GERMANY TO DOUBLE GEORGIAN HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BERLIN 001155 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/20/2018 TAGS: MOPS OSCE PHUM PREL UN GG RS GM SUBJECT: GERMANY TO DOUBLE GEORGIAN HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE Classified By: ACTING DCM JEFFREY RATHKE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) The German Foreign Office announced August 19 that Germany would increase its humanitarian assistance to Georgia from 1 million to 2 million euros. POLOFF spoke on August 20 with Georgia Desk Officer Gosse at the MFA for more detail on the additional one million euros. Gosse confirmed that Foreign Minister Steinmeier made the decision to double the aid and that the first recipients will be refugees. Now that Germany has doubled the sum to two million euros, the Office of Humanitarian Assistance in MFA must now determine which projects to support and which organizations to send the money through, according to Gosse. DAS-equivalent Michael von Ungern-Sternberg, normally responsible for UN affairs, has been designated as a special envoy for humanitarian assistance in response to the conflict in Georgia. He arrived in Georgia today, and Gosse stated that Ungern-Sternberg plans to spend tomorrow reviewing the humanitarian situation to shed light on which projects to fund. ECONOFF learned from the Development Ministry that they will not be directly involved with the aid distribution -- these are Foreign Office funds. TIMKEN JR