Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08PARIS976
2008-05-22 11:27:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Paris
Cable title:
FOSG PARIS MEETING MAY 2008
how-toVZCZCXYZ0017 OO RUEHWEB DE RUEHFR #0976/01 1431127 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 221127Z MAY 08 FM AMEMBASSY PARIS TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3110 INFO RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 0920 RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN PRIORITY 6813 RUEHKV/AMEMBASSY KYIV PRIORITY 0552 RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 6927 RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PRIORITY 6112 RUEHSI/AMEMBASSY TBILISI PRIORITY 0508 RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 1515 RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE PRIORITY 3244 RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY 2307
C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 000976
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2018
TAGS: PREL PBTS XH RS GG GM UK ZJ FR
SUBJECT: FOSG PARIS MEETING MAY 2008
Classified By: A/POLITICAL MINISTER-COUNSELOR ANDREW YOUNG FOR REASONS
1.4 (B) AND (D)
C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 000976
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2018
TAGS: PREL PBTS XH RS GG GM UK ZJ FR
SUBJECT: FOSG PARIS MEETING MAY 2008
Classified By: A/POLITICAL MINISTER-COUNSELOR ANDREW YOUNG FOR REASONS
1.4 (B) AND (D)
1. (C) Summary: During a May 8 meeting in Paris, the Western
Friends of the Secretary General on Georgia (FOSG),
consisting of the U.S., UK, France, and Germany,
enthusiastically endorsed EUR DAS Matt Bryza's proposal for
reviving the Abkhazia peace process. Bryza laid out a new
three-pronged approach to advance the settlement process
through direct Georgian-Abkhaz negotiations to elaborate
President Saakashvili's peace initiatives; firm political
pressure on Russia to prevent further infringement on
Georgia's sovereignty; and the creation of a new forum to
provide advice and raise money for the implementation of
economic, social, and information links between Abkhazia and
the rest of Georgia. All of the Western Friends
enthusiastically supported Bryza's proposal. However, they
opposed Georgia's UN General Assembly resolution on
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). End summary.
2. (U) Participants: U.S. - EUR DAS Matthew Bryza; UK - MFA
South Caucasus Director Sir Brian Fall; France -- MFA Deputy
Political Director Veronique Bujon-Barre; Germany -- MFA
South Caucasus Director Hans-Dieter Lucas. Notetaker:
EUR/CARC Conflicts Advisor Mike Carpenter.
--------------
Russia's Actions in Abkhazia
--------------
3. (C) The Western members of the FOSG -- Germany, France and
the UK -- generally agreed that recent Russian actions in
Abkhazia, including its March 6 decision to withdraw from CIS
economic and military sanctions, the April 16 Kremlin
instructions to establish closer ties with Georgia's
separatist regions, the April 20 downing of a Georgian UAV,
and the April 29 unilateral decision to augment Russian
peacekeeping forces with airborne troops, were not in keeping
with Russia's role as a "facilitator" of the peace process.
Germany and France did not believe these steps were part of a
"master plan" to gain further control of Abkhazia, but were
simply an "unfortunate chain reaction" brought about in part
by Georgia's heightened state of military readiness. Bryza
countered that Georgia's heightened military readiness was a
direct response to Russian actions. Germany and France
agreed that Georgia's response, while restrained in
substance, was nevertheless "alarmist in tone." For that
reason, they believed that the Western Friends should counsel
restraint on both Russia and Georgia. UK representative Sir
Brian Fall agreed, but lamented the number of times the
Friends had called for Georgian restraint following a Russian
provocation.
--------------
UAVs and the Moscow Agreement
--------------
4. (C) French MFA Deputy Political Director Veronique
Bujon-Barre said the French MFA's Legal Office had reviewed
the Moscow Agreement and concluded that Unmanned Aerial
Vehicle (UAV) flights over the zone of conflict were not a
violation. Germany and the UK argued that legal arguments
could be made both ways and that the Moscow Agreement was too
ambiguous to make a definitive case one way or the other.
DAS Bryza noted that since UAVs were not specifically
mentioned in the agreement and were not even in widespread
use at the time, it did not make sense to interpret the
agreement as prohibiting them, particularly at a time when
Russian withdrawal from CIS military sanctions made military
transparency a paramount and legitimate concern. Bryza
agreed that the agreement was vague and argued that a more
important point was that Russia had violated Georgia's
sovereignty and the UN Charter by shooting down a Georgian
drone within Georgian airspace, and that the discussion of
the applicability of the Moscow Agreement to UAVs was a
distraction from this far more fundamental breach of
international law.
--------------
A New Plan for Reviving the Peace Process
--------------
5. (C) DAS Bryza presented the Western Friends with a
three-point plan to: (1) encourage Georgia to elaborate its
proposal of autonomy for Abkhazia (including constitutional
guarantees); (2) put pressure on Russia to prevent further
infringement of Georgia's sovereignty; and (3) create a new
forum to oversee the implementation of measures to create
economic, social, and information links between Abkhazia and
the rest of Georgia, which would evolve into a forum for
direct Georgian-Abkhaz talks. Bryza explained that an
expanded "Forum for Peace Implementation" would complement
the FOSG by focusing on financial and diplomatic support for
the peace plan, and could include both FOSG members and the
UN, EU, OSCE, Turkey, Ukraine, and perhaps also Bulgaria and
Romania. The Western Friends all enthusiastically embraced
Bryza's proposal. In response to Bryza's suggestion, German
FOSG Coordinator Hans-Dieter Lucas agreed the German MFA
could host a conference in Berlin on economic
confidence-building measures as called for in a 2005 UN
Security Counsel Resolution, which could give life to the new
forum Bryza had suggested.
--------------
IDP Resolution
--------------
6. (C) Germany, France, and the UK all opposed Georgia's UN
General Assembly resolution on IDPs on the grounds that it
detracted from the UN Security Council as the proper forum
for discussion of Abkhazia, was not conducive to building
confidence with the Abkhaz, and would demonstrate division
among the international community. DAS Bryza told the group
the U.S. would likely support the resolution, as it gave
breathing room for those in the GOG who wanted to pursue the
line of negotiations. Bryza also noted that Georgian UN
Permanent Representative Irakli Alasania had previewed the
resolution with Abkhaz de facto foreign minister Shamba, and
the latter had not objected to the GOG's tabling of the
resolution. The UK indicated it might be willing to consider
supporting the resolution if some amendments were made to the
text concerning the "unacceptability of demographic change"
in Abkhazia. (Note: Following the FOSG meeting in Paris and a
subsequent exchange between EUR/CARC Conflicts Advisor and
Georgian UN Ambassador Irakli Alasania, the operative
paragraph on the unacceptability of demographic change was
removed and a new preambular paragraph was added. The old
operative paragraph read: "Reaffirms the unacceptability of
the demographic changes resulting from the conflict in
Abkhazia, Georgia, and deplores any attempt to alter
pre-conflict demographic composition in Abkhazia, Georgia."
The new preambular paragraph reads: "Deeply concerned by the
demographic changes resulting from the conflict in Abkhazia,
Georgia, and regretting any attempt to alter pre-conflict
demographic composition in Abkhazia, Georgia." Despite these
changes to the text, which directly addressed the UK's
concerns, the UK, France, and Germany abstained. End Note.)
--------------
UN investigation into the April 20 incident
--------------
7. (C) The Friends all agreed that the UN should complete its
investigation of the April 20 shoot-down of a Georgian UAV to
prove its credibility. If the UN failed to conduct a
credible investigation that drew definitive conclusions, the
EU would be in a position to launch its own Instant
Assessment Mechanism to review the evidence. All four
members of the Western Friends agreed the evidence
overwhelmingly pointed to the likelihood that a Russian
fighter shot down the Georgian drone.
--------------
Comment
--------------
8. (C) The Western Friends, support for DAS Bryza's proposal
to revive the peace process allows the USG to move forward
with the plan to create a complementary format to the Friends
process, but without allowing any one country to veto its
functioning. A new "Forum for Peace Implementation" will
create support -- financially and politically -- for Georgian
efforts to develop closer economic, cultural, and information
links with Abkhazia. It could also support direct
Abkhaz-Georgian negotiations, which are an essential
precondition for any meaningful progress in the talks.
9. (U) This cable was drafted by EUR/CARC and cleared by EUR
DAS Matt Bryza.
Please visit Paris' Classified Website at:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm
STAPLETON
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2018
TAGS: PREL PBTS XH RS GG GM UK ZJ FR
SUBJECT: FOSG PARIS MEETING MAY 2008
Classified By: A/POLITICAL MINISTER-COUNSELOR ANDREW YOUNG FOR REASONS
1.4 (B) AND (D)
1. (C) Summary: During a May 8 meeting in Paris, the Western
Friends of the Secretary General on Georgia (FOSG),
consisting of the U.S., UK, France, and Germany,
enthusiastically endorsed EUR DAS Matt Bryza's proposal for
reviving the Abkhazia peace process. Bryza laid out a new
three-pronged approach to advance the settlement process
through direct Georgian-Abkhaz negotiations to elaborate
President Saakashvili's peace initiatives; firm political
pressure on Russia to prevent further infringement on
Georgia's sovereignty; and the creation of a new forum to
provide advice and raise money for the implementation of
economic, social, and information links between Abkhazia and
the rest of Georgia. All of the Western Friends
enthusiastically supported Bryza's proposal. However, they
opposed Georgia's UN General Assembly resolution on
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). End summary.
2. (U) Participants: U.S. - EUR DAS Matthew Bryza; UK - MFA
South Caucasus Director Sir Brian Fall; France -- MFA Deputy
Political Director Veronique Bujon-Barre; Germany -- MFA
South Caucasus Director Hans-Dieter Lucas. Notetaker:
EUR/CARC Conflicts Advisor Mike Carpenter.
--------------
Russia's Actions in Abkhazia
--------------
3. (C) The Western members of the FOSG -- Germany, France and
the UK -- generally agreed that recent Russian actions in
Abkhazia, including its March 6 decision to withdraw from CIS
economic and military sanctions, the April 16 Kremlin
instructions to establish closer ties with Georgia's
separatist regions, the April 20 downing of a Georgian UAV,
and the April 29 unilateral decision to augment Russian
peacekeeping forces with airborne troops, were not in keeping
with Russia's role as a "facilitator" of the peace process.
Germany and France did not believe these steps were part of a
"master plan" to gain further control of Abkhazia, but were
simply an "unfortunate chain reaction" brought about in part
by Georgia's heightened state of military readiness. Bryza
countered that Georgia's heightened military readiness was a
direct response to Russian actions. Germany and France
agreed that Georgia's response, while restrained in
substance, was nevertheless "alarmist in tone." For that
reason, they believed that the Western Friends should counsel
restraint on both Russia and Georgia. UK representative Sir
Brian Fall agreed, but lamented the number of times the
Friends had called for Georgian restraint following a Russian
provocation.
--------------
UAVs and the Moscow Agreement
--------------
4. (C) French MFA Deputy Political Director Veronique
Bujon-Barre said the French MFA's Legal Office had reviewed
the Moscow Agreement and concluded that Unmanned Aerial
Vehicle (UAV) flights over the zone of conflict were not a
violation. Germany and the UK argued that legal arguments
could be made both ways and that the Moscow Agreement was too
ambiguous to make a definitive case one way or the other.
DAS Bryza noted that since UAVs were not specifically
mentioned in the agreement and were not even in widespread
use at the time, it did not make sense to interpret the
agreement as prohibiting them, particularly at a time when
Russian withdrawal from CIS military sanctions made military
transparency a paramount and legitimate concern. Bryza
agreed that the agreement was vague and argued that a more
important point was that Russia had violated Georgia's
sovereignty and the UN Charter by shooting down a Georgian
drone within Georgian airspace, and that the discussion of
the applicability of the Moscow Agreement to UAVs was a
distraction from this far more fundamental breach of
international law.
--------------
A New Plan for Reviving the Peace Process
--------------
5. (C) DAS Bryza presented the Western Friends with a
three-point plan to: (1) encourage Georgia to elaborate its
proposal of autonomy for Abkhazia (including constitutional
guarantees); (2) put pressure on Russia to prevent further
infringement of Georgia's sovereignty; and (3) create a new
forum to oversee the implementation of measures to create
economic, social, and information links between Abkhazia and
the rest of Georgia, which would evolve into a forum for
direct Georgian-Abkhaz talks. Bryza explained that an
expanded "Forum for Peace Implementation" would complement
the FOSG by focusing on financial and diplomatic support for
the peace plan, and could include both FOSG members and the
UN, EU, OSCE, Turkey, Ukraine, and perhaps also Bulgaria and
Romania. The Western Friends all enthusiastically embraced
Bryza's proposal. In response to Bryza's suggestion, German
FOSG Coordinator Hans-Dieter Lucas agreed the German MFA
could host a conference in Berlin on economic
confidence-building measures as called for in a 2005 UN
Security Counsel Resolution, which could give life to the new
forum Bryza had suggested.
--------------
IDP Resolution
--------------
6. (C) Germany, France, and the UK all opposed Georgia's UN
General Assembly resolution on IDPs on the grounds that it
detracted from the UN Security Council as the proper forum
for discussion of Abkhazia, was not conducive to building
confidence with the Abkhaz, and would demonstrate division
among the international community. DAS Bryza told the group
the U.S. would likely support the resolution, as it gave
breathing room for those in the GOG who wanted to pursue the
line of negotiations. Bryza also noted that Georgian UN
Permanent Representative Irakli Alasania had previewed the
resolution with Abkhaz de facto foreign minister Shamba, and
the latter had not objected to the GOG's tabling of the
resolution. The UK indicated it might be willing to consider
supporting the resolution if some amendments were made to the
text concerning the "unacceptability of demographic change"
in Abkhazia. (Note: Following the FOSG meeting in Paris and a
subsequent exchange between EUR/CARC Conflicts Advisor and
Georgian UN Ambassador Irakli Alasania, the operative
paragraph on the unacceptability of demographic change was
removed and a new preambular paragraph was added. The old
operative paragraph read: "Reaffirms the unacceptability of
the demographic changes resulting from the conflict in
Abkhazia, Georgia, and deplores any attempt to alter
pre-conflict demographic composition in Abkhazia, Georgia."
The new preambular paragraph reads: "Deeply concerned by the
demographic changes resulting from the conflict in Abkhazia,
Georgia, and regretting any attempt to alter pre-conflict
demographic composition in Abkhazia, Georgia." Despite these
changes to the text, which directly addressed the UK's
concerns, the UK, France, and Germany abstained. End Note.)
--------------
UN investigation into the April 20 incident
--------------
7. (C) The Friends all agreed that the UN should complete its
investigation of the April 20 shoot-down of a Georgian UAV to
prove its credibility. If the UN failed to conduct a
credible investigation that drew definitive conclusions, the
EU would be in a position to launch its own Instant
Assessment Mechanism to review the evidence. All four
members of the Western Friends agreed the evidence
overwhelmingly pointed to the likelihood that a Russian
fighter shot down the Georgian drone.
--------------
Comment
--------------
8. (C) The Western Friends, support for DAS Bryza's proposal
to revive the peace process allows the USG to move forward
with the plan to create a complementary format to the Friends
process, but without allowing any one country to veto its
functioning. A new "Forum for Peace Implementation" will
create support -- financially and politically -- for Georgian
efforts to develop closer economic, cultural, and information
links with Abkhazia. It could also support direct
Abkhaz-Georgian negotiations, which are an essential
precondition for any meaningful progress in the talks.
9. (U) This cable was drafted by EUR/CARC and cleared by EUR
DAS Matt Bryza.
Please visit Paris' Classified Website at:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm
STAPLETON