RUSSIA STIFLES UNSC STATEMENT ON GEORGIAN MISSILE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000689

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SENSITIVE
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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: GG PGOV PREL UNSC
SUBJECT: RUSSIA STIFLES UNSC STATEMENT ON GEORGIAN MISSILE
ATTACK, INVESTIGATIONS CONTINUE


1. (SBU) SUMMARY. Russia blocked Security Council consensus
on two U.S.-led efforts to have the Council issue a statement
of concern over the August 6 crash without detonation of an
air-launched missile in Georgia. When the U.S. recrafted the
initial Presidential Statement (PRST) criticizing "the
apparent attack on the sovereign territory of Georgia" as a
less provocative and less formal press statement calling for
all parties to cooperate in investigating the incident and
expressing an intent to hold a Council meeting on the matter,
Russian PermRep Churkin finally admitted that Russia would
reject "anything on paper." At a follow-on press stakeout,
Council President Congo briefly characterized the session,
Churkin criticized Georgia's decision to destroy the
missile's payload, and Ambassador Sanders called for a
Council meeting at which Georgia could be heard on this
apparent violation of its sovereignty. The Georgian DPR
subsequently expressed to USUN support for a new OSCE
investigation to be led by former Croatian Foreign Minister
Zuzul and appeared resigned to not having a further Council
meeting until OSCE issued a report. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) Hedi Annabi, Assistant Secretary General at DPKO,
briefed the Security Council on August 16 on his
understanding of the events of August 6 involving the crash
of an air-launched missile near the Georgian village of
Tsitelubani. He began the briefing by noting that the

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information to be presented was gathered from public sources
including the OSCE. The events in question occurred outside
the region under UNOMIG's mandate, and therefore he would
simply summarize the sequence of events leading to the
briefing. In a letter to the Security Council president on
August 7, the Georgians claimed that two Russian aircraft had
violated Georgia airspace and launched a missile near
Tsitelubani on August 6. The missile did not explode. Annabi

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said Georgia reported not having access to the SU-type
aircraft evidently involved in the incident or to missiles of
the type involved (Russian-designed Kh-58).


4. (SBU) Annabi discussed reports on the incident. A joint
monitoring team (comprised of Georgian, Russian, and North
Ossetian officials based in T'bilisi) joined OSCE officials
in traveling immediately to the crash site and interviewed
witnesses. Witnesses reported seeing an aircraft flying from
NE to SW and then launching a rocket. Georgia recently
announced that experts from Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, and
the United States had replied to a general Georgian
invitation for interested parties to help investigate the
incident and that the resultant International Group of
Experts (IGE) report makes the following points: a single
unidentified aircraft flew from Russian airspace into Georgia
airspace and back, the missile launched was Russian-made,
several eyewitnesses saw the missile deployment, and experts
could not verify statements regarding a possible second
aircraft.


5. (SBU) Russian PermRep Vitali Churkin told the Council that
Georgia had done "everything possible to make the incident
mysterious." He said that it was strange how Georgia had
denied for 14 hours that its airspace had been violated, that
it took Georgia ten days to accept Russia's offer of
technical cooperation, and that Georgia had destroyed the
missile rather than study it. Churkin concluded that
Georgia's actions have all been "propaganda tactics" directed
against Russia rather than serious efforts at investigation.
He said Russia had finally been allowed to send its experts,
including the commanding officer of the Russian Air Force, to
Georgia to assist the investigation.


6. (SBU) Ambassador Sanders commended Georgia's patience and
transparency and supported Georgia's request for a Security
Council meeting devoted to the matter. She introduced a PRST
that welcomed ongoing international community efforts, called
for cooperation with those efforts, and stated an intention
to hold a Security Council meeting as soon as possible to
consider the matter. She ended by declaring that addressing
this issue in a timely manner is important for Security
Council credibility and it is important that the Council make
a statement.


7. (SBU) Churkin took exception to the U.S. statement,
complaining particularly that it complimented Georgia's
behavior and called the episode an "attack" on a sovereign
state. He argued that study of the region's background
demonstrates that Russia is not interested in increasing
tension with Georgia. He repeated that Russian experts had
only just arrived in T'bilisi and insisted that a PRST was
therefore premature. Criticizing investigation efforts to
date, he said "some investigators call themselves
international, some call themselves independent, and one even
seems to have used OSCE stationary without authorization."

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China agreed with Russia that the Security Council should be
cautious in responding before a conclusion of the
investigation by the two parties is reached.


8. (SBU) Ambassador Pierce from the UK reminded the Council
that the missile episode risks raising tension in the region
and may amount to a violation of the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of Georgia. She expressed a desire to
hear more from Russia about the joint investigation and its
report deadline and scope. Pierce said that, although the
Council should be seized of this issue and the UK supports
the idea of a PRST or press statement, its timing could be
negotiated.


9. (SBU) France said only that the Council should monitor
developments while expressing interest and concern. Italy
called for a new and definitive investigation to be headed by
the OSCE.


10. (SBU) In reaction to member comments, the U.S. revamped
the PRST as a press statement focused on an expression of
concern and continued interest and calling for full
cooperation by all parties with investigators only to have
Churkin announce, as the revised text was being distributed,
that Russia would reject "anything on paper."


11. (SBU) In comments to the press following the
consultations, Council President Congo briefly said members
had expressed concern over the incident and intended to keep
monitoring developments, Churkin criticized Georgia's actions
immediately following the incident -- destroying the missile,
rejecting alleged Russian offers of cooperation, putting
together a stacked investigation -- and Ambassador Sanders
called for a Council meeting at which Georgia could be heard
on this apparent violation of its sovereignty and the truth
could be revealed.


12. (SBU) On August 17, Georgian Deputy PermRep Irakli
Chikovani contacted DepPolCouns to indicate that Georgia had
been persuaded not ask for a UNSC meeting before the new OSCE
investigation, to be chaired by former Croatian Foreign
Minister Miomir Zuzul, issues its report.
KHALILZAD