LATVIA TELLS GEORGIA SUPPORT FOR MAP NOT UNLIMITED

C O N F I D E N T I A L RIGA 000682 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/07/2023 TAGS: PREL MARR NATO GG LG SUBJECT: LATVIA TELLS GEORGIA SUPPORT FOR MAP NOT UNLIMITED Classified By: Ambassador Charles W. Larson, Reason: 1.4 (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Latvian officials are telling Georgian counterparts that Tbilisi should not take Latvian support for MAP for Georgia for granted and that irresponsible actions/statements by the Georgians will cause Latvia to lessen its support. End summary. ¶2. (C) In recent days, officials at both the MOD and MFA have told us that Latvia is frustrated by what it views as provocative and unhelpful comments and actions by Georgia, such as suggestions that Georgia will use force to take back South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Latvian officials have communicated to Georgian counterparts that, while Latvia remains committed to Georgia joinig NATO and getting MAP as soon as possible, that support is not unlimited. One official said, "We feel that they take our support for granted and expect we will support them no matter what they say and do. That is wrong. They need to behave and act responsibly, and we've made that point." ¶3. (C) Sources at both ministries say that the Latvians first tried to deliver this message in Brussels but that the official at the Georgian mission there refused to share the report with his superiors in Brussels or Tbilisi, claiming he feared he would be punished for being the bearer of bad news. So, the Latvians delivered the message in Riga and in Tbilisi. Receiving officials in both places were described as shocked that Latvia had limits to its patience. ¶4. (C) When President Saakashvili was here November 1 and met with President Zatlers, the message was delivered in a less direct way, with Zatlers noting that Russia wants to provoke a Georgian reaction it can use to undermine Georgia in Europe, and urging Saakashvili not to take the bait. LARSON