BELGIUM: "NO BUSINESS AS USUAL" DOESN'T EXCLUDE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 001464 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/RPM:LHAYDEN, EUR/WE AND EUR/CARC E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/22/2018 TAGS: NATO PREL GG RS BE SUBJECT: BELGIUM: "NO BUSINESS AS USUAL" DOESN'T EXCLUDE PREP COMS REF: STATE 100790 Classified By: POL/ECON Counselor Richard Eason, reason 1.4(b) and (d). PREPCOMS A CHANCE FOR DIALOGUE -------------- ¶1. (C) Poloff delivered reftel demarche to Pol De Witte, the Director for Security Policy and NATO Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. De Witte said that Belgium takes a more "moderate line" than the U.S. on NATO-Russia meetings and sees value in dialogue. Poloff argued that Russia's rejection of Georgia's territorial integrity and its bald assertion of a natural sphere of influence in the South Caucasus call for a stiff response from NATO. He added that Prep Com meetings lose their usefulness if n Ambassadorial meetings will follow. Neverthless, De Witte said that while Belgium agrees that no meetings at the Ambassadorial level are appropriate, it is "more positive" about PrepCom meetings. He said that such meetings rovide an opportunity for a frank exchange of views. LETERME'S VISIT TO SOCHI -------------- ¶2. (C) De Witte was informed about Prime Minister Leterme's meeting with Russian President Putin in Sochi on September 19, although he did not attend. He defended the meeting at some length, saying that it had been planned since July and would have been impossible to turn off at the last minute. The meeting focused on commercial issues, including a number of investment problems encountered by Belgian companies in Russia. On Georgia, Leterme repeated to Putin the Belgian position that Russia's actions in Georgia are unacceptable. He supported Georgia's territorial integrity and insisted on extension of the EU observer mission into South Ossetia and Abkhazia, as part of full implementation of the September 8 commitments obtained by French President Sarkozy. De Witte did not think that Leterme worked any change in Putin's positions on those issues. COLD WATER ON MAP IN DECEMBER -------------- ¶3. (C) De Witte continued that the GOB is "not comfortable" at this time with granting a Membership Action Plan to Georgia at the December NATO Ministerial meeting. He said that both PM Leterme and FM De Gucht believe that President Saakashvili is an unreliable leader. They also express doubt that a MAP for Georgia will lead to more stability and security in the region. As for Ukraine, De Witte pointed to the current political uncertainty that raises questions about whether that country itself will even want to be considered for a MAP at the December meeting. .