GREEK VIEWS ON MAY GAERC

C O N F I D E N T I A L ATHENS 000706

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM EU GR
SUBJECT: GREEK VIEWS ON MAY GAERC

REF: A. ATHENS 698


B. ATHENS 651

Classified By: A/POLCOUNS JEFFREY HOVENIER. REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (C) DepPolCouns discussed likely issues for the May 26-27
EU Foreign Ministers' meeting (GAERC) with MFA European
Correspondent Antonia Katsourou. Key points of the
discussion are summarized below by issue topic:

-- WESTERN BALKANS: Katsourou believed GAERC discussion would
focus in general terms on the outcome of the Serbian
elections. Agreed conclusions stressed support for Serbia's
European perspective. On Kosovo, Katsourou said the question
of what would happen after June 15 when the ICO assumed
supervisory authority was "problematic." A residual presence
of UNMIK was inevitable, but much depended on the new Serbian
government. A related issue was how to accommodate those EU
member-states that had not recognized Kosovo's independence
and were not part of the ICO (seven or eight countries,
including Greece). On the SAA with Boznia-Herzegovina,
Katsourou said Greece supported the agreement and wanted it
signed but recognized that technical problems remained. She
expected signature in June.

-- IRAQ: Katsourou had little substantive to say on Iraq and
deferred to her colleagues in the A6 Middle East Directorate.
The latter had told us earlier that Greece was considering
opening a consulate in northern Iraq (it already has an
embassy) to support expanding Greek construction interests.
FM Bakoyannis was concerned, however, about Turkish reaction
because opening a consulate might be perceived as tacit
support of Kurdish autonomy.

-- LEBANON: Katsourou expected a discussion of Lebanon at the
GAERC, particularly in light of the late-breaking
announcement of the agreement between the Lebanese government
and opposition in Doha. Katsourou said the GOG believed
incorporation of Hizballah into the political structure could
be a positive step. "If they give up violence," she noted,
"we will support them." (NOTE: On Greece's views on working
with Hizballah, see ref A. END NOTE.)

-- ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN PEACE: Katsourou noted the Egyptian
proposal on Palestinian unity, though mentioned it was
progressing slowly. She said the EU supported all such
initiatives. Greece was particularly concerned about
stopping Israeli settlement construction.

-- AFGHANISTAN: Discussion at the GAERC was expected to focus
on the upcoming donors' conference, to which Greece intended
to send a yet-unnamed high-level representative. Greece
believed this was important and intended to donate.

-- SOMALIA: Greece had signed a letter with Spain and others
on combating piracy and would support a UN resolution on the
issue.

-- GEORGIA: Katsourou expected GAERC discussion to focus on
election results. Greece itself was torn between "two
friends," though she also said Greece supported the EU
consensus on the Instant Assessment Mechanism to investigate
the shooting-down of the Georgian UAV. She noted that a year
ago, Greece and Sweden had introduced the Mechanism
initiative (not only for Georgia),which was subsequently
discussed and adopted by the EU.

-- IRAN: Katsourou noted the discussion at the EU on
sanctions the previous day and said they were awaiting Iran's
promised proposals, whi` not yet appeared. On fu`ce wished to see how the 3 measures went beforeIran was
not yet on the GAERC agenda. She confirmed information
provided earlier by the A6 Directorate that Greece's position
on Iran sanctions was heavily influenced by the interests of
Greek shipowners (ref B). She added further that Greek
shipping interests also played a role in Greece's position on
Burma and other issues. Given the importance of the
shipowners to the Greek economy, "we're always sensitive" to
their interests.


SPECKHARD