FM BAKOYANNIS ON MACEDONIA NAME, HSPD-6, AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 000967 SIPDIS DEPT ALSO FOR EUR/SE AND EUR/SCE E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/06/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV CVIS NATO IZ MK IS GR SUBJECT: FM BAKOYANNIS ON MACEDONIA NAME, HSPD-6, AND MIDDLE EAST VISITORS REF: ATHENS 925 Classified By: Ambassador Daniel V. Speckhard for 1.4 (b) and (d) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) In a July 3 conversation, FM Bakoyannis told Amb. Speckhard that although UN Mediator Nimetz' recent meetings had been "positive," she was skeptical that the Macedonians were prepared to "accept and use" a new name. Ambassador Speckhard emphasized the importance of flexibility, noting that Nimetz' most recent proposals had met the fundamental Greek concerns. He urged Greece to give Nimetz something to work with on issues that were less vital to Greece's core interests, including how Skopje approves any settlement (i.e. referendum, constitutional changes),topographical terms, etc. Bakoyannis reiterated Greek concerns about a referendum in Skopje, and emphasized Greek expectations that any settlement will be "clear" to avoid any future situations like the PSI 5-year anniversary event in which Macedonia was seated as the Republic of Macedonia. ¶2. (C) On other issues, Bakoyannis reiterated that Greece will need to obtain Parliamentary approval to conclude the HSPD-6 agreement, but said Greek changes to the proposed text will be slight. She also expected the Parliament to act quickly on the agreement. She briefly shared her impressions of recent visits of: -- Iraqi President Talabani - who was very optimistic on Iraq; and -- Israeli Defense Minister Barak and Palestinian Authority President Abbas - where she believes Israel is misplaying the situation, and the Palestinian people cannot put up with the status quo for much longer. She also said Barak c is "not optimistic." She had emphasized to Nimetz that the Macedonians must be ready to accept and use a mutually acceptable name. Listening to PM Gruevski, Bakoyannis said she did not believe this was so. She said Gruevski's comments linking the name solution to the status of the "Macedonian minority" in Greece "only create more problems." The Ambassador suggested that some of the Macedonian statements might be a reaction to the "side issues" raised by Greece, such as topographical designations, the question of a referendum, etc. Bakoyannis said Nimetz had been the one to raise topographical designations, and Greece had "no real problems" there. �A;¶4. (C) Bakoyannis became more animated on the issue of a possible referendum in Macedonia on any settlement. Following any agreement, she argued that during the period required to organize and carry out a referendum the agreement would be subject to extensive public scrutiny and debate in Greece. She said that the Greek opposition would exploit this opportunity and push for a referendum on the issue of NATO enlargement, which the Government could not allow. The Ambassador emphasized that it would be best to first get an agreement and then worry about how each country sells it to the public. In any case, he urged the FM to let the Macedonians figure out their own processes to approve any settlement. Bakoyannis responded that a referendum in Macedonia was extraordinarily problematic for Greece. ¶5. (C) Bakoyannis reasserted that "erga omnes" means exactly that -- for all uses. The Ambassador responded that such terms require "fine tuning" through negotiations. Bakoyannis responded that Greece insists on "clarity" on how the new name will be used. Otherwise, Macedonia will continue its "current practice" of pressing for use of its constitutional name. Greece does not want to see another situation like the Washington 5-year PSI Anniversary event, in which Macedonia was seated as the Republic of Macedonia. Greece "wants this settled once and for all" with "no ambiguity." The Ambassador reiterated the importance of keeping focus on the key issues -- the new international name and its scope of use -- and to show maximum flexibility to give Nimetz something ATHENS 00000967 002 OF 002 to work with. -------------- Visa Waiver Program (VWP) -------------- ¶6. (C) The Ambassador pressed the FM to move quickly on the proposed HSPD-6 agreement to keep the VWP process moving. He urged the GOG to make as few changes as possible. Bakoyannis said they would do so with only a few changes to the text, but confirmed once there was agreement MFA lawyers had concluded that it must go to the Greek Parliament for authorization. However, she said that this authorization could be obtained quickly, "within the month," as she had promised the Secretary. (Note: Working levels of the MFA tell us that we should be receiving Greek comments on the draft HSPD-6 text in the next few days. End Note). -------------- Middle East Visitors -------------- ¶7. (C) Bakoyannis briefly updated the Ambassador on her meetings with Iraqi President Talabani, Israeli Defense Minister Barak, and Palestinian Authority President Abbas, who were all in Greece for a meeting of the Socialist International, which is headed by major opposition party PASOK President George Papandreou. -- Talabani: Bakoyannis said Talabani was very positive on the situation in Iraq. She also noted that Greece plans to open an diplomatic office in Kurdistan, and she promised to visit Iraq, hopefully by the end of the year. -- Barak and Abbas: She said that the public eye should be on Israel, as it is failing to do what it needs to do to move the peace process forward. Bakoyannis said that there are more roadblocks in place now than at the time of the Annapolis Conference, and Israel must know that this is a threat and that the Palestinian people cannot withstand this situation indefinitely. In response to a question from the Ambassador, Bakoyannis said that Barak had told her that the recent Greece-Israel military exercise in the Mediterranean had been "exactly that," and had no connection to Israeli planning or preparations for any operation against Iran (reftel) as had been suggested by the New York Times. SPECKHARD