AMBASSADOR KHALILZAD AND SYG DISCUSS GEORGIA AND

S E C R E T USUN NEW YORK 000899

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/01/2018
TAGS: PREL UNSC RS GG
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR KHALILZAD AND SYG DISCUSS GEORGIA AND
PERSONNEL ISSUES

Classified By: Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

1.(S) SUMMARY. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told Ambassador
Khalilzad on October 1, that Ban has sent his SRSG for
Georgia Johan Verbeke to consult with the Georgians,
including the separatist leaders in Abkhazia. The SYG
proposed this to Russian FM Lavrov in a one-on-one meeting on
the margins of the UNGA General Debate. Ban hopes that this
will be sufficient to secure a technical rollover for UNOMIG.
Lavrov said he would discuss the suggestion with Russian PM
Putin and President Medvedev, and give Ban an answer quickly.
If Russia rejected the offer, Ban said he was considering
appealing to the U.S. to issue the visas for an Arria-format
meeting with the de facto leaders to ensure a smooth
continuation of the UNOMIG mission. Ban also said he would
attend a high-level dinner the evening before the opening of
the October 15 Geneva talks on Georgia, and he asked for
substantive U.S. input on the format of the talks. Khalilzad
and Ban also discussed personnel matters for the Western
Sahara, Kosovo, UNCTAD, and UNAIDS. End Summary.

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GEORGIA
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2. (S) UN SYG Ban Ki Moon told Ambassador Khalilzad in an
October 1 meeting that he had discussed the extension of the
UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) with Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov in a bilateral meeting on the margins
of the General Debate. Lavrov had been tough during the
first part of the meeting with all advisors present, but in a
follow on one-on-one with the SYG, Lavrov had been more open
to considering the SYG's views. Ban told Lavrov he wanted a
3-4 month technical rollover of the UNOMIG mandate set to
expire on October 15, with no changes to the name or mandate.
Lavrov said he had no problem with the rollover. However,
without directly mentioning the Arria meeting, he said there
needed to be contact with the Abkhaz government prior to
taking a decision. The SYG suggested to Lavrov that Georgia
SRSG Johan Verbeke, who is currently in Georgia, consult with
the South Ossetia and Abkhaz de facto leaders during his trip
and report back to the Security Council, as an alternative to
their appearance at a meeting. According to Ban, Lavrov said
he thought he could support the idea. Lavrov told Ban he
would consult with PM Putin and President Medvedev on whether
the Russians could accept this alternative, and report back
within a couple of days.


3. (S) Ban told Khalilzad he would consider making a personal
plea to the U.S. to issue visas for an Arria-format meeting,
if the Russians rejected his alternative suggestion, and if
it appeared that an Arria-format meeting would ensure a clean
rollover of the UNOMIG mandate. Ambassador Khalilzad told
Ban it would not be easy for the U.S. to agree to issue
visas, and urged Ban to use all of his cards, such as the
Geneva meeting and Verbeke's possible role, to obtain Russian
agreement for a technical rollover.


4. (S) COMMENT. With the UNOMIG consultations set for
October 9 in the Security Council, we will need to be
prepared on next steps. If the Russians reject Ban's
alternative approach, we will face the choice of bucking up
the Europeans not to allow the Security Council to invite the
enclave representatives and keeping the pressure on the
Russians with the risk of losing UNOMIG, or look for a
compromise with the Russians to secure a clean UNOMIG
extension. End Comment.


5. (S) Discussing the October 15 Geneva talks on Georgia, Ban
said he had agreed to attend a opening dinner on the evening
prior to the opening of the talks. French Foreign Minister
Kouchner (as EU President),EU High Representative Javier
Solana, and Finnish Foreign Minister Stubb (as OSCE Chairman
in Office) would be the other attendees. There would be no
representatives from Russia, Georgia or the enclaves. There
would be a press conference prior to the dinner in which the
four would lay out their expectations for the talks and
understanding of next steps. The senior-level
representatives would not participate in the October 15
meetings. Ban told Khalilzad he would be interested in
further U.S. views on the format and substance of the Geneva
meetings.


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Personnel Matters: Western Sahara, Kosovo, UNCTAD, UNAIDS
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6. (C) Turning to UN personnel issues, the SYG confirmed that
U/SYG Lynn Pascoe would travel to Morocco to act as a "bridge
mediator" for the Western Sahara, at the request of the
Moroccans, and that Christopher Ross would be appointed after
1-1.5 months. At Moroccan insistence to compensante for the
Van Walsum departure, the SYG also agreed to replace his SRSG
for the Western Sahara, Julian Harston, at the beginning of
December. The Moroccans wanted him removed immediately, but
the SYG refused.


7. (C) On Kosovo, Ambassador Khalilzad raised the issue of an
American PDSRSG again, emphasizing that it is important for
the PDSRSG to have legitimacy among the Kosovars. Khalilzad
said that if Ban felt he could not name an American, then the
U.S. would ask him to consider leaving
the position vacant, but to appoint an American to be Chief
of Staff to the SRSG. Ban was attracted to this scenario and
agreed to consider it.


8. (C) Ambassador Khalilzad raised the candidacy of Gerry
Anderson for the position of Deputy Secretary-General of the
UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Ban said
that the decision would be made by UNCTAD SYG Supachai, who
had an internal candidate in mind. However, Ban said he had
asked Supachai to put the appointment on hold, pending
further consultations with the U.S. and Europeans. Ban
understood that the position had historically gone to a
representative of a developed country. He suggested to
Supachai that she try and enlist our support for her
preferred candidate before making a decision.


9. (C) SYG Ban told Ambassador Khalilzad that World Health
Organization Director-General Chan would present him with two
candidates for the position of UNAIDS Executive Director, and
that one of them would be Deputy Executive Director Michel
Sidibe.
Khalilzad