HUNGARIAN FOCUS AT THE HELSINKI OSCE MINISTERIAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUDAPEST 001157 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/CE JAMIE LAMORE E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/01/2018 TAGS: PREL OSCE RU HU SUBJECT: HUNGARIAN FOCUS AT THE HELSINKI OSCE MINISTERIAL REF: SECSTATE 125626 Classified By: P/E counselor Eric Gaudiosi, reasons 1.4 (b and d) ¶1. (C) MFA Deputy Director of the International Organizations and Human Rights Department, Zoltan Pecze, discussed reftel with PolOff on December 2. Pecze stated that Foreign Minister Goncz will directly address the Medvedev Security Treaty proposal during her speech at the December 4-5 Ministerial. Stressing the importance of the transatlantic relationship, Goncz will highlight the following points: the current European and Euro-Atlantic institutions are functioning properly - key elements of the Russian proposal are already contained in the basic documents of existing organizations; there is currently a "lack of will" to make best use of existing mechanisms - Russia needs to respect these regimes; while Hungary is open to discuss the future of security in Europe, "we must be firm in sticking to a value-based approach; security can only be based on well-established common values, such as human rights and sovereignty;" and the OSCE should be the forum for further discussions. Pecze said that the Foreign Minister's comments are consistent with the following three points agreed to by EU members on November 28: structures already exist to address security issues; North America cannot be excluded; and the OSCE should be the forum, as it has "the human dimension." ¶2. (C) Referring directly to Sarkozy's summit proposal, Pecze commented, "why should we redesign the current transatlantic security structure because of a few border crises in the Caucasus?" Pecze said Hungary agrees that it is too early for an OSCE summit to address the Russian proposal, noting that such a decision should only be made "when it becomes clear what concrete results can be achieved." Continuing, he said Hungary believes that current focus should be on internal discussions with "our partners" in Europe, Canada, and the U.S. ¶3. (C) During a meeting with PolOff on December 1, Gabor Horvath, Deputy Director of the MFA's Security and Non-proliferation Department, echoed the points highlighted in the reftel. Noting that a well-grounded framework already exists for security in Europe, he said Russia needs to show how its proposal would enhance the security environment already offered within the EU, NATO, and OSCE frameworks. Horvath emphasized that a "European security proposal" is a non-starter - any proposal to address security in Europe must be a "transatlantic security proposal" - always including the U.S. and Canada. Commenting on the December 2 NATO Ministerial, Horvath said that Minister Goncz - refering to a U.S. non-paper on the Russian proposal - will emphasize that NATO and OSCE statements must be consistent to send Russia the message that the transatlantic community is together on the issue of security. Levine