GREECE/OSCE: BILATERAL CONSULTATIONS ON 2009

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ATHENS 000427

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/01/2018
TAGS: OSCE PGOV PREL PHUM KRIF GR AF ZL
SUBJECT: GREECE/OSCE: BILATERAL CONSULTATIONS ON 2009
CHAIRMANSHIP - ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT


Classified By: DCM Tom Countryman for 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (U) This is a joint Embassy Athens/USOSCE Cable.


2. (C) Summary. USOSCE Ambassador Finley, EUR A/DAS
Robbins, and Embassy Athens and USOSCE personnel met March 17
with Greek officials to consult on Greek plans for the
upcoming 2009 Chairmanship of the OSCE. The Greeks have
identified key personnel for the Chairmanship, and have begun
thinking about their priorities. They plan to reappoint the
three Personal Representatives on Tolerance - although they
want further dialogue on the "personalities" and "support
structures" for the representatives. The Greeks agreed that
it is essential to protect the autonomy and mandate of the
OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
(ODIHR). However, they expressed some concern about the
modalities for the annual human dimension implementation
meeting, hinting at potential restrictions for some NGOs. We
pushed back on this point. Finally, the Greeks were
non-committal on the question of OSCE programs to train
Afghan customs and border officials, saying that they did not
want to compete with EC efforts. The Greeks also placed
emphasis on maintaining an "evenhanded" approach with the
Russians during their Chairmanship, but did not provide
specifics. USOSCE and Embassy Athens will continue to press
the Greeks on our OSCE agenda. End Summary.

--------------
Participants
--------------


3. (U)

Greece
--------------
-- Ambassador Christos Zaharakis, Future Special Envoy of the
Chairman-in-Office;
-- Ambassador Nicolaos Kalantzianos, Director General for
International Organizations and International Security and
Cooperation, and head of the MFA OSCE Task Force;
-- Ambassador Mara Marinaki, Greek Permanent Representative
to the OSCE;
-- Louis Abatis, DCM, Greek Mission to the OSCE;
-- Petros Averinos, Director, MFA D3 Directorate for OSCE and
Council of Europe Affairs;
-- Nicolas Patakias, OSCE Coordinator, MFA D3 Directorate;
-- Nicolas Skembas, Attache, MFA D3 Directorate;
-- Sotirios Demestichas, Attache, MFA D3 Directorate.

United States
--------------
-- Ambassador Julie Finley, USOSCE;
-- Gary Robbins, Acting DAS, EUR;
-- Thomas Countryman, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy Athens;
-- Samuel Laeuchli, Political Counselor, USOSCE;
-- Jeff Hovenier, A/Political Counselor, Embassy Athens;
-- Diana Brown, Deputy Political Counselor, USOSCE
-- Elaine A. Paplos, Embassy Athens (notetaker)

-------------- ---
Tolerance Representatives -- Will Be Reappointed
-------------- ---


4. (C) Ambassador Finley said the U.S. places great
importance on the three personal representatives on
tolerance, and pressed Greece to reappoint them during its
Chairmanship. Ambassador Kalantzianos responded that Greece
did indeed plan to appoint the three personal
representatives, but he added that Greece had questions about
the "personalities" involved and the "support structures."
He provided no further information on which "personalities"
among the current personal representatives on tolerance
Greece may wish to review, but said that this was an issue
that Greece would "follow-up" with the U.S. delegation in
Vienna. On structures, he simply noted that the OSCE does
not currently provide adequate support for the three personal
representatives on tolerance, and he wanted to have further
conversations with the United States and other key OSCE
states on how the OSCE structures might better support the
tolerance representatives. Ambassador Finley expressed U.S.
readiness to consult further on this issue noting that she
also believed that the tolerance representatives could
benefit from greater administrative support from the OSCE,
and she reiterated U.S. commitment to the three tolerance
representatives.

--------------
ODIHR ) Autonomy "Yes" / HDIM ) some concerns
--------------


5. (C) Ambassador Finley emphasized that the U.S. places the
highest priority on ensuring that ODIHR maintains its

ATHENS 00000427 002 OF 003


autonomy and mandate; the U.S. will oppose any efforts to
diminish ODIHR, which is "the backbone of the OSCE."
Zaharakis responded that Greece shares this view. Greece
will not support any effort to restrict ODIHR's autonomy,
particularly in the field of election observation, which he
termed the OSCE's "crown jewel."


6. (C) Kalantzianos then noted that although Greece strongly
supports ODIHR's autonomy, Greece does believe there could be
utility in reviewing the modalities for the annual human
dimension implementation meeting (HDIM),particularly with
regard to the participation of some NGOs who at times raised
"delicate issues." (He mentioned in particular the Aurelian
religious group, whose "princess" claims to be an alien and
attends the HDIM each year.) Averinos added that Greece is
aware that many participating states are concerned by a "lack
of geographic balance" among participating NGOs. Ambassador
Finley pushed back on the idea of restricting participation
by NGOs ) no matter how much some may consider them to be on
the "fringe." She added that the HDIM provides a rare
opportunity for NGOs to speak freely, and the U.S. would
oppose going down this dangerous path of implementing rules
about which NGOs should attend. Robbins asked the Greeks to
identify any specific elements of the HDIM modalities that
are problematic, noting that we should not revise modalities
simply in response to complaints. He suggested that perhaps
the criticism that ODIHR is receiving is because it is doing
its job so effectively, adding that we should be more
concerned if there were no criticisms of ODIHR, given its
mandate to promote human rights and compliance with OSCE
commitments.

--------------
OSCE/Afghanistan ) Tepid Response
--------------


7. (C) Ambassador Finley raised the issue of possible OSCE
work in Afghanistan, focused on training border and customs
officials. She noted that implementation of any such
decisions would likely take place during the Greek
Chairmanship, and asked for full Greek commitment to
achieving this result. Kalantzianos said that the European
Commission is also reviewing how it can assist in Afghanistan
and is considering providing border and customs training. It
is important that the OSCE and the EC not duplicate efforts.
We agreed, but reminded the Greeks that EC plans are more
limited in scope than what the United States has proposed for
the OSCE. Kalantzianos responded that Greece is "not
negative" to ideas in this area, but said that Athens would
get back to us on the issue of Greek support for OSCE
customs/border training in Afghanistan.


8. (C) Comment: Greece's innate caution on this issue is
largely driven by the Greek EU-centric view of European
institutions. We would anticipate that Greece will not be
prepared to be more positive about OSCE customs/border
training in Afghanistan until/unless any possible, separate
EC role is hammered out. End Comment.

--------------
Russia ) Greek desire to be "evenhanded"
--------------


9. (C) In introductory remarks, Zaharakis said Greece will
place particular importance during its Chairmanship to
represent "all of the OSCE." In this regard, Greece will
seek to be "evenhanded" in its dealings with Russia.
Zaharakis did not provide any specifics on how Greece intends
to achieve this goal. He said that as CiO, Greece will
inevitably have to take positions that "do not satisfy all
sides," adding that "evenhandedness is not always easy to
achieve."


10. (C) Ambassador Finley responded that the United States
also seeks a partnership with Russia, both bilaterally and at
the OSCE. However, she cautioned that any effort to be
"evenhanded" with regard to Russia should not cross red-lines
or impede the OSCE's operational capabilities. She also
emphasized that the United States continues to pursue and
welcome close consultations with the CiO on all key issues on
the OSCE agenda.

-------------- --------------
OSCE/Economic Dimension ) Migration and Climate Change
-------------- --------------


11. (C) When asked about Greek plans for the Economic
Dimension, Ambassador Marinaki said the Greek CiO plans to
focus on migration, and in particular the relationship
between climate change and migration and its impact on
Europe. USOSCE suggested strongly that the Greeks focus on
OSCE value-added areas instead, such as good governance, rule

ATHENS 00000427 003 OF 003


of law, and legislation. We added that the USG has been
skeptical about OSCE involvement in climate change, given its
lack of experience in this area.

--------------
Unresolved Conflicts
--------------


12. (C) When we raised the question of how Greece planned to
manage its CiO responsibilities with regard to unresolved
conflicts, the Greeks responded that Ambassador Zaharakis
would be "responsible" as the "Special Envoy" of the CiO. He
had nothing to add, other than to inquire as to U.S. views
related to Kosovo and the prospects that it would also become
an unresolved conflict.

--------------
Preparing and Managing Kazakhstan
--------------


13. (C) We suggested that Greece may have a particularly
important role to play in helping Kazakhstan to prepare for
its 2010 Chairmanship. The Greeks agreed this would be an
important priority, adding that they are already in frequent
contact with the Kazakhstanis. An unnamed Kazakstani Under
Secretary will visit Athens next month to begin the
consultation process.


14. (C) Ambassador MarinQish to
see the mission "restructured." We underscored the
importance of the mission's work in human rights, and
cautioned that we will need to be very cautious about any
effort to change the mission and should resist any Kazakstani
attempt to close or diminish work in the human rights field.
Marinaki countered that by selecting a nation to serve as
CiO, the OSCE has already indicated that it is "satisfied"
with its compliance with OSCE human rights commitments. We
responded that we had a different view, and that the United
States believes it essential to continue to use OSCE
structures, including the mission in Kazakhstan, to help the
Kazakstanis comply with their OSCE commitments.

--------------
Comment ) Room for Improvement
--------------


15. (C) We scheduled these consultations to get the Greeks
thinking early about their Chairmanship and to flag our
highest priorities. In that regard, they were successful.
The Greeks have been apprised of our priorities and they have
begun organizing themselves for the Chairmanship earlier than
they otherwise might have. However, we have some work ahead
of us in getting the Greeks to back away from some
problematic ideas on the HDIM, and to take a more proactive
stance on Afghanistan. We are somewhat disquieted by their
approach to managing the Russians at the OSCE and engaging
Kazakhstan in advance of its OSCE Chairmanship. However, it
is also clear that future CiO Bakoyannis has not yet taken an
active role in OSCE preparations. We expect her to be an
energetic and capable CiO and likely more responsive - at
least in private - to U.S. desiderata at the OSCE than these
consultations might suggest. As we get closer to the Greek
Chairmanship, we will need to continue to press the Greek
bureaucracy on our OSCE agenda and begin to make it part of
our dialogue with Bakoyannis herself. End Comment.


16. (U) EUR Acting DAS Robbins has cleared this cable.
SPECKHARD