THE DECEMBER 3, 2008 MEETING OF THE NATO-GEORGIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L USNATO 000470

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/10/2018
TAGS: MARR MOPS NATO PARM PINR PREL GG RS
SUBJECT: THE DECEMBER 3, 2008 MEETING OF THE NATO-GEORGIA
COMMISSION IN FOREIGN MINISTERS SESSION.

Classified By: Classified by: Ambassador Kurt Volker for reasons 1.4 (b
) and (d).


1. (U) Participants:

U.S.
Ambassador Volker
Assistant Secretary Daniel Fried
EUR PDAS Ries
NSC Senior Director Damon Wilson

NATO
Secretary General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer

NATO COUNTRIES
Albania: FM Lulzim Basha
Belgium: FM Karel De Gucht
Bulgaria: AMB Lubomir Ivanov
Canada: AMB Robert McRae
Croatia: FM Gordan Jandrokovic
Czech Republic: FM Karel Schwarzenberg
Denmark: AMB Per Poulsen-Hansen
Estonia: FM Urmas Paet
France: FM Bernard Kouchner
Germany: FM Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Greece: FM Dora Bakoyannis
Hungary: AMB Zoltan Martinusz
Iceland: Ambassador Thorsteinn Ingolfsson
Italy: AMB Stefano Stefanini
Latvia: FM Maris Riekstins
Lithuania: Under Secretary Zygimantas Pavilionis
Luxembourg: D/FM Jean Asselborn
Netherlands: FM Maxime Verhagen
Norway: FM Jonas Stoere
Poland: FM Radoslaw Sikorski
Portugal: FM Luis Amado
Romania: FM Lazar Comanescu
Slovakia: FM Jan Kubis
Slovenia: FM Samuel Zbogar
Spain: AMB Carlos Miranda
Turkey: FM Ali Babacan
United Kingdom: FM David Miliband

GEORGIA
FM Eka Tkeshelashvili


2. (C) SUMMARY. On December 3, Georgian Foreign Minister
Eka Tkeshelashvili addressed the first ever Foreign
Minister-level meeting of the NATO-Georgia Commission.
Tkeshelashvili expressed gratitude to NATO for both the
political and practical support that had been granted during
a difficult time for Georgia. She welcomed the December 2
Alliance decision to deepen its relationship with Georgia,
and pledged Georgia's commitment to meeting NATO standards,
including through a 2009 deployment to ISAF. Allies were
supportive, encouraging Georgia to use the newly-reinforced
relationship structure and to continue national reforms aimed
at meeting Alliance standards. END SUMMARY.


3. (C) Foreign Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili addressed the
first ever FM-level meeting of the NATO-Georgia Commission
which took place in Brussels on November 3. Tkeshelashvili
expressed gratitude to NATO for both the political and
practical support that had been granted during a difficult
time for Georgia.


4. (C) Tkeshelashvili expressed thanks for the EU Monitoring
Mission, but asserted that Russia's "very partial
implementation" of the August 12 agreement meant that
security was far from assured. The Foreign Minister said she
was concerned that ongoing provocations and the lack of
security was having a serious impact on Georgia's ability to
attract investors. She cited the deaths of nine police
officers and the wounding of 11 more as evidence of ongoing
lawlessness. Tkeshelashvili pledged that Georgia would
always be ready to fully cooperate with the monitoring
missions, and hoped that future unrestricted access into the
separatist areas for the monitors could lead to useful
confidence-building measures. The FM said she could also not
predict whether Russia would look at other large-scale
actions in the future to remove the Saakashvili regime.


5. (C) Tkeshelashvili underlined that Georgia would remain

flexible and constructive in the Geneva process. She hoped
Russia would prove itself to be interested in results rather
than mere participation in the process, an approach that
could lead to practical deliverables.


6. (C) The Foreign Minister briefed on Georgia's efforts to
house the 35,000 IDPs that had been unable to return since
the conflict. She also noted the political difficulties of
also dealing with the population that had been displaced in
the 1990's, and underscored that the right of return would be
a profound political issue for these populations for the
foreseeable future.


7. (C) Tkeshelashvili thanked the NATO Foreign Ministers for
the NATO Georgia Commission, which she described as a useful
tool. She looked forward to the impact of the December 2 NATO
decision granting it an even more important role. The
Foreign Minister hoped that a NGC meeting of Chiefs of
Defense could take place in the near future, and noted that
Georgia could benefit from Alliance advice when dealing with
the lessons learned from the August conflict. Tkeshelashvili
pledged Georgia's full commitment to developing itself to
meet Alliance standards, and promised that Georgia would both
develop to meet its own security needs, and contribute to
collective security. She cited a planned 2009 Georgian
deployment to ISAF as an example of this approach to defense.
Tkeshelashvili also highlighted that Georgia was already
involved in a far-reaching process of reform in multiple
areas, including the judicial system, political pluralism,
and media freedom.


8. (C) German FM Steinmeier expressed satisfaction that NATO
had been able to reach an agreement on intensifying its
relationship with Georgia that could be interpreted by
Georgia as progress. He acknowledged that Georgia had
experienced a difficult year with "the conflict in the
Southern Caucasus" but underlined that Germany had not
recognized the separatist areas. Steinmeier pledged
Germany's support to NATO's ongoing relationship with
Georgia.


9. (C) Ambassador Volker expressed the Secretary's regret
that she could not have attended the meeting in person. He
welcomed the December 2 Alliance decision to intensify its
relationship with Georgia, and encouraged Georgia to make
full use of the NATO-Georgia Commission. Volker underlined
U.S. commitment to the territorial integrity and sovereignty
of Georgia. He noted the need for security in areas of
Russian control, underlined the importance of the Geneva
process, and welcomed Georgia's plans for an ISAF deployment
as an indicator of Georgia's commitment to its relationship
with NATO.


10. (C) Polish FM Radek Sikorski struck a unique tone, saying
the jury was still out on whether Russia's actions in Georgia
were a one off, or a geopolitical game-changer. Sikorski
observed he would have been happy to grant Membership Action
Plan (MAP) to Georgia immediately, but that the compromise
strengthened the inevitability of Georgia's eventual
accession to NATO.


11. (C) French FM Kouchner made a long intervention,
explaining that he and President Sarkozy had to make
difficult compromises when brokering the August ceasefire.
He did not see an end to the ongoing deadlock but
rhetorically asked what else could be done. Kouchner
rejected Russian argument that geographical lines drawn by
Stalin in the past should determine the appropriate areas of
control in this crisis. He said Russia must withdraw from
Akhalgori, Kodori, and Perevi. Kouchner reiterated his
determination not to accept redrawing of borders by force,
but also hoped IDPs could return home soon.


12. (C) All other speakers repeated similar positions.
Significant themes included:

-- Commitment to Georgia's territorial integrity and
sovereignty (Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Czech Republic, Spain,
Romania, Denmark).

-- Assertion that Russia must withdraw its troops to the
locations and levels that preceded the conflict (Estonia,
Turkey, Romania, Denmark).


-- Calls for international monitors to be granted unfettered
access to areas under Russian/separatist control (Latvia,
Estonia, Canada).

-- Concern for the plight of internally displaced people
(Bulgaria, Latvia).

-- Reiteration of interest in an international investigation
into the causes of the conflict (Bulgaria).

-- Praise for Georgia's flexibility and constructive approach
to the Geneva process (Bulgaria).

-- Hope that the Geneva Process will continue on a more
positive trend (Greece, Turkey, Netherlands, Romania,
Denmark, Canada).

-- Hope that the talks can lead to confidence building
measures (Denmark).

-- Praise for the December 2 NAC Ministerial decision on
deepening NATO's cooperation with Georgia (Bulgaria, Greece,
Latvia, Hungary, Denmark, Lithuania).

-- Encouragement to Georgia that it should use the NATO
Georgia Commission as a tool to assist national reforms
(Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Czech Republic, Spain, Denmark,
Italy).

-- Creation of/reinforcement of a NATO liaison office in
Tbilisi (Estonia, Latvia).

-- Reiteration that no third party (Russia) can be given veto
power over NATO's enlargement decisions (Denmark).

-- Praise for Georgia's ongoing commitment to national
reforms (Hungary, Czech Republic, Turkey, Romania, Canada).

-- Reiteration that the degree of Georgia's success in future
reforms will be the key to achieving the performance-based
standards for admission to NATO (Canada).
VOLKER