GEORGIA: DANES WELCOME RECOGNITION WARNING,

C O N F I D E N T I A L COPENHAGEN 000458 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/25/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR RS GG DA SUBJECT: GEORGIA: DANES WELCOME RECOGNITION WARNING, REBUTTAL OF RUSSIAN CLAIMS REF: A. STATE 90978 ¶B. STATE 90980 Classified By: Pol/Econ Counselor Bill Mozdzierz, reasons 1.4b,d ¶1. (C) Danish MFA Head of Department for Eastern Europe Ruben Madsen allowed that his government did not have the sense that the Russians would recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia soon, but agreed that firm warnings to Moscow are prudent and necessary in any event. Madsen welcomed our ref B approach to set the record straight on the Georgia cease-fire agreement, maintaining that the Russians must not be permitted to make such assertions unchallenged. ¶2. (C) Denmark views as "very good news" the calling of a European Council meeting for next week, Madsen declared, while admitting that his government is still not certain what exactly the French have in mind as an outcome. The Danes will be looking for clear signals from the EU, he said, on support for Georgia's territorial integrity, the impact of Russian behavior on relations with the EU, and prospects for an EU peacekeeping or monitoring mission. Madsen indicated general satisfaction with French leadership (and activism) on the conflict, and added that the Danes had been pleasantly surprised by what he characterized as an increasingly tough line coming from Finnish FM and OSCE CiO Stubb. CAIN