RUSSIAN POSITIONS ON ZIMBABWE, KOSOVO, BURMA AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 001928 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/07/2018 TAGS: PREL PHUM KDEM UNSC BM KV ZI RS SUBJECT: RUSSIAN POSITIONS ON ZIMBABWE, KOSOVO, BURMA AND UNAMID REF: STATE 70882 Classified By: Acting Political Counselor Margaret Hawthorne for reason s 1.4(b/d). (C) During a July 3 meeting, the MFA's new Director of the Department of International Organizations, Gennadi Gatilov, laid out the GOR positions on international efforts in Zimbabwe, Kosovo, and Burma, and updated us on the request for Russia to provide helicopters to UNAMID: -- Zimbabwe: Gatilov said that the African Union (AU) was working to help settle the political crisis in Zimbabwe and the GOR wanted to give the organization more time to succeed. He pointed to a July 2 AU resolution calling upon other parties to avoid "complicating the situation" by interfering with African mediation efforts, which argued against the U.S.' proposed Chapter VII resolution (reftel). Russia feared that adoption of such a resolution, which sought to punish Mugabe, would close any chance for a political settlement. Gatilov explained that Russian concerns with the Chapter VII resolution were "more a matter of principal than substance," as the GOR felt that the resolution went "beyond the mandate" of the UNSC, which did not include judging the outcome of national elections. The GOR was also concerned with the use of sanctions as a method to punish UN member states in situations that did not present a threat to international or regional peace and security. -- Kosovo: Russia maintained that SYG Ban Ki-Moon would need agreement from both Kosovo and Serbia to implement his plan to transition UNMIK to EULEX, which Belgrade was unlikely to do. Gatilov said that the GOR was "surprised" by the SYG's apparent intention to move forward without the consent of the UN member states directly involved, and believed that the SYG had "overstepped his authority." -- Burma: Russia supported SYG Special Representative Gambari's efforts in Burma, which have proven "quite useful," and asked the Burmese authorities to "be more constructive" during his next trip. Gatilov did not explain what exactly Russia expected Gambari to accomplish considering that the GOR has consistently voiced its support for the Burmese regime's "democratization" program. -- UNAMID Helicopters: The MFA sent the request to provide helicopters to UNAMID to the Russian MOD, which has yet to respond. Gatilov noted that Russia was in the process of sending helicopters to EUFOR in Chad and the Central African Republic, suggesting that the MOD may feel unable to contribute assets to UNAMID. BEYRLE