RUSSIA ON ENHANCING EFFORTS TO COMBAT PIRACY

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 003508 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/05/2018 TAGS: MOPS PBTS PHSA PTER RS SUBJECT: RUSSIA ON ENHANCING EFFORTS TO COMBAT PIRACY REF: STATE 125514 Classified By: Political M/C Alice G. Wells for reasons 1.4 (b/d). ¶1. (C) We discussed reftel points on enhancing efforts to combat piracy with the MFA Legal and Africa departments on December 4. Legal Department Director for Public Law Vasiliy Titushkin told us that the GOR was "fully prepared to support any reasonable effort" to tackle this issue and Russia would work with the U.S. and other concerned countries through the UN or other international fora. Titushkin said that he would represent Russia at the December 10-11 Nairobi conference on Somali piracy and FM Lavrov would attend the December 16 UN Ministerial. The GOR looked forward to the U.S. or other countries presenting anti-piracy initiatives at these events. ¶2. (C) Titushkin could not elaborate on the resources the GOR could commit to fighting piracy, but said that Russia intended to maintain its naval presence near the Somali coast and would replace the RFS Neustrashimyy with another ship once the frigate's deployment to the region ended. At this time, the GOR intended to keep the coordination of its anti-piracy activities at the "working level," with the Neustrashimyy maintaining ship-to-ship communication with other naval vessels in the region. ¶3. (C) Titushkin said that the GOR was concerned that there was an imminent need to address the issue of legal jurisdiction for the prosecution of pirates. Russia's criminal code allowed it to claim jurisdiction outside of the country in the case of piracy, and Russia could conceivably arrest pirates and try them in Moscow. The GOR did not, however, believe such a course of action was practical for Russia or other countries that had similar laws considering the difficulty in detaining captured pirates aboard naval vessels and providing them with counsel before sending them to a distant country for prosecution. It made more sense for pirates to be prosecuted by Kenya or other countries in the region that had a direct stake in stopping piracy. The GOR understood that some African countries would be reluctant to take on this responsibility. Titushkin raised the applicability of the Rome Convention and its provision to "build judicial capacity" for the prosecution of persons suspected of piracy. He asked how the U.S. interpreted this provision, which appeared to present the options of either building judicial capacity within the region or pursuing legal provisions to prosecute pirates elsewhere. ¶4. (C) Titushkin explained that the GOR traditionally considered piracy a criminal matter best handled through law enforcement mechanisms, but had come to understand it was now a transnational threat akin to terrorism that required expanded counter-measures. While the Legal Department maintained the lead on piracy in coordination with the Africa Department, the MFA was still sorting out how to handle the issue. The MFA Department of New Threats and Challenges, which is tasked with addressing transnational crime and terrorism, was resisting taking on the piracy issue. BEYRLE