PDAS VOLKER'S MEETING WITH THE "VILNIUS 10" NATO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SOFIA 000505

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STATE EUR/NCE NORDBERG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/20/2017
TAGS: NATO PREL BU
SUBJECT: PDAS VOLKER'S MEETING WITH THE "VILNIUS 10" NATO
ALLIES IN BULGARIA


Classified By: Ambassador John Beyrle for reason 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: In a V-10 meeting with EUR PDAS Kurt Volker,
allies were in agreement on key issues, including NATO
enlargement, the Kosovo Status process, missile defense, and
energy security. All believed strongly about the need for
further NATO enlargement and insisted that it be based on
real performance. The V-10 allies endorsed the vision of
moving the western Balkan region forward to greater stability
and closer integration with Euro-Atlantic institutions, and
agreed Kosovo's supervised independence was a necessary step
towards this vision. The group concurred that Russia's
concerns about missile defense were overblown and rooted in
muscle-flexing; they agreed that NATO should speak with one
voice. On energy security, allies believed it warrants
closer attention and discussion in NATO. Volker praised
Bulgaria and Romania's engagement with the Black Sea littoral
states, called for practical efforts to reduce carbon
emissions and challenged Europe to support democracy in Cuba.
In a joint meeting between the V-10 and the western Balkans,
Serbia's representative questioned whether Ahtisaari had
exhausted all possible options for a settlement. Volker
underscored that NATO wants to welcome Serbia to the fold and
see the country succeed, while emphasizing that the Ahtisaari
plan will be
the basis for any settlement to Kosovo. END SUMMARY


2. (U) EUR PDAS Kurt Volker met April 11-12 in Sofia with
V-10 Political Directors (or heads of NATO-Security
Departments) to discuss regional issues. Balkans Office
Director Christoper Hoh also joined the meetings to discuss
U.S. views on the western Balkans. Representatives of the
western Balkan countries and UNMIK met separately to discuss
Euro-Atlantic integration and Kosovo, and later joined the
V-10 in a joint April 12 session.


NATO ENLARGEMENT
--------------


3. (C) V-10 allies voiced strong support for further NATO
enlargement and pushed for keeping open the possibility that
all three MAP countries (Albania, Croatia and Macedonia)
could be offered membership at the 2008 Summit. Many praised
the Riga Summit and the decision to offer PFP to Serbia,
Bosnia-Hercegovina and Montenegro. Hungary's Political
Director, Ivan Udvardi, called the PFP offer to Serbia "the
right thing to do." At the same time, participants agreed
membership should depend on the performance of candidates and
that aspirants need to demonstrate progress. As the Estonian
Political Director Aivo Orav summarized it, "we want to be
part of a 'strong' NATO." The group agreed to convey the
message to the Balkan states that NATO will do its part, but
they must do theirs. Many representatives recognized Croatia
as far advanced in the membership process and argued that
Zagreb should not be held behind because of the other MAP
countries' shortcomings.


4. (C) All the allies praised Georgia for its progress and
recent restraint in ignoring Russian provocations. Many
participants emphasized that Georgia needs further
encouragement and regard MAP for Tbilisi as a goal to achieve
before 2008 if possible, but no later than the Bucharest
Summit. The allies agreed Ukraine had taken a step backwards
and is internally divided over NATO membership. Poland's
Deputy Director for Security Policy, Tomasz Lekarski, argued
for trying to influence the political process in Ukraine by
speaking out on the positive effects of membership.
Participants were adamant about not allowing Russia to
influence the Alliance's decisions on membership. The Czech
Security Policy Director said, "we would not be around this
table," if NATO had taken Russia's arguments about
enlargement into consideration. Lekarski stressed that every
country has the right to decide on its own security.


KOSOVO STATUS
--------------


5. (C) All the V-10 representatives, including Slovakia,
agreed that Kosovo's supervised independence was a necessary
step for moving the region forward. Slovakia's Political
Director, Miroslav Lajcak, said "we cannot ignore our
parliament," but we will be with Europe on this and will
"behave as members of EU and NATO." (The participants
delivered this united message to the Balkan
nations--including Serbia--when they held their joint
session). Many allies, such as Romania, Hungary and

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Bulgaria, emphasized that a UNSCR is indispensable.
Hungary's Udvardi emphasized that a UNSC resolution was
necessary for a sustainable solution since there was no
chance of a velvet divorce as with the Czechs and Slovaks.
The Bulgarian Political Director, Valentin Poriazov, noted
that such legitimacy is important because the precedent issue
is a concern in the Balkans. PDAS Volker said we will work
hard to obtain a UNSC resolution and believe we will succeed;
but he also called to mind Darfur as an example where the
international community has failed to prevent violence given
its unwavering focus on UNSC legitimacy. We should not allow
the absence of a UNSCR to cause us to fail to prevent
violence in the Balkans.


6. (C) There was unanimity about the need for Russia to be
part of the UNSC agreement. Participants such as Hungary,
Slovakia and Bulgaria believe Russia is pursuing its own
interests rather than being genuinely concerned about Kosovo
or the region. Slovakia and Hungary's representatives argued
that Russia needs a face-saving measure to cooperate. "They
don't want to veto, but will if they are backed into a
corner," stated Slovakia's Lacjak. Volker stressed U.S.
commitment to engaging Russia, and noted Secretaries Rice and
Gates both will visit Moscow in the coming weeks. The V-10
allies broadly agreed that the "price" for Moscow's
cooperation must be within the Ahtisaari plan and should not
include such things as Georgia's NATO membership or energy.
The group also agreed that better cooperation between NATO
and the EU was essential for the settlement to succeed. The
V-10 group was later joined by representatives from the
western Balkan countries and UNMIK. UNMIK's Steven Shook
underscored the necessity for moving forward on Ahtisaari's
proposal, while Serbia's Deputy Director for NATO, Bratislav
Djordjevic, reiterated Belgrade's opposition to the plan and
warned about the negative internal consequences it could
bring to Serbia. PDAS Volker thanked Djordjevic for Serbia's
participation in the meeting and stressed that the success of
the EU is rooted in overcoming history, whether France and
Germany, or Hungary and its minorities abroad. As painful as
it is, Volker said, success in the Balkans requires those
nations to overcome history and take care of their people
today.


MISSILE DEFENSE
--------------


7. (C) The allies agreed Russia's concerns about missile
defense were exaggerated and appear to reflect Moscow's
muscle-flexing. The Czech Republic's Kuchynova-Smigolova
expressed disappointment with "how quickly" allies in Western
Europe accepted Russia's rhetoric on missile defense. All
the participants saw a strong need to better coordinate their
positions before talking to Russia and for the Alliance to
speak in one voice on the issue. The group urged continuing
U.S. public diplomacy efforts to enlighten an ill-informed
European public and "take away the argument" from Russia.
They welcomed the news that the Secretary as well as Defense
Secretary Gates will visit Moscow soon. PDAS Volker pressed

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European leaders to speak up as well.


NATO-RUSSIA COUNCIL
--------------


8. (C) The V-10 group shared their disappointment that the
NATO-RUSSIA Council (NRC) has failed to produce constructive
dialogue. Despite seeing the NRC as "broken" and an "empty
shell," allies still regard it as a useful forum for
discussions with Russia and agree NATO needs to continue
pursuing practical cooperation with Moscow. V-10
representatives agreed that other issues such as "frozen
conflicts" and energy security should be discussed in the NRC.


ENERGY SECURITY
--------------


9. (C) Participants agreed energy security is a critical
issue and that Russia is using energy as a political tool.
The V-10 allies share the view that energy is an appropriate
topic for NATO and should be treated as a security issue.
Representatives noted that the EU is divided over the issue
and that countries are pursuing separate goals. Bulgaria's
Poriazov remarked that other EU members' interests are not
taken into account when certain members make decisions with
Russia. Kuchynova-Smigolova criticized the EU as "acting in
a vacuum" in its efforts to address the issue through

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internal restructuring, saying these reforms will not help if
Russia remains in a monopolist position outside the EU. The
group agreed the diversification of energy sources was
crucial and recognized Russia's efforts to buy shares in
Europe's energy infrastructure as a dangerous trend.


AFGHANISTAN
--------------


10. (C) PDAS Volker previewed upcoming discussions in Oslo by
summarizing the priorities that emerged from NATO SECGEN Hoop
Scheffer's recent talks with Secretaries Rice and Gates and
NSA Hadley. These include the need to increase European
"ownership" of a successful outcome in Afghanistan and calls
for greater international coordination, force generation and
consistent messaging. Many allies confirmed their
willingness to increase their commitments to Afghanistan.
Kuchynova-Smigolova announced that the Czechs are seeking to
take over a PRT. Lithuania's Director for Security Policy,
Algis Dabkus, said Lithuania had made a decision to send an
additional special operations force to Afghanistan. The
Deputy Political Director for Latvia, Nils Janson, noted that
Riga is currently working on a plan for Afghanistan that
would increase both their military and civilian contingents.
Hungary's Udvardi stressed that Budapest considers theirs a
"long-term commitment."


CUBA
--------------


11. (C) PDAS Volker urged V-10 representatives to work toward
an EU policy calling for democratic transition in Cuba. He
noted that Spanish Foreign Minister Moratinos conferred
legitimacy on Raoul Castro while failing to meet dissidents.
Poriazov mentioned that EU's divisions on Cuba extend beyond
the GAERC and were present in the European Parliament as
well. The Czech representative expressed strong support for
the U.S. position but speculated that democracy may not
happen as quickly as we hope.


CLIMATE CHANGE
--------------


12. (C) PDAS Volker stated that the past seven years of
international climate policy had been a disaster because
Kyoto bitterly divided the international community. Those
who opposed it were vilified, even if they cut emissions,
while those who supported it were hailed, even if they did
not reduce emissions. Volker encouraged V-10 representatives
to urge the EU to avoid repeating the mistake of pushing
another global cap-and-trade treaty and to instead support an
approach that welcomes all efforts, by all countries, to
reduce emissions.


BLACK SEA
--------------


13. (C) The allies discussed the Black Sea and efforts,
largely by Romania and Bulgaria, to bring the region to the
forefront of European and Euro-Atlantic agendas. Bulgaria's
NATO Director Petyo Petev said Bulgaria does not want a
closed discussion among littoral states on the Black Sea and
believes NATO should focus more on the region. Romania's
Political Director, Ovidiu Dranga, remarked that EU
membership has opened the door to more opportunities in the
Black Sea on a number of fronts, such as the environment,
economic development and counter-proliferation. PDAS Volker
and others commended Bulgaria and Romania for showing
leadership on the issue, and said Russia should be encouraged
to see that it will benefit from enhanced Black Sea
Cooperation.

EUR PDAS Volker has approved this cable.
BEYRLE