CANADIANS BACK UNIFIED ALLIANCE RESPONSE TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 001046

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

STATE PASS EUR/RPM - (G. ROBBINS)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/04/2027
TAGS: PARM KCFE NATO PREL CA
SUBJECT: CANADIANS BACK UNIFIED ALLIANCE RESPONSE TO
RUSSIA'S CFE CONCERNS

REF: STATE 75293

Classified By: PolMinCouns Brian Flora. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: Canada's position on the Conventional Forces
in Europe Treaty (CFE) is closely aligned with our own: CFE
is critical to European security and the Russians must
deliver on their Istanbul Commitments before NATO allies
ratify the Adapted CFE (A/CFE). Canada would like to join
like-minded allies in a concerted effort to ensure that our
position prevails at the Extraordinary Conference called by
the Russian Federation. Canadian Ambassador to the OSCE
Barbara Gibson will head the Canadian delegation to the
Conference, June 12-15. End summary.


2. (U) We conveyed reftel demarche to Department of Foreign
Affairs and International Trade acting NATO/G-8/OSCE Director
Isabelle Poupart, and to Department of National Defense (DND)
NATO Deputy Director Michael Kaduck on June 1. We followed
up with Poupart on June 4.

U.S and Canada Share Agree on A/CFE
--------------

3. (C) Poupart responded that Canada's position on the
Adapted Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty was closely
aligned with those of the U.S., the UK, the Netherlands, and
"newer NATO members." Canada, she added, would continue to
press allies attending the Extraordinary Conference to stick
to NATO's long-standing position -- the Russians must deliver
on their Istanbul Commitments before NATO allies commence
ratification of A/CFE.

German Perfidy?
--------------

4. (C/NF) Poupart alerted us to a rumor in Vienna that
Germany had helped Russia plan its effort to break NATO
solidarity on A/CFE. She noted that at various European
venues the Germans had recently begun telling NATO members,
"Let's find something to offer the Russians." The proposed
offering, according to Canadian diplomats, was NATO member
ratification of A/CFE without Istanbul pre-conditions.
Indeed, Poupart confided, a French official had very recently
floated the German proposal to drop A/CFE preconditions in an
informal conversation with a Canadian diplomat in Vienna.
The Canadian, she said, stuck to his nation's position and
pushed back hard.


5. (C/NF) Clearly frustrated, the usually circumspect
Poupart attributed the German approach to two factors: (1)
"old school, legalistic" German non-proliferation experts had
managed to convince the GOG that bringing A/CFE into force
was a more important immediate good than Russian adherence to
its Istanbul Commitments; and, (2) the perceived need to
"appease" the Russians in order to enhance Germany's energy
security.

Solidarity Critical
--------------

6. (C) It was critical, Poupart said, for the allies to
argue their points and come to consensus well before the
start of the Exceptional Conference on June 12, and then to
stick to the consensus in the face of Russian, and German,
pressure. Canada, the U.S., the UK, and perhaps the Dutch,
should consider having a pre-meeting on June 11, she said.
The parties could share last-minute assessments and
coordinate their approach to the Conference. Canadian
Qcoordinate their approach to the Conference. Canadian
official experts would soon reach out directly to their
counterparts to organize such a meeting.

DND's Informal Analysis
--------------

7. (C/NF) DND's Kaduck told us that Russia's motivation for
calling the CFE Extraordinary Conference remained unclear.
Just back from Canada-Russia military staff talks in Moscow,
he speculated that Russian complaints about the CFE might be
a pretext, part of an effort to fracture NATO solidarity.
Russia's "poorly conceived and unpersuasive" laundry list of
concerns suggested, he argued, that the Russians had

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something other than flank entitlements, Istanbul
Commitments, and A/CFE ratification in mind. Kaduck said his
personal impression was that the Russians were feeling
"humiliated and encircled" and were particularly "bugged" by
the deployment of U.S. missile defense in Europe (in
particular its radar system). While the U.S. and NATO
refused to link the disparate elements of defense policy
affecting Russia, Kaduck said, the GOR tended to "glue them
together and see a plot against (Russia)." Kaduck emphasized
that his were personal observations, and that he did not
anticipate Russia's unwarranted worries causing a
recalibration of Canada's policy settings.

Canadian Delegation
--------------

8. (U) Canada's Ambassador to the OSCE Barbara Gibson
planned to head the Canadian delegation, with support from a
team of experts who have decades of combined CFE experience.
DFAIT Director General for Policy Planning John Barratt, DND
Head of Verification Colonel D.S. Higgins, and DFAIT's
Isabelle Poupart will support Ambassador Gibson.

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