MOSCOW VIEWS ON OSCE MINISTERIAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 005527

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/23/2017
TAGS: OSCE PREL PGOV PHUM RS
SUBJECT: MOSCOW VIEWS ON OSCE MINISTERIAL

REF: STATE 157672

Classified By: Political M/C Alice G. Wells. Reasons 1.4(b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary. Russia recognizes that the OSCE Ministerial
in Madrid November 29-30 will be difficult, even though there
have been a number of areas of agreement this past year.
Russia will press for its package of reforms to the OSCE,
arguing the need for equal treatment of all countries.
Putin's November 26 accusations that the U.S. drove ODIHR's
decision not to send monitors to the December 2 Duma
elections will further stiffen the GOR's approach to
restricting ODIHR's autonomy. Russia may raise U.S. missile
defense plans at the Ministerial lunch. Russia will continue
to oppose a Convention unless members agree to work on a
Charter; will support downsizing the Mission in Croatia, and
oppose automatic extension of the mandate for Kosovo; will
support expanding OSCE activity in Afghanistan, but oppose an
OSCE mission there; and will support OSCE activities in
Central Asia, provided the countries agree. Russia sees some
positive movement in Moldova, but considers the situation in
Georgia "deplorable," and warns that a Kosovo UDI could
resonate beyond other frozen conflicts. Russia will oppose a
Ministerial Declaration that includes reference to the
Istanbul Commitments. End summary.

OSCE Focus on Pol-Mil Issues
--------------


2. (C) We reviewed U.S. priorities for the November 29-30
OSCE Ministerial (reftel) with MFA OSCE officer Denis Gonchar
November 21. Gonchar told us Russia hoped the Ministerial
would be "fruitful," especially considering that difficult
issues like CFE and Kosovo were still unresolved. He said it
was "good" that the organization was "getting back to the
most significant spheres of OSCE work - political-military
issues." The U.S. and Russia were cooperating well in many
areas, including the Public-Private-Partnership on
counterterrorism (PPP),and the INF Treaty and Global
Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism. The OSCE should do
more to support the UN's antiterrorism activities, he
contended. He noted that there were "positive signals" in
the Forum for Security Cooperation (FSC) on disarmament and
confidence-building measures, and said if the FSC was able to
reach an agreement on how to universalize the INF Treaty,
Russia would raise it in Madrid.


3. (C) Gonchar said Russia would not put U.S. missile
defense on the agenda for Madrid, but he said he could not
guarantee that FM Lavrov would not raise it at the lunch.

OSCE Needs Reform
--------------


4. (C) Gonchar said Russia had proposed reforms for the OSCE
because the situation in the OSCE was "deplorable." The OSCE
had practices that undermined the effectiveness of the
organization, and frequently breached principles, like the
principle of equality. There was no transparency and no
mechanisms to ensure equal treatment and evenhandedness,
including for ODIHR. The members needed to restore a
"constructive dialogue" in OSCE rather than use the forum to
criticize or humiliate countries. Russia welcomed the
Spanish initiative on tolerance, he said, noting that Russia
had its own problems with ethnic and religious minorities.
It was not useful, he added, when the dialogue turned into
confrontation. The OSCE did not treat member countries
equally and lacked written, agreed procedures for choosing
the Chairman-in-Office or monitoring elections. If the OSCE
had wanted to tell Kazakhstan it was not democratic, it
should have done so before Kazakhstan joined. Regardless,
Gonchar noted that the OSCE had no procedures for determining
if a country was headed in a non-democratic direction and
handling it.

ODIHR Operating as "Jewel in the Crown"
--------------


5. (C) Gonchar said Russia did not want to ruin the work of
ODIHR, but wanted it to be open, transparent, understandable
and based on the decisions of all the member countries.
Currently, ODIHR had a double standard and was politicized.
Why was it acceptable to send 16 monitors to the U.S.
elections, but sending 70 to Russia was not enough? There
also seemed to be no link between the number of observers and
the final post-election report. The report was done by a
"small, closed, group of biased people," based on their
prejudices. There was no transparency and no consistency.
Gonchar argued that ODIHR distinguished between "developing
countries" and "democratic countries," when it should treat
all countries alike. ODIHR was putting itself above the

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members of the OSCE as the "jewel in the crown," but, Gonchar
said, "even a jewel needs to be polished sometimes." Russia
hoped to work out the differences between its draft proposal
on Basic Principles and the EU's draft on elections. OSCE
needed to agree on the standards for election monitoring by
ODIHR or it will lose its effectiveness, he said.


6. (U) Note: Subsequently, the GOR position on ODIHR
further stiffened with Putin's November 26 assertion that
ODIHR's decision not to send observers to Russia's
Parliamentary elections December 2 had been taken on the
basis of a recommendation by the State Department. Citing
"absolutely reliable data," Putin claimed ODIHR's decision
had come as a surprise to many European countries. He said
it was ODIHR's choice, but contended this was why Russia had
argued for reforms in the OSCE. End note.

Russia Wants NGO's Registered
--------------


7. (C) Gonchar said the GOR does not want to restrict the
work of NGOs (including ones that criticize Russia),but
wants UN-style regulations to apply. For example, he said,
the OSCE does not check to see whether an NGO actually
exists, or if it has links to extremist activity.

No Convention Without a Charter
--------------


8. (C) Gonchar reiterated Russia's intent to oppose adoption
of a Convention unless and until a Charter for the OSCE was
agreed. Russia could lift its opposition to a Convention if
Madrid would adopt a decision agreeing to develop a draft of
a Charter in 2008. He said Russia did not want to undermine
the OSCE's principles or weaken the OSCE's flexibility, but a
Charter would provide more predictability and certainty on
the mandate, mechanisms and procedures of the organization.

Balkans: Croatia, Kosovo
--------------


9. (C) Gonchar said Russia supported turning the mission in
Croatia into an office of a coordinator with a narrow
mandate, and could support closing the mission, but only if
another mechanism was found to resolve the outstanding issues.


10. (C) Russia opposed an automatic prolongation of the
mandate of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo (OMiK). Gonchar
reiterated Russian warnings that a Unilateral Declaration of
Independence (UDI) in Kosovo could provoke Abkhazia, South
Ossetia, and Transnistria to declare independence.

Afghanistan
--------------


11. (C) Gonchar said Russia supported increasing OSCE
activities in Afghanistan, especially in border security and
anti-drug trafficking areas, but did not support creating an
OSCE mission in Afghanistan due to the security situation and
the fact that Afghanistan was not an OSCE member. Russia was
prepared to make permanent the training of Afghan police at
the Domodedovo Center in Moscow. He said the OSCE should
cooperate more with the Collective Security Treaty
Organization (CSTO) on Afghanistan.

Central Asia
--------------


12. (C) According to Gonchar, Russia supported cooperation
between the OSCE and Central Asia countries provided it was
based on what the countries wanted the OSCE to do. He said
it was dangerous to stress human rights too much; there was
much instability in Central Asia and it was important to move
slowly in efforts to make the countries more democratic.

Ministerial Declaration
--------------


13. (C) Gonchar said Russia hoped a Ministerial Declaration
could be adopted this year, but if the U.S. or others
insisted on focusing it on issues like the Istanbul
Commitments (which, he said, were purely bilateral),we
should not even try. "If the Istanbul Commitments are
included in the Declaration, there will be no Declaration,"
he said.
BURNS