MIXED SIGNALS AS RUSSIA PREPARES FOR OSCE HUMAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 002146

SIPDIS

FOR EUR/RUS AND DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/25/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM OSCE PHUM RS
SUBJECT: MIXED SIGNALS AS RUSSIA PREPARES FOR OSCE HUMAN
DIMENSION MEETING

REF: STATE 76294

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Alice G. Wells for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary. Leading up to this year's OSCE Human
Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM),the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs (MFA) reacted positively to US concerns and,
despite a July 23 MFA statement reiterating criticisms of
ODIHR, was positively disposed to the upcoming visit of ODIHR
Director Ambassador Janez Lenarcic. However, Russian Central
Election Commission (CEC) Deputy Chair Igor Borisov claimed
July 23 and 24 that past ODIHR election observers were spies
and threatened to take away Russian funds for observers. End
Summary.


2. (SBU) Per reftel request, Poloff delivered US comments
and concerns to Tatyana Sulitskaya, European Council section
chief in the MFA. Sulitskaya, who had just returned two
months ago from Strasburg and served previously at the OSCE,
confirmed that Russia will bring a large delegation to the
OSCE Human Dimension meeting. Sulitskaya does not yet know
who will head the delegation.

Election Observation and ODIHR
--------------


3. (C) Sulitskaya welcomed the upcoming visit of the new
head of ODIHR, Ambassador Janez Lenarcic from Slovenia, who
will travel to Moscow in September. Sulitskaya said the GOR
was positively disposed to the consultations, despite the
GOR's undiminished concerns over ODIHR's practices. The MFA
used a July 21-22 OSCE-sponsored seminar in Vienna to raise
again its concerns over "serious problems in the sphere of
election observation, in particular, the activities of ODIHR
in this track." CEC Deputy Chairman Igor Borisov took a
harder line in a July 24 press conference. He told reporters
that the GOR might discontinue funding of ODIHR election
observers -- which he estimated at USD 6 million per year --
if the OSCE rejects principles proposed by Russia governing
international observers. On July 23, Borisov had claimed
that among the members of OSCE international election
observers sent to the former Yugoslavia, Georgia and Ukraine
were representatives of security services of other countries.


USG Concerns on Media, NGOs and Religious Freedom Passed
-------------- --------------


4. (C) Sulitskaya agreed that the Russian Duma's recent
rejection of a proposed law that would have allowed media
outlets to be closed for libel without a court order was
encouraging and gave most of the credit to members of the
Public Chamber who voiced their disapproval of the proposed
legislation.


5. (C) Sulitskaya admitted she was unaware of Premier
Putin's recent edict eliminating the existing tax-free status
for grants by certain international NGOs but promised to
raise it with Alexander Orlov, head of the MFA Department of
Relations with the Regions, Parliament and Public
Organizations. She noted that he will be the person
responsible for the MFA's input into the new regulations on
this issue. Poloff sent the relevant edict, as well as the
2003 draft Ministry of Finance guidelines on this matter for
her review.


6. (C) Sulitskaya noted the large number of religious
organizations operating within the Russian Federation. She
acknowledged that fully implementing decisions from the
European Court of Human Rights in Strasburg that favor
religious organizations remained difficult because of strong
opposition within Russian society, particularly parents of
young adults who have joined nontraditional religions.
RUBIN