Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07TBILISI2000
2007-08-10 05:10:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Tbilisi
Cable title:  

DAS BRYZA MEETS WITH SPEAKER BURJANADZE

Tags:  PHUM PGOV PREL GG 
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VZCZCXRO6701
PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHSI #2000/01 2220510
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 100510Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY TBILISI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7265
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 002000 

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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).

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

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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