MINISTER OF JUSTICE ENCOURAGING ON ARTICLE 98

C O N F I D E N T I A L CHISINAU 000314 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/UMB, ISN-JCORBETT E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2018 TAGS: KICC MARR PREL PGOV MD SUBJECT: MINISTER OF JUSTICE ENCOURAGING ON ARTICLE 98 REF: Chisinau 0312 Classified By: Ambassador Michael D. Kirby, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Moldovan Minister of Justice Vitalie Pirlog told us on March 19 that he was optimistic about Moldova's signing Article ¶98. Working-level meetings on March 20 confirm the optimism, but concerns about Moldova's inter-agency process and EU reaction remain. End summary. ¶2. (C) At the end of the conversation reported in reftel, Moldovan Minister of Justice Vitalie Pirlog informed Ambassador Kirby that the Government of Moldova (GOM) wanted to sign Article 98 before Parliament ratified the Rome Treaty, and requested guidance on how to proceed. Pirlog stressed his need for help in dealing with negative reactions from EU countries that could hinder Moldova's chances of integration. The Ambassador said that he had asked his European ambassadorial colleagues to see an Article 98 agreement as equivalent to the Status of Forces Agreements (SOFA) that the U.S. already has with their countries, which are also Rome Treaty signatories. The Ambassador, after assuring Pirlog that European governments would be upset for no more than a week, further noted that Moldova's ambassadors in European countries should be stressing to their interlocutors the importance to Moldova of both the Rome Treaty and of its relationship to the United States. ¶3. (C) Pirlog, noting his legal training, declared that he knew how the International Court of Justice works, that he had been successful in taking oversight of the GOM's Article 98 process from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration (MFA),and that now was the time for Moldova to sign. All he wanted, he said, was guidance on how to finish the job without harming Moldova's relations with Europe. ¶4. (C) On March 20, MOJ Chief of International Relations and European Integration Diana Scobioala visited the Embassy for a briefing. We handed her all six versions that an Article 98 agreement could take, and she promised that MOJ would decide by March 25 which version it would choose. We offered her conference-call facilities to discuss the options with DOS experts. Scobioala noted that the Minister of Justice had (confidential) authority to hold Parliament back from ratifying Rome until the Article 98 issue was settled. (Note: Given the resignation of the entire Moldovan government on March 19, and Pirlog's caretaker status, it is not clear that this authority will hold. End note.) ¶5. (C) Scobioala repeated Pirlog's promise of the GOM's intention to sign Article 98, but noted that, after MOJ drafted its document, the MFA and Parliament would still be involved. Like Pirlog, she asked for USG support with European countries, stressing that the european integration half of her portfolio was the most important part. She also asked for a list of EU candidate countries which have signed Article 98. ¶6. (C) Comment: After promises and delays, this appears to be the most serious signal yet from the GOM that it is ready to sign Article ¶98. We should do everything that we can to protect Moldova from attacks in European capitals, encourage Moldova to raise the issue preemptively in its bilateral relations, and clarify the way forward as much as we can. Please contact Political Officer Michael Mates for further information. Kirby