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