UKRAINIAN PM YANUKOVYCH ASKS AUSTRIAN CHANCELLOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L VIENNA 000919 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/06/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV AU UP SUBJECT: UKRAINIAN PM YANUKOVYCH ASKS AUSTRIAN CHANCELLOR GUSENBAUER TO MEDIATE POLITICAL CRISIS (C) REF: KYIV 805 Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Scott F. Kilner for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (U) Austrian media has prominently reported on Ukrainian Prime Minister Yanukovych's April 5 news conference, in which he announced that he had asked Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer to mediate the political crisis in Ukraine. Austrian press reports quoted Yanukovych as pointing to Austria's neutrality as the key reason why the Ukrainian PM turned to Gusenbauer. The Austrian Chancellery and Foreign Ministry have publicly refused to comment on the reports. Gerhard Mangott from the Vienna Institute for International Politics expressed surprise, noting that, to his knowledge, "Yanukovych does not have any special relations to Austria." Several press stories warned against Austria's involvement, arguing the German EU Presidency should take the lead in any such efforts. ¶2. (C) On April 6, DCM spoke with the Chancellor's Foreign Policy Advisor, Bernhard Wrabetz. Wrabetz confirmed that Yanukovych had indeed called the Chancellor on April 5 to discuss the possibility of Gusenbauer mediating between the two sides. The Chancellor, according to Wrabetz, had responded that, if both parties in the dispute would jointly request mediation, Gusenbauer would consider it. Without such a consensus, however, Gusenbauer would not get involved. Hannues Porias, Head of the MFA's Central, Eastern, and Southeastern European Division, confirmed to us that Austria had no prior role in mediating between the two Ukrainain camps. McCaw