FRANCE SUPPORTS OSCE PROJECTS INSIDE AFGHANISTAN;

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 000753 SIPDIS SIPDIS EUR/RPM FOR RICHARD PROSEN AND USOSCE FOR DIANA BROWN E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/21/2018 TAGS: BMGT GM GR SP RS OSCE PGOV PTER FR SUBJECT: FRANCE SUPPORTS OSCE PROJECTS INSIDE AFGHANISTAN; ADVOCATES MORE PERMANENT COUNCIL INVOLVEMENT REF: STATE 39820 Classified By: POLITICAL MINISTER-COUNSELOR JOSIAH ROSENBLATT FOR REASO NS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) French MFA officials responsible for OSCE affairs told us on April 18 that, in principle, France now supports the idea that training activities for Afghan border security should take place on the border of and/and inside Afghanistan. The GOF clarified, however, that the projects should be modest in nature and pre-defined in scope. The French do not/not support an official presence of the OSCE in Afghanistan, and prefer that OSCE offices in Central Asia (perhaps Dushanbe) be responsible for Afghanistan activity planning. MFA officials also advocated substantial involvement by the Permanent Council (PC) in activity planning in order to appease the Russians. Post countered with reftel points, noting that while we expect the PC to endorse the Secretariat's final proposal on OSCE work with Afghanistan, we would not expect, in keeping with standard practice, for the PC to oversee its preparation, implementation and financing. French officials believe Russia will remain an obstacle to further engagement. ¶2. (C) In addition to signaling concerns about Russian opposition to further engagement in Afghanistan, French officials expressed concern about the practical ability of the OSCE to find appropriate trainers capable of effectively executing projects with Afghanistan's border security authorities. Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm PEKALA