach out to Baghdad. The Ambassador has urged the Russians to do the right thing on Iraqi debt, in meetings with Finance Minister Kudrin, Presidential Advisors Shuvalov and Prikhodko and DFM Saltanov. Unfortunately, planned meetings of the IGC have been scheduled and then canceled repeatedly by both sides. Lately, the GOR has been unhappy with the level of representation the Iraqis have offered. We fully understand the constraints the Maliki government faces, and that its priorities must lie at home right now, but we believe that if the Iraqis could send a cabinet-level minister to Moscow at some point in the next few weeks to discuss bilateral economic ties, this might provide sufficient window dressing for the Russians to finally move forward on the long delayed debt write-off. End Comment. ¶3. (SBU) We provide the Embassy translation of the letter. Begin translated text: Dear Condoleezza, I would like to discuss with you again the situation in Iraq, which is always on the agenda of our contacts. Despite certain differences in assessments, we are all striving for Iraq to be an indivisible, democratic and prosperous country, an important factor of stability in the region. One of the most topical tasks faced by the Iraqi leadership is the need to resolve numerous economic problems. It is obvious that it would be hard for the Iraqis to cope with them without assistance of other countries. Russia is prepared to make a sensible contribution to the economic stabilization in Iraq where our economic operators have gained unique experience. And we've already done a lot. You are well aware that Russia is among the handful of countries whose companies are doing real work in Iraq today, in particular, in the rehabilitation of the energy sector. It is our intention to develop bilateral cooperation with Iraq in nearly all areas, naturally, with security in mind. The Iraqi leaders have told us time and again that they are interested in a considerable expansion of economic cooperation between Russia and Iraq. We hear similar assurances from our U.S. partners, in particular (Deputy Secretary of Treasury) Mr. R. Kimmitt who had discussions SIPDIS with our representatives. It is important, however, to translate more dynamically the wishes of the Iraqis into practical things. I am convinced that a major impetus could be provided there by a session of the Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, and Technological Cooperation in Moscow, which we've been repeatedly suggesting to Baghdad. That would allow discussing in detail the ways of resolving all the problems facing us. Here I mean going on with the debt settlement as we stated at the Paris Club. Also, Russia is open to multilateral cooperation in the rehabilitation of Iraq. We are ready for interaction with all the interested parties, in the first place, with our U.S. partners, whose potential in this area cannot be overemphasized. Basically, this cooperation has already begun -- a decision has been made in the context of setting up a strategic alliance between OAO Lukoil and the U.S. company ConocoPhillips to hand over to the latter a significant share in the Russian contract for the development off the West Qurna-2 oil field. I believe, however, that the framework of our cooperation in the "Iraqi field" could be largely expanded, which would be in the best interests of Iraq, Russia and the U.S. Your ideas regarding this matter would be highly appreciated. Sincerely, S. Lavrov End Text. BURNS