OSCE/FSC: JULY 16, CZECHS - U.S. COUNTER RUSSIA ON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 USOSCE 000187 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KCFE OSCE PARM PREL XG FSC SUBJECT: OSCE/FSC: JULY 16, CZECHS - U.S. COUNTER RUSSIA ON MISSILE DEFENSE REF: A. USOSCE 00176 ¶B. DUCCESCHI-NEIGHBOUR E-MAIL 15 JULY ¶C. STATE 65190 ¶D. FALLON MEYER E-MAIL 15 JULY ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Czech Republic and the U.S. responded strongly to last week's intervention by Russia that inaccurately portrayed the U.S.-Czech agreement on missile defense radar. Drawing on material from President Medvedev's July 15 speech to the Russian MFA, Russia replied with claims that missile defense threatens Russia and repeated threats to take necessary measures to ensure Russia's security. Separately, the U.S. stated that U.S. troops now in Georgia are there with full host nation consent for a long-planned exercise that is completely unrelated to tensions elsewhere in the region. ¶2. (SBU) FSC.DD/07/08/Rev.2 on updating categories of weapons and equipment was adopted, after which the U.S. noted its intention to revisit potential duplication of effort. Germany introduced a new Food for Thought (FFT) on landmines and Russia asked delegations to prepare for discussion of Russia's Naval CSBM next week in the plenary. Japan provided a well-received briefing to the Forum on Japan's ongoing counter terrorism efforts. ¶3. (SBU) Meanwhile, feedback in Working Group (WG) B to Estonia's FFT on cyber security was positive. Consensus was not reached in WG A on end user certificates or destabilizing transfer of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) by air. Further discussion of these drafts, as well as the FFT on updating the code of conduct questionnaire, will resume in September. End summary. Czechs, U.S. Respond to Russia on Missile Defense - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶4. (SBU) Under General Statements, the Czech Republic (Reinohlova) replied to last week's harsh comments by Russia regarding the recent U.S.-Czech radar agreement (Ref A). She questioned Russia's motives for raising this topic in the FSC since the Czech Republic has been discussing all aspects of the missile defense radar with Russia in bilateral, as well as multilateral formats. She stressed that the radar poses no threat to Russian security and that the construction of the missile defense radar represents a significant contribution to the security of the European continent. Reinhlova characterized Russia's threat to "take appropriate technical military measures" as absolutely inappropriate and at odds with the spirit of collective security. ¶5. (SBU) Per Ref B, the U.S. (Neighbour) followed by noting that recent developments make it appropriate to update the FSC on missile defense and correct the inaccurate impression left by Russia's statement the previous week. Neighbour emphasized that recent Iranian missile tests only reinforce the fact that the ballistic missile threat to deployed U.S. forces, allies and friends is real and growing. Noting NATO's recognition of this threat and the contribution U.S. missile defense assets will have on European security at the Bucharest Summit, he stated that the agreement between the U.S. and the Czech Republic signed last week is an important step in countering the emerging threat. ¶6. (SBU) Neighbour also reiterated that the proposed system's location and limited capabilities pose no threat to Russia's strategic deterrent force, and that the U.S. is attempting to work cooperatively with Russia to assuage Russia's concerns. He ended by reporting that the U.S. has also proposed that Russia join the U.S. and NATO in developing joint, regional missile defense architecture. ¶7. (SBU) Russia (Ulyanov) rebutted the Czech Republic's comments, noting that the bilateral and multilateral discussions had failed to achieve any positive results. Ulyanov remarked that anyone with any knowledge of strategic USOSCE 00000187 002 OF 005 defense would realize that placement of a missile defense radar on the border of Russia would weaken Russia's strategic deterrence. Reading from Russian President Medvedev's speech of 15 June to the Russian MFA, Ulyanov quoted: "...We firmly declare that deploying elements of U.S. global missile defense in Eastern Europe only aggravates the situation. As I have already said, we will be forced to react appropriately to this. Our American and European partners have also been warned accordingly. We realize that national security cannot rely on someone's word of honor. This also applies to Russian-U.S. ties in the sphere of strategic stability. This common legacy obviously cannot survive if one of the sides selectively destroys individual elements of this strategic structure...." U.S. Notes Multinational PfP Exercise in Georgia - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶8. (SBU) Noting that he had been asked about it, the U.S. (Neighbour) briefly noted a joint Partnership for Peace exercise involving troops from the U.S., Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Ukraine, was currently under way in Georgia. Highlighted were the location and purpose of the exercise. The U.S. emphasized that the troops were in Georgia with full host nation consent, that the exercise had been planned long-ago, and that it was completely unrelated to tensions elsewhere in the region. (Note: This intervention was made following a number of informal queries/comments on the margins. Information provided was compiled from U.S. Army Europe press releases. End Note) Spain Bans Cluster Munitions - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶9. (SBU) Spain (Mor Sola) announced that on July 11 Spain's Council of Ministers had approved an agreement ordering a unilateral moratorium on cluster munitions. According to the Spanish statement (FSC.DEL/127/08),the moratorium is intended as a step toward ratification of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, and includes a prohibition on their use, destruction of current stockpiles, and prohibition on the import, export or shipping of such munitions. Japan Briefs on its Counter Terrorism Efforts - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶10. (SBU) In Security Dialogue, Mr. H. Sakamoto, Minister of the Embassy of Japan in Austria, made a presentation entitled "Major Efforts and Actions of Japan on the Fight Against Terrorism." Sakamoto reported on Japan's Counter Terrorism (CT) principles, current CT programs and Japan's plans for strengthening CT efforts in the future. He also touched on Japan's international cooperation including, inter alia, Japan's participation in the Proliferation Security Initiative and Japan's contribution to Operation Enduring Freedom's Maritime Interdiction Operation (OEF-MIO). ¶11. (SBU) Sakamoto's presentation was well received, drawing positive interventions from the U.S., Austria, and Germany. Japanese reps thanked the U.S. afterwards for its intervention. Of particular interest was Japan's work on cyber security. Turkey (Begec) congratulated Sakamoto for a fine presentation, but also asked if his reference to a war on "Islamic" terrorism was a change in Japan's policy as, according to Turkey, Japan has not used this term before. Turkey's question went unanswered. Bosnia Praises OSCE Mission - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶12. (SBU) Bosnia and Herzegovina provided an overview of the positive work of the OSCE mission to BiH's Department for Security and Cooperation (DSC). He praised the DSC for its USOSCE 00000187 003 OF 005 work in support of Dayton arms control and regional stabilization including, inter alia, SALW and stockpiles management, assistance in preparing data for Dayton and Vienna Document (VD) 99 exchanges, and organizing seminars on legal aspects of defense management. Agreement on CAT Categories Update - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶13. (SBU) The draft decision (FSC.DD/07/08/Rev.2) on updating reporting categories of weapons and equipment systems subject to the information exchange on Conventional Arms Transfers (CAT) was adopted. It has been issued as FSC.DEC/8/08. Per instructions (Ref C),after the decision was adopted, the U.S. announced its intention prior to the next data exchange on CAT to revisit the potential redundancy in exchanging the same report on CAT in the UN and OSCE. Landmines, Russia's Naval CSBM, Kyrgyzstan Stockpiles - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶14. (SBU) Germany (Schweizer) introduced a new Food for Thought (FFT) paper, issued under FSC.DEL/126/08, on a more active role of the OSCE in addressing the problem of landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW). The joint proposal from Germany, France and Slovenia drew positive interventions from the Czech Republic and Ireland, the latter offering to serve as a co-sponsor. Germany requested comments on the FFT as soon as possible and welcomed additional pS to sign up as co-sponsors. ¶15. (SBU) Russia reminded delegations that Russia's FFT on a Naval CSBM will be included on the plenary agenda for July ¶23. Ulyanov said that Russia was looking forward to a discussion on both the pros and cons of the proposal so that Russia could make appropriate modifications to the proposal over the summer break. ¶16. (SBU) Kyrgyzstan, reporting on its recent data submissions, noted that Kyrgyzstan welcomed any assistance from the OSCE to ensure the security of its stockpiles. WG B Discusses Estonian Proposal on Cyber Security - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶17. (SBU) Estonia, speaking in a national capacity, introduced their FFT on Cyber Security, which envisages a one off exchange of information on national experience and best practices as well as holding a seminar or workshop within 12 months. ¶18. (SBU) Ten pS, including the U.S. (Meyer),made supportive interventions. There was no outright opposition. Austria (Eischer) noted that the scope of information to be exchanged would have to be more focused, while Luxembourg (Pilot) suggested that it might be wise to hold the workshop first to determine the scope and follow up with an information exchange. Canada (Gosal) reported that the 2008 OSCE Police Security Meeting is scheduled to address Cyber crime, but that the FSC that both could be held without duplicating efforts. Despite Estonia's emphasis on military aspects of Cyber Security, several pS noted that that any decision would have to include both criminal and military aspects of Cyber Security. No Consensus on EUCs in WG A - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶19. (SBU) At the Chair's request, the U.S. (Meyer) introduced its proposed changes to FSC.DD/9/08 on exchanging sample End Use Certificates (EUC). Drawing from Ref C, the U.S. outlined its edits, which included adding references to verification procedures in Op para 1 and changing Op para 2 having EUC's provided by pS posted on the OSCE restricted web site. Meyer also pointed out that U.S. proposed changes USOSCE 00000187 004 OF 005 would add practical value by including verification text and would avoid tasking the CPC to assess implementation. Given the extent of U.S. comments and lacking printed text, most delegations refrained from making specific comments. ¶20. (SBU) Poland also submitted an additional edit and reported that Poland does not have a sample EUC. The Chair will redistribute this DD with proposed changes and discussion will resume following the summer recess. ¶21. (SBU) In a one-on-one discussion following the WG, Germany (Schweizer) said that he could see the U.S. point on implementation, but called it a weak argument. He said Germany agreed that implementation was a pS prerogative, but that the intent of the proposed overview in Op para 2 is to compile data so that pS can make their own assessment. Nor on Destabilizing Transfers of SALW by Air - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶22. (SBU) The U.S. reported that it had dropped all but one of its recommended edits on FSC.DD/10/08, that the U.S. was flexible on the text, but that it could not accept the phrasing "adopting best practices." Germany said it insisted on maintaining the stronger verb "to adopt" but could not commit immediately to an alternative to the term "best practices." ¶23. (SBU) France was markedly upset that the group would not come to consensus, making it all but inevitable that the decision would be put off until the autumn session. (Note: France lobbied the U.S., Germany, Belarus and the Chair hard individually prior to the meeting, presumably telling each that the others agreed to the proposed text. End note.) Canada also expected to reach consensus and urged pS to accept the phrase "endorse best practices" as a compromise. ¶24. (SBU) In a quick side bar, Germany asked whether the U.S. would agree that "endorsed best practices" would be politically binding. The U.S. responded that it could not consider "best practices" normative in the OSCE. As a result, Germany reported that it could not accept Canada's proposal. ¶25. (SBU) The Chair ended discussion on this topic by offering to hold an extraordinary session before the plenary if pS could reach agreement in the interim. On July 17 the Chair followed up by proposing an informal meeting. Appearing to take some offense at the notion that Germany was holding up the decision, Schwiezer replied that Germany was not the one that brought in changes late and did not feel pressured to get a response before next week. Without Germany's support for a meeting, the Chair pushed further discussion to the autumn session. ¶26. (SBU) (Note: Germany's comment is a direct inference to the fact that the U.S. interjected significant edits to the EUC and SALW documents after the documents had been issued as Chairman's DDs. Several pS including Germany believed that both decisions would be adopted this session. In separate conversions, however, Germany conceded that the EUC document was rushed through the WG, and another pS lamented that more time should have been spent initially in informal groups to negotiate precise language. End Note.) ¶27. (SBU) The Code of Conduct Coordinator (Austria, Eischer) summarized the work accomplished this session on the questionnaire update. In the absence of comments from pS, Eischer called on pS to forward additional comments as soon as available. Spain Announces a VD99 Visit - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶28. (SBU) Spain announced that it has scheduled a VD 99 visits (Airbase and Unit) and a possible new weapons USOSCE 00000187 005 OF 005 demonstration for pS scheduled for May 4-7, 2009. Alternative dates are May 18-21. Invitations will be forthcoming. ¶29. (SBU) The next FSC Plenary is scheduled for July 23. This is the last plenary planned under Estonia's able chairmanship. The working groups are not scheduled to meet again until the next FSC session begins in September under the Chairmanship of Finland. FINLEY