CFE/JCG: JUNE 27, 2008 PLENARY - RUSSIA CLAIMS TO

UNCLAS USOSCE 000167 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR VCI/CCA, EUR/RPM NSC FOR DOWLEY JCS FOR J5 NORWOOD, COL SMITH OSD FOR ISA (PERENYI) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KCFE OSCE PARM PREL SUBJECT: CFE/JCG: JUNE 27, 2008 PLENARY - RUSSIA CLAIMS TO BE READY, WILLING AND ABLE Sensitive but Unclassified; please protect accordingly. Not for Internet. ¶1. (SBU) Summary. During the June 27 JCG Plenary, Greece (Sourani),supported by the U.S., Germany, the UK, Turkey, Bulgaria, France and Romania, raised the issue of Russia's latest inspection refusal and called on Russia to resume its implementation of the CFE Treaty. The U.S., Germany and the UK further called for Russia to engage seriously on the basis if the parallel actions package. Russia (Ulyanov) underscored that its inspection refusals had no linkage to Russia's interest in working with its Treaty partners to resolve the current impasse, emphasizing that Russia stands ready to engage in all formats while it is Russia's colleagues that do not appear to share a similar readiness. ¶2. (SBU) Germany (Richter) underscored there has been substantive discussion in the JCG and noted that Germany would make a further contribution to this discussion on either 8 or 15 July through a presentation on the basis of the NAC Statement by drawing from Treaty text and "other" texts to address the issues of stationing, limitations and the modalities of accession. At the JCG-T that preceded the JCG Plenary, Allies received a preview of the proposed German presentation. A few indicated some concerns and Germany (Richter) welcomed input assuring all he would then "see what could be incorporated." Allies also agreed to wait until the July 15 JCG to address Russia's anticipated failure to provide its July 1 supplemental data. End Summary. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - JCG PLENARY - RUSSIA CLAIMS TO REMAIN READY, WILLING AND ABLE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶3. (SBU) At the Luxembourg-chaired June 27 JCG Plenary, Greece (Sourani) noted Russia's refusal of a Greek CFE inspection notification for the week of June 23, expressed concern with the ongoing impasse over CFE - the cornerstone of European security - and called for intensifying efforts to overcome the impasse to include full implementation as an essential element of ensuring the viability of CFE. A number of Allies (UK, TR, BG, DE, FR, RO) along with the U.S. spoke in support of Greece, echoing concerns with Russia's continued inspection refusals and urging Russia to resume implementation. (Comment: After the JCG, Greece noted its appreciation to the USDel for encouraging supporting interventions, particularly in the case of Turkey. End comment) ¶4. (SBU) The UK (Hartnell) specified that Russia's "suspension" has no basis in the Treaty or customary international law and called for Russia to work on the basis of the parallel actions package. Germany (Richter), lamenting that the prolonged moratorium was contributing to the slow death of CFE, remarked that it was reasonable to expect a commensurate level response from Russia to the March 28 NAC Statement proposal, supported by the Heads of State/Government of 26 States. ¶5. (SBU) The U.S. (Neighbour) reiterated that Russia's continuing "suspension" has no basis in the Treaty or customary international law, damages near term prospects for ratification of a/CFE, and has the potential to undermine the CFE regime. Neighbour recalled the March 28 NAC Statement on CFE and paragraph 42 of the Bucharest Summit Communique and urged Russia to resume Treaty implementation and to engage seriously on the basis of the parallel actions package. ¶6. (SBU) Russian Chief Arms Control Delegate Ulyanov took issue with the notion (as expressed the week prior in the U.S. statement) that its inspection refusals had any linkage to a lack of interest on the part of Russia to work with its Treaty partners to resolve the current impasse. Ulyanov claimed any such linkage was based on a false premise considering that Russia has confirmed many times its readiness to work in all formats and was not to blame for a lack of substantive dialogue in the JCG or for the ineffectiveness of the bilateral channel. He reminded all that Russia remains prepared to work together to get CFE back on course, but does not see a similar level of readiness on the part of Russia's colleagues. ¶7. (SBU) Germany (Richter) questioned Russia's assertion that no new work had been accomplished in the JCG, noting there had been substantive discussion. Moreover, Richter noted that Germany would make a further contribution through a presentation on the basis of the NAC Statement that would address issues of stationing, limitations and the modalities of accession according to Treaty text and "other texts." Richter proposed either 8 or 15 July for this presentation depending on the availability of delegations as delegation arms control reps have been invited by Georgia to participate in the OSCE visit to Georgia the week of 7 July. (GUIDANCE REQUEST: The presentation was previewed at the JCG-T (see below) that met just prior to the JCG plenary. USDel will forward the draft German presentation to D.C. via email for review and comment. Richter made it clear to us he will welcome any U.S. edits and suggestions.) ¶8. (U) The JCG approved JCG.DEC/2/08 appointing Pierre Linteau, Canada, as the new Treaty Operation and Implementation (TOI) Group Chairman. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - JCG-T PLUS 4 - GERMANY PREVIEWS PRESENTATION - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶9. (SBU) The JCG-T plus 4, chaired by the U.S. (Neighbour), met just prior to the JCG plenary at which time German senior military advisor Wolfgang Richter provided a preview of his proposed presentation ("Implications of the ACFE Limitation Regime for the Discussion of the NATO Council Statement of 28 March 2008") aimed at contributing to discussions "without negotiating anything." Richter's intent is to recall relevant provisions from the adapted CFE Treaty and text from relevant NATO documents as regards permanent stationing, headroom, substantial combat forces, mechanisms for changes to ceilings, and how to determine ceilings for new States Parties. Germany proposed in the JCG-T this presentation over a month ago to combat misunderstanding (and misinformation) within the JCG, to respond to some of the issues Ulyanov has raised, and to bring the JCG discussion "back to the Treaty framework." The content covers basic definitions and provisions, but also delves into the "geopolitical context" in an effort to emphasize the basic principles of a/CFE to prevent destabilizing force concentrations at regional and sub-regional levels and to account for the security concerns of all States Parties. ¶10. (SBU) Germany is open to individual input from delegations, but resistant to any further review in the JCG-T with Richter noting that it is not standard practice to review a presentation several times. Both the Netherlands (Kleinjan) and Latvia (Nilsons) expressed specific concern with slide number 11 which could be misinterpreted as a reference to Baltic ceilings and temporary deployments despite Richter's assurances it was not intended as such but rather a general example. In addition to pointing out one of the maps appeared as if Romania and Moldova were one country, Romania (Neculaescu) noted the need for a close review due to some doubts with the overall presentation. The U.S. (Neighbour),as chair, encouraged delegations to provide comments and urged Germany to time the presentation accordingly to ensure sufficient time for review in capitals. Germany had intended to present on 8 July, but subsequently broadened the window to 8 or 15 July when announcing the presentation in the JCG. ¶11. (SBU) Allies also agreed to wait until the July 15 JCG to address Russia's anticipated failure to provide its July 1 supplemental data. Turkey (Begec) noted it would coordinate with the non-NATO "flank partners" to encourage statements expressing concern with Russia's non-compliance. ¶12. (U) The next JCG Plenary, to be chaired by Luxembourg, will take place on Tuesday, July 8 (skipping a week due to the July 1-2 ASRC.) The date of the JCG-T will be determined by the next chair, Belgium. FINLEY