DAS BRYZA MEETS WITH SPEAKER BURJANADZE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 002000 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/27/2017 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL GG SUBJECT: DAS BRYZA MEETS WITH SPEAKER BURJANADZE REF: TBILISI 1638 Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES MARK X. PERRY FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: On 27 July, DAS Bryza met with Georgian Speaker of Parliament Nino Burjanadze and discussed a wide range of issues. Burjanadze told us that Turkmenistan is interested in closer business and military ties with the West. She believed the ruling National Movement needed to find an acceptable solution with the opposition about composition of the Central Election Commission (CEC) and multi-mandate majoritarian seats, but wasn't sure how such a compromise could be reached. Burjanadze criticized the UN Secretary General's interim report on Abkhazia, including SIPDIS particularly its views about the Georgian youth camp in Ganmukhuri. She felt the UN Secretary General was not fully informed of the situation with regard to the camp, including that it is located nowhere near Abkhaz population centers. Burjandaze was hopeful that the GoG's new plan to bring an end to the conflict in South Ossetia would be fruitful. Bryza praised Georgia's successes in combating trafficking, passing the ex Parte Communications Bill, and proposing a commission to address South Ossetia autonomy. Bryza urged Burjanadze to continue with judicial reforms and implementation of recently passed legislation, saying that failing to do so could slow NATO accession as a result of European concerns. End Summary. -------------- Turkmen Want NATO and Business Ties -------------- ¶2. (C) Burjanadze relayed that during a recent meeting with Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov, he told her that Turkmenistan would be very interested in doing business with Western energy companies, but only those with serious proposals. According to Burjanadze, the Turkmen are tired of selling their gas to Russia for a third of what they can get from European customers. Berdimuhammedov is interested in having contracts with other businesses, such as British Petroleum and Shell--not just with Gazprom. President Berdimuhammedov was impressed at Georgia's transition to a professional army with modern equipment; he expressed the desire that this happen for his country where they have antiquated Soviet systems. He expressed interest in cooperation with NATO. Burjanadze urged Berdimuhammedov to integrate his country more fully into the rest of the world and to improve its ties to the West. She understood that Turkmenistan was considering sending a delegation to OSCE. Bryza commended Burjanadze for her efforts in helping the Turkmen understand U.S. interests in the region and lauded her efforts as proof that Georgia is an important regional link. -------------- Electoral Reform -------------- ¶3. (C) DAS Bryza encouraged the ruling National Movement to continue working with the opposition on judicial reform, and implementation of the ex parte communications ban. He stressed the crucial need for Georgian democracy to develop a viable political opposition. Burjanadze listed the three issues surrounding electoral reform as lowering the threshold from 7 per cent to 5 per cent, changes to the multi-mandate majoritarian seats in Parliament, and changes to the composition of the Central Election Commission (CEC). Burjanadze stated that the National Movement saw changing the threshold from 7 to 5 percent as the most important issue and was amazed that the opposition now claimed it was not important. This is something the government is preparing to do. She said the other issues are of lesser importance, and did not indicate that the Parliament would totally address opposition concerns. (Reftel A.) (COMMENT: Under the current system, the multi-mandate majoritarian seats in Parliament are such that it is a winner-take-all election system for majoritarian MPs and voters are only allowed to vote for one party rather than individuals. This means that in Tbilisi which has 5 seats, a voter chooses a party not an individual. The party which gets the most votes fills all 5 seats with candidates on its party list. This system is present in some European countries but is seen by some Georgians as an attempt by the ruling National Movement to keep its opposition weak. END COMMENT). With regards to the multi-mandate majoritarian seat change, Burjanadze was concerned that Georgia should avoid Ukraine-style political gridlock. Bryza suggested that each political party nominate a non-political disinterested expert to represent them on the CEC, but Burjanadze was skeptical that this would work. DAS Bryza recommended that some "golden mean" could be found to address the above issues. Burjandaze agreed. Bryza cautioned that if the Europeans perceived that there was a lack of TBILISI 00002000 002 OF 002 dedication to continuing judicial reforms and transparent elections, this could slow Georgia' NATO accession. Both agreed that a boycott of the elections due to opposition disenchantment was not the desired outcome. -------------- Camps and Games -------------- ¶4. (C) Burjanadze told Bryza that she was not happy with the UN Secretary General's interim report on Abkhazia and in particular with the call on Georgia to move the Patriot youth camp from the village of Ganmukhuri, close to Abkhaz controlled territory. She said that the Secretary General was not fully informed. She stated the focus of this report should have been on bigger issues, including on human rights violations and the need to return IDPs. Burjanadze stated that the camp was safe--she had even considered sending her own son there. She then quoted Alexander Zhukov, Russia's Deputy Prime Minister, as saying that the Russians were planning on using part of Abkhazia in their plans for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. She said that Georgia was open to any Russian-Georgian joint activities, but would not permit Russia to hold international sports events on Georgian territory. Bryza told Burjanadze that the issue of the youth camp is the Georgian Government's decision ultimately, but international perception was that the presence of Georgians in a camp very close to Abkhazia could cause rapid escalation if something were to go awry. -------------- South Ossetia Plan--Excellent -------------- ¶5. (C) Bryza praised Georgian efforts to bring to resolve the conflict in South Ossetia peacefully, including the recent creation of a Commission to hammer out the details of autonomy for the region. His advice to Burjandaze was that the Georgians should not rush the plan, and that the GoG should open up positions on the commission to those who do not necessarily share GoG views. Bryza explained it was in Georgia's interest to be low-key in resolving this issue so as not to raise tension unnecessarily and thereby damage Georgia's position with the Europeans. Bryza told Burjandaze that the costs are going up for the Russians everyday with regards to South Ossetia and they know themselves that Kokoity is a liability. Bryza recommended that the GoG encourage the European Union to get involved and to formulate a time line. Burjanadze told us that Sergey Lavrov, Russia's Foreign Minister, seemed surprisingly positive about Georgian initiatives in South Ossetia during an informal conversation in Istanbul. She stressed that the Georgian motives were honorable in wanting to solve the South Ossetian issue and that she feels there is an opening in finding a solution now. She said she was much more positive about resolving South Ossetia than Abkhazia. ¶6. (U) DAS Bryza has cleared this cable. PERRY