DEMARCHE ON SOUTH OSSETIA MILITIA LOOTING DELIVERED

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 002916 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/02/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV GG RS SUBJECT: DEMARCHE ON SOUTH OSSETIA MILITIA LOOTING DELIVERED REF: A. MOSCOW 2904 ¶B. STATE 104547 Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Alice G. Wells for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Ambassador raised ref B concerns in a meeting with DFM Karasin September 30, reported ref A. Separately, MFA Director for General European Cooperation Vladimir Voronkov told us October 1 that press reports that Russian forces were not allowing EU forces into the "security zone" were the result of a technical misunderstanding that would be fixed by meetings between the heads of the EU and Russian peacekeeping mission. He expected follow-on working level arrangements with the EU that would address the back-filling of Russian troops and added that Russian MFA representative Karchmar was in Tskhinvali to assist. However, Voronkov suggested the need for joint Ossetian and Georgian policing units to work in the "security zone" in Georgia proper, because, he claimed, the EU had declined to provide an international police presence and Georgian police could not guarantee the safety and security of Ossetians residing in the border areas. We stressed that security in Georgia was the purview of Tbilisi, with the EU mission designed to address security-related issues. BEYRLE