ESTONIA IN ADVANCE OF APRIL 23-24 GAERC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TALLINN 000259

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/20/2017
TAGS: EUN ETRD KPAL PREL EN
SUBJECT: ESTONIA IN ADVANCE OF APRIL 23-24 GAERC

REF: STATE 51262

TALLINN 00000259 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: A/DCM Eric A. Johnson for reasons 1.4 (b) &
(d)


1. (C) Summary. On April 20, we delivered Reftel points on
U.S. positions in advance of the EU's April 23-24 GAERC
meeting to Kart Juhasoo-Lawrence, MFA Counselor for U.S.
Affairs, and Kristel Kase, EU GAERC Desk Officer. The
majority of the meeting was devoted to discussing the
upcoming U.S.-EU Summit. The Estonians were disappointed
by the U.S. statement on energy security and climate change
and worried that it was a sign of U.S. disengagement on the
subject. Other items discussed included Central Asia, the
Middle East, Africa, and an EU resolution calling for a
moratorium on the death penalty. End Summary.

Transatlantic Relations: U.S.-EU Summit
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2. (C) The Estonians were clearly disappointed with the
statement put forward by the United States on energy
security and climate change. Juhasoo-Lawrence said that
the MFA had hoped for concrete proposals to deal with
energy security (i.e., the creation of a senior-level
steering group to deal with the issue). Instead, she said
that the U.S. proposal for a High Level Dialogue that
discusses everything from climate change to new
technologies to energy security would become a talk-shop -
"a forum for everything and nothing." The MFA is wondering
if the U.S. statement is a reaction to Germany's heavy
lobbying for a deal on climate change and a sign of U.S.
disengagement on the issue.


3. (C) Since the Germans spearheaded deeper commitments to
tackle climate change within the EU in March, Juhasoo-
Lawrence opined that many EU member states (also led by
Germany) are motivated by fear that European industry will
be put at an economic disadvantage unless the U.S. can be
brought on board. As a result, the MFA is deeply concerned
that energy security is being lost in the debate over
climate change.

Middle East: Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, UNSCR 1737 and Iran, and Lebanon
--------------


4. (SBU) Estonia is in full agreement with the U.S. on the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The MFA fully supports the
continued role of the quartet, but also would like to
include more involvement of moderate and/or supportive Arab
countries (e.g., Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt).


5. (SBU) Like the United States, Estonia doesn't believe
Iran has fully implemented UN Security Council Resolution
(UNSCR) 1737. While it still hopes for a diplomatic or
political breakthrough, Kase said that there is a consensus
among EU member states on the possibility to implement
further sanctions and penalties if need be.


6. (C) Estonia fully agrees with the United States that PM
Siniora's government must be bolstered by the full
implementation of UNSCR 1701. However, as Lebanon will be
discussed as a lunch item, Kase said it was unlikely that
the discussion would go into much depth. As a result, she
doubted that there would be any discussion on those EU
member states who still had not met their aid pledges (from
the January Paris donors' meeting).

Africa: Sudan, Somalia, and Zimbabwe
--------------


7. (U) While the MFA condemns the violence in Sudan,
Somalia, and Zimbabwe, it is not taking an active role in
the discussions as Estonia has no diplomatic relations with
-- or presence in -- these countries. However, Estonia
will continue to support the common EU positions.

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


8. (C) Estonia fully supports the EU's outreach efforts in
Central Asia. The MFA sees it as the logical extension of
the EU's European Neighborhood Policy to include neighbors
farther afield. Kase said that Estonia hopes the EU
eventually expands this outreach to Central Asia to include
Afghanistan and Pakistan. She mentioned also that Estonia
is considering naming a non-resident ambassador to a
Central Asian country. If they do so, the country would
probably be Kazakhstan.

Death Penalty

TALLINN 00000259 002.2 OF 002


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9. (U) Estonia will support Italy's initiative to introduce
a resolution calling for a moratorium of the death penalty.
Estonia will also continue to support the EU's action plan
to encourage more countries to abolish the death penalty.
GOLDSTEIN