CFE/JCG: OCTOBER 7 PLENARY MORE OF THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L USOSCE 000240 SIPDIS STATE FOR VCI/CCA, EUR/RPM, EUR/PRA, NSC FOR HAYES, JCS FOR J5/NORWOOD/CAMPBELL, OSD FOR ISA/PERENYI E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/09/2018 TAGS: KCFE OSCE PARM PREL SUBJECT: CFE/JCG: OCTOBER 7 PLENARY MORE OF THE SAME--MEMBER STATES PROTEST RUSSIA,S CONTINUED REFUSAL TO ALLOW INSPECTIONS Classified By: Chief Arms Control Delegate Hugh Neighbour, for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) Summary: During the October 7 JCG Plenary, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, and the Czech Republic, supported by Romania, France, the United States, Turkey, Portugal, Italy, and Germany, protested Russia,s latest refusals to allow inspections and called on Russia to resume implementation of the CFE Treaty. Russia reiterated that it stands ready to work together in official meetings, implying that recently everything else has been happening in the corridors, or on the margins of official meetings. This plenary was one of the shortest in recent months. The only substantive issue of note was Russia,s refusals of inspections. The JCG-T plus 4 saw more action as Allies noted trouble with the draft letter to the Finish CIO for the OSCE Ministerial Council. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) The Netherlands chaired the October 7 JCG Plenary. In the now routine protests, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, and the Czech Republic voiced their "regret," and "disappointment" at the recent Russian refusals of the three CFE inspection requests. Slovakia (Jancovic) commented that Russian non-implementation did not contribute to the CFE regime. The U.K. (Gare) and Czech Republic (Reinohlova) voiced their continual support for the CFE Treaty referring to it as the "cornerstone" of European security. Romania, France, the United States, Turkey, Portugal, Italy, and Germany supported the interventions by the three offended States Parties. ¶3. (SBU) Russian Chief Arms Control Delegate Ulyanov seemed a bit tongue in cheek in responding to the protests. He congratulated JCG colleagues for having reverted to the procedures that prevailed in 2004 and 2005 when JCG meetings were short and concise with little substantive discussion and more a simple run-through of checking off agenda items. Ulyanov surmised that the brevity of meetings then was probably because "CFE was functioning well" and there was little to discuss. He noted that currently the "only problem is with inspections" and that "everything else is running smoothly." Ulyanov characterized recent CFE discussion with Assistant Secretary Fried as a "corridor" conversation, and suggested that Russia stands ready and available to have real, substantive meetings if others are willing. ¶4. (SBU) Under the topic of any other business, the chair relayed to delegations that Finland, as OSCE Chair, has informed him that the Ministerial Declaration will not be discussed in Vienna but will be handled by capitals. JCG-T plus 4: Allies to Continue Review of Draft Letter from the JCG-Chair for Helsinki Minsterial ¶5. (C) During the JCG-T plus 4, which met a day prior to the JCG Plenary, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, and the Czech Republic gave heads up that they would raise Russia,s refusals of their countries, notifications to inspect. The Dutch Chair (Kleinjan) turned the discussion to consideration of a letter drafted by the current Dutch chair and the two forthcoming chairs of the JCG and intended to inform the CIO of JCG activities. The Dutch chair had circulated the draft letter for review by Allies on October 3. Kleinjan noted the particular difficulty in coming to consensus on the letter, noting that the JCG had not agreed on a draft in the last six years. He informed the group that the drafters had decided to keep the letter as short and factual as possible, hoping to raise the probability of achieving consensus. He also referred to paragraph 2 of the draft letter that reiterates exact language that Ulyanov used during his December 18, 2007 intervention in the JCG on suspension of the CFE Treaty. Kleinjan suggested that while the JCG does not recognize the notion of suspension, the draft letter contained such a phrase since it had come directly from Ulyanov himself. ¶6. (C) Several delegations thanked the Chair for its work on the draft letter. Canada noted that under its chairmanship last year the JCG failed to reach consensus on the letter largely due to the UTLE (unaccounted for treaty limited equipment) issue between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Romania suggested that the letter is premature until a common position in the JCG on how to approach Russia with respect to CFE has been reached. Romania reminded delegates of the upcoming October 16 HTLF and November retreat and noted that we should first see how these events turn out. Additionally, Romania suggested that although the current draft is factual, it does not adequately reflect what the JCG has done in past years. The Czech Republic noted its support for Romania's position. ¶7. (C) The U.S. (Silberberg) thanked the Dutch Chair and echoed support for the comments made by Romania and the Czech Republic that it may be too early to table a decision on the letter. Despite the earliness of the letter, the U.S. offered to make preliminary comments on the text of the letter if other delegations wanted to hear them. The group expressed interest in hearing the U.S. comments now. The U.S. noted that the letter was a good start -- short, and factual -- but that it may be more important to accurately reflect JCG activities rather than submit a short, albeit factual, statement simply because it may be easier to achieve consensus on a shorter statement. In referring to the Adapted CFE Treaty, the U.S. asserted that the letter must mention the Istanbul Commitments and said it was open to other delegations on innovative language. The U.S. lastly noted that not much progress had been made in the TOI. ¶8. (C) The Dutch Chair noted that the longer the draft letter becomes, the less likely it will be to reach consensus on its content. The Chair said it would not put forth the letter at the October 7 Plenary but would take the U.S. comments into consideration and circulate a revised version for consideration at the next JCG-T meeting. ¶10. (C) Under the topic of any other business, the Dutch chair reminded delegates that the last Plenary meeting (November 25) will take place right before the Helsinki Ministerial and is under Russian chairmanship. He noted that delegations might want to consider creative ways (i.e., other events that coincide) to postpone, or skip, the last JCG Plenary. He also noted that the Finnish chair of the OSCE had requested capitals, not Vienna, to handle discussions on the Ministerial Declaration. ¶11. (U) The next JCG Plenary, to be chaired by Norway, will take place on Tuesday, October 14. The next JCG-T on October 13 will be chaired by Greece. FINLEY