CYPRUS SUPPORTS DEPLOYMENT OF ESDP MISSION TO CHAD

C O N F I D E N T I A L NICOSIA 000044 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/RPM, EUR/ERA, EUR/SE E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/16/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV EUN CD CY TU SUBJECT: CYPRUS SUPPORTS DEPLOYMENT OF ESDP MISSION TO CHAD REF: SECSTATE 3208 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Jane B. Zimmerman, Reasons 1.4 (b),(d ) ¶1. (C) The Embassy January 17 delivered Reftel non-paper to Haris Christodoulidou, the Cypriot Foreign Ministry's acting head of ESDP/CFSP Affairs. In delivering the demarche, PolChief focused on the urgency of the European Union putting "boots on the ground" soonest in Chad and the Central Republic. The United States supported the mission, he emphasized, but had no current plans to contribute militarily. ¶2. (C) Christodoulidou shared our observations over the deteriorating security situation in those two countries and the need to deploy peacekeepers immediately. After glancing through our paper, she responded that many of our concerns should have been overcome by the latest developments on the mission. Christodoulidou understood that France recently had committed funding and hardware -- helicopters, specifically -- to the African operation, greatly increasing the likelihood it would commence soon (Note: international press accounts reproduced in Cyprus noted that Poland as well had offered helos.) Cyprus in November had seconded two military officers to the Paris Mission headquarters, she revealed, and was considering to send two others to the downrange HQ. Its financial contribution so far amounted to 64,000 euro, and the government had earmarked another, similar-sized donation for disbursement. ¶3. (C) As with many MFA conversations, discussion soon turned to the Cyprus Problem. Christodoulidou recounted her recent assignment in Brussels, where she had witnessed numerous examples of Cyprus-related "Turkish intransigence" preventing effective coordination between the European Union and NATO. "The Turks wouldn't even allow unclassified NATO documents, available to the public, to reach us," she protested. While Cyprus continued to favor closer cooperation between the institutions, it preferred that the Chad/CAR operation remain an autonomous ESDP mission not subject to "onerous" Berlin-Plus arrangements. Ending the call, she urged the USG to consider funding this and future European-led missions directly, not through NATO. ZIMMERMAN