YUSHCHENKO DISAPPOINTED BY ITALY'S TEPID SUPPORT

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 001269 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/25/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV NATO UP RS IT SUBJECT: YUSHCHENKO DISAPPOINTED BY ITALY'S TEPID SUPPORT FOR MAP Classified By: Barbara A. Leaf, Political Minister Counselor, for reaso ns 1.4 (a) and (b). ¶1. (C) Summary. During his October 8 visit to Rome, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko pressed for strong Italian support of Ukraine's MAP aspirations, EU integration and recognition of the Holodomor. Yushchenko's GOI interlocutors, President Napolitano and PM Berlusconi, told Yushchenko that while Italy supports Ukraine's NATO aspirations, granting MAP was too controversial and Ukraine should focus on EU membership. Berlusconi was cool to a Parliamentary declaration on Holodomor, while Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Fini and Senate President Schifani promised to study the Ukrainian proposal. End summary. ¶2. (C) Ukrainian acting Political Counselor Yaroslav Moshkolo told Poloff that Yushchenko was disappointed with the weak Italian support for Ukraine's MAP aspirations during his visit to Rome October 8. While Italian press reported that Napolitano and Berlusconi pledged their support for Ukraine's NATO aspirations, the actual discussions were far less positive. Napolitano and Berlusconi (who was joined by FM Frattini) told Yushchenko that granting MAP had become far too controversial. Instead, Ukraine should focus on EU integration in the near future. Overtly reflecting concern about Moscow's reaction to a positive MAP decision on Ukraine, Berlusconi noted that the security relationship between NATO and Russia had become "too controversial" to add another irritant. The Italian PM was also cool to Yushchenko's request for an Italian parliamentary declaration granting recognition to the millions of Ukrainian victims of famine during the Stalinist period (Holodomor). Yushchenko gave Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Fini and Senate President Schifani a petition by thousands of Ukrainian residents of Italy urging recognition of the Holodomor. Both promised to study the issue. ¶3. (C) Comment. Moshkolo said that while Yushchenko was disappointed by Italy's tepid support of their NATO aspirations, he was generally pleased by the results of the visit. He added, however, that much went on behind the scenes that led the Ukrainian embassy staff to believe that Italy wanted to play down its relationship with Ukraine and with Yushchenko in particular in order to avoid irritating Russia. The GOI tried to downgrade the visit from an official visit to a working visit, rejected requests for joint press availability after the meetings, and failed to give Yushchenko ceremonial honors normally accorded to a visiting head of state. Italy left the impression, according to Moshkolo, that as far as it was concerned, Ukraine's path to Europe runs through Moscow. SPOGLI