NRC: RUSSIA CHIDED KFOR AND ISAF WHILE OFFERING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 USNATO 000091 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/05/2017 TAGS: NATO PREL MARR PTER RU SUBJECT: NRC: RUSSIA CHIDED KFOR AND ISAF WHILE OFFERING SUPPORT IN AFGHANISTAN Classified By: Ambassador Victoria Nuland for reasons 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Russian Ambassador Dmitriy Rogozin accused KFOR of overstepping its bounds in Kosovo and called for impartiality and strict adherence to KFOR's UNSCR 1244 mandate in the February 27 NATO-Russia Council (NRC). Ambassador Nuland, other Allies, and NATO Secretary General (SYG) de Hoop Scheffer strongly rebuffed Rogozin,s accusations. Rogozin also launched into a gloom and doom security assessment of Afghanistan, which was refuted by many Allies. A majority of Allies supported a NRC joint statement at the upcoming NATO Summit in Bucharest and expressed satisfaction with the list of potential deliverables for the Summit (e-mailed to EUR/RPM). Ambassador Nuland expressed caution about an NRC joint statement, arguing that a three minute video highlighting practical NRC cooperation may be more press-friendly than a joint statement. Rogozin did not directly address a joint statement; Russian Mission told us separately that they did not yet have guidance on it. When Allies pressed Russia for the transit agreement as a deliverable for Bucharest, Rogozin expressed optimism that negotiations were on track to achieve it. END SUMMARY. -------------- KFOR'S MANDATE -------------- ¶2. (C) During the February 27 meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, Russian Ambassador Rogozin warned the Alliance not to direct KFOR beyond its UNSCR 1244 mandate and to be "impartial." Referring to his February 22 letter to NATO SYG de Hoop Scheffer, Rogozin accused NATO of exceeding its 1244 mandate by assisting in the formation of Kosovo armed forces on the basis of Alliance standards. Rogozin called for the Alliance to use political and diplomatic channels rather than the use of force. The SYG uncharacteristically jumped in first to forcefully refute Rogozin's accusations. The SYG asserted that KFOR had not exceeded its mandate and had acted in an impartial and professional manner. The Chairman of the Military Committee backed up the SYG with a strong overview of KFOR's deployments, emphasizing its focus on the protection of minorities and patrimonial sites. The U.S. joined the UK, Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, France, and Canada in pushing back against Rogozin's claims. The UK pointed out that 1244 did not rule out additional tasks for KFOR. Ambassador Nuland emphasized that there had been no inter-ethnic violence or refugees since Kosovo's independence. She also assured Rogozin that any possible NATO-trained Kosovo Defense Force would be multi-ethnic. -------------- PREPARATION FOR NRC SUMMIT -------------- ¶3. (C) The UK, Germany, France, Turkey, Portugal, and Greece advocated strongly for a NRC joint statement at the Bucharest Summit. They all argued for an over-arching political statement that notes the NRC is working together on the difficult issues facing NRC nations, while not dwelling on the disagreements. Russia did not comment directly on a joint statement, but noted that although fulfillment of the NRC program is hard to achieve, there has been lots of disagreement, and time is short. (Note: The Russian Mission told us they do not yet have instructions on the joint statement and are hesitant to jump into a drafting exercise until there are positive indications it could be successfully completed. End note). Ambassador Nuland expressed caution about a joint statement, suggesting instead that the NRC put together a three minute video on NRC practical cooperation. USNATO 00000091 002 OF 002 Similarly, the Czech Republic noted the difficulties involved in drafting a joint statement and suggested an NRC press fact sheet. ¶4. (C) Many Ambassadors praised the NRC Preparatory Committee for its work on potential deliverables. Noting that the list had been on the table since before the NRC Anniversaries event in June 2007, Ambassador Nuland urged completion of work on them in time for Bucharest. She pushed for acceleration of the Cooperative Airspace Initiative and agreement to begin Phase III of the Theatre Missile Defense as Bucharest deliverables. ¶5. (C) Rogozin said there "was no negative reaction" to the Proposed NRC Public Forum (a network of think tanks, NGOs and academics) in Moscow, but said the operational and funding modalities needed to be worked out. Nuland seized upon Rogozin's policy reversal to call for a tasking to the Prep Com to flesh out the concept paper for a possible decision at Bucharest. (Note: Under Ambassador Totksiy, Russia had opposed the Public Forum. End note) -------------- -------------- AFGHANISTAN - SECURITY SITUATION AND CAN RUSSIA LEND A HAND? -------------- -------------- ¶6. (C) Rogozin open the NRC by reading a 20 minute diatribe apparently provided by Moscow in which he concluded that the security situation in Afghanistan was deteriorating. He argued that the Taliban was growing stronger, extremism was on the rise, and infiltration from Pakistan was increasing. Rogozin made a plea for cooperation between NATO and the CSTO on counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics efforts. He noted the success of CSTO counter-narcotics operation (KANAL) in which three tons of narcotics were seized. In response, Allies disputed his assessment of the Afghanistan security situation and noted signs of tangible progress. ¶7. (C) Rogozin expressed confidence that a transit agreement could be completed as a deliverable for Bucharest. He asked that NATO provide a detailed list of what would be shipped to ISAF in order to facilitate next week's negotiations with the NATO International Staff (IS) (NOTE: Russia has agreed in principal to include non-military goods, but the IS reports that Russia may include additions of certain military goods. Transit through the "Northern Route" would also go through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan; the IS is working on separate agreements with these countries. End note). Allies strongly encouraged the completion of the agreement before the Summit and graduation of the NRC counter-narcotics project from its pilot phase. In a change from its previously stated position, France also agreed to graduate the counter-narcotics program and said that it might also announce a contribution to the project at Bucharest. (Note: If the counter-narcotics project becomes a Bucharest deliverable, USNATO would like to announce the contribution of fully-funded DEA teams to lead the mobile training in 2007-08. End note.) Poland thanked Russia for allowing ISAF overflights over Russian territory and said this was going well. ¶8. (U) MINIMIZE CONSIDERED. NULAND