TFGG01: RUSSIA TESTS UNSC WATERS ON GEORGIA,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000760

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/21/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV GG RU UNSC
SUBJECT: TFGG01: RUSSIA TESTS UNSC WATERS ON GEORGIA,
DOESN'T DIVE IN

Classified By: Political Counselor Jeffrey Delaurentis for Reasons 1.4
B/D.


1. (C) SUMMARY. Russian PermRep Churkin hastily called for
Security Council consultations on Georgia this afternoon
during which he announced that he was formally putting
Russia's draft resolution before the Council "into blue," a
procedural move that would allow but not require a vote on
the resolution as early as August 22. Several members
expressed concern that adoption of the Russian draft would
enshrine its ambiguity regarding the mandate of Russian
troops in Georgia and would depart from longstanding Council
support for Georgia's territorial integrity. Only Indonesia,
South Africa, and Libya supported the Russian text as is.
Some European members of the Council remain anxious to create
an alternative text that could meet with Russian approval.
END SUMMARY.


Russia Puts Resolution "in Blue"
--------------


2. (SBU) Russia called on short notice for Security Council
consultations on Georgia on August 21. Russian PermRep
Churkin told members at the outset of the session that
Russian forces will have pulled back by the evening of August
22 to "peacekeeping zones" established in the agreements that
ended the earlier Georgia-South Ossetia conflict. Asked by
French Deputy PermRep LaCroix whether Russia's force strength
would revert to the 500 peacekeeping troops authorized under
the 1992 Sochi Agreement, Churkin replied that Sochi didn't
set troop ceilings and that the strength established in
implementation of Sochi was 1,500 troops. (COMMENT. Churkin
was clearly implying that Russia may decide that all 1,500
peacekeepers can be Russian in contrast to the 500 apiece
deployed by Russia, South Ossetia, and Georgia consequent to
Sochi. END COMMENT.)


3. (SBU) Churkin said Russian forces, once pulled back to the
South Ossetia vicinity, would require an additional ten days
to redeploy to Russia. After outlining Russian plans to
coordinate humanitarian relief to South Ossetia with the ICRC
and UNHCR, Churkin suggested that Russia is acting in full
accord with the "six-point plan" supported by the parties to
the conflict and called for urgent adoption of the draft
resolution circulated by Russia on August 20 (a verbatim
recitation of the six "Sarkozy-Medvedev principles") as a
demonstration of international community support for the plan
as the way forward in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. He said
the clarification letter from French President Sarkozy to
Georgian President Saakashvilli was not intended to be part
of the six-point plan, but added that "we have no problem
with the content of the letter." He then asked the
Secretariat to distribute Russia's draft resolution "in
blue," meaning that a Council vote on it could be held after
a 24-hour waiting period.

Russian Draft Garners Little Support, Lots of Questions
-------------- --------------


4. (SBU) LaCroix said France had several areas of concern
regarding both Russian conduct on the ground in Georgia and
the Russian draft resolution. He cited French Foreign
Minister Kouchner in calling Russian troop movements
encouraging but needing to be accelerated and completed. La
Croix said "two columns of troops pulling back out of 10,000
men deployed" is just a beginning, especially when placed in
a context of a continuous Russian maritime presence and a
worrying mention by the Russian General Staff about the
establishment of a "buffer zone" that would obviously not be
in conformity with the six principles or prior agreements.
"The six points are strict," LaCroix said, "and not a
license" setting Russia free to do as it pleases. LaCroix
also voiced concern over the Russian draft's omission of a
reference to Georgia's territorial integrity as inconsistent
with longstanding Council practice. Concluding on a positive
note, LaCroix said he had "noted with great interest that
Ambassador Churkin said that Russia does not object to the
content of the letter to Saakashvilli. This had been our
understanding as well, and is an element that should allow us
to make more progress on a resolution."


5. (SBU) Ambassador Wolff detailed the letter from President
Sarkozy to President Saakashvilli containing the
clarifications which secured the Georgian President's
signature. He pointed out that the letter restricted Russian
forces to the South Ossetia vicinity and specifically
excluded them from urban areas, including Gori. He asked how
a Russian checkpoint near Poti, 85 miles from the South
Ossetia boundary, could be considered in line with those
restrictions. Noting Churkin's description of the Russian

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humanitarian effort, Wolff said Georgians were not being
allowed to return to South Ossetia and that ethnic cleansing
threatened to be the net result of the Russian incursion into
that area. He said the U.S. could not support a resolution
that enshrined ambiguity, calling rather for clarity on
Russian follow-on presences and recognition of Georgia's
territorial integrity.


6. (SBU) UK PermRep Sawers, Belgian PermRep Grauls, Croatian
Deputy PermRep Vilovic, and Costa Rican PermRep Urbina echoed
this call for any resolution to include a clear statement of
respect for Georgia's territorial integrity.


7. (SBU) Indonesia, South Africa, and Libya urged the Council
to adopt the Russian text based on the six principles and to
thereafter consider any implementation problems that might
arise. Panamanian PermRep Arrias said Panama would have
supported the Russian draft several days ago before the
Sarkozy-Saakashvilli letter surfaced, but now would consider
carefully the concerns raised by France. He concluded that
"Council action now could do more harm than good" given the
division among members. Burkina Faso PermRep Katondo urged
consensus before moving forward. China and Vietnam were
silent. Chinese PolCouns said afterwards that Beijing hoped
the situation on the ground would improve so that Council
members could reach consensus on the way forward.


8. (C) COMMENT. Our straw poll gives Russia's draft text
four potential votes -- Russia, South Africa, Libya, and
Indonesia. Churkin said he had no instructions to call for a
vote or even to have the full Council engage on the Russian
draft at the customary expert level. Following the
session, several European members of the Council approached
Ambassador Wolff to express eagerness to develop an
alternative to the Russian draft with potential to meet with
Russian approval.
Khalilzad