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

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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.

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JCG PLENARY - RUSSIA CLAIMS TO REMAIN READY, WILLING AND ABLE
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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.

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JCG-T PLUS 4 - GERMANY PREVIEWS PRESENTATION
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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