UKRAINE OPPOSES, BUT DOUBTS THAT RUSSIA WILL

C O N F I D E N T I A L KYIV 000365 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/15/2018 TAGS: PREL GG RU YI UP SUBJECT: UKRAINE OPPOSES, BUT DOUBTS THAT RUSSIA WILL RECOGNIZE ABKHAZIA REF: STATE 14840 Classified By: Political Counselor Kent Logsdon for reasons 1.4(a,b,d). ¶1. (C) As requested, PolCouns delivered the demarche contained reftel to Oleksandr Tsvetkov, Acting Director of the MFA's Political Department (with primary responsibility for the Kosovo issue) and Sergiy Kyslytsya, Director of the MFA's UN and Other International Organizations Department on February 15. PolCouns asked that Ukraine make clear to Russia that it would not support recognition of Abkhazia and assure Georgia that Ukraine supported peaceful resolution of the conflict within Georgia's internationally recognized borders. Both MFA interlocutors acknowledged our view and noted that Ukraine agreed with the U.S. position on possible Russian recognition of Abkhazia. Tsvetkov asked why we believed the Russians were ready to acknowledge and asked for additional information about specific Russian statements that might show this intention. Kyslytsya noted that if Russia recognized Abkhazia, in doing so it would also be recognizing Kovoso's right to be a separate country. This would be particularly dangerous for Ukraine, especially with regard to both Transnistria in neighboring Moldova and, closer to home, in Crimea. In short, both thought that it was unlikely that Russia would recognize Abkhazia, but stressed that Ukraine would oppose such a Russian move. ¶2. (U) Visit Embassy Kyiv's classified website: www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/kiev. Taylor