Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09ATHENS1655
2009-11-25 16:06:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Athens
Cable title:  

AMBASSADOR AND DROUTSAS DISCUSS MACEDONIA, IRAN, TURKEY,

Tags:  PREL PGOV MARR OSCE KPIR GR MK TU IR 
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OO RUEHAG RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR
DE RUEHTH #1655/01 3291607
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O R 251606Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY ATHENS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1127
INFO EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ATHENS 001655 

SIPDIS
AMEMBASSY ANKARA PASS TO AMCONSUL ADANA
AMEMBASSY ASTANA PASS TO AMCONSUL ALMATY
AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF
AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL LEIPZIG
AMEMBASSY BELGRADE PASS TO AMEMBASSY PODGORICA
AMEMBASSY HELSINKI PASS TO AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG
AMEMBASSY ATHENS PASS TO AMCONSUL THESSALONIKI
AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PASS TO AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK
AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PASS TO AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/11/25
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR OSCE KPIR GR MK TU IR
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR AND DROUTSAS DISCUSS MACEDONIA, IRAN, TURKEY,
MORE

REF: STATE 120288

ATHENS 00001655 001.2 OF 003


CLASSIFIED BY: Daniel V. Speckhard, Ambassador; REASON: 1.4(B),(D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ATHENS 001655

SIPDIS
AMEMBASSY ANKARA PASS TO AMCONSUL ADANA
AMEMBASSY ASTANA PASS TO AMCONSUL ALMATY
AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF
AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL LEIPZIG
AMEMBASSY BELGRADE PASS TO AMEMBASSY PODGORICA
AMEMBASSY HELSINKI PASS TO AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG
AMEMBASSY ATHENS PASS TO AMCONSUL THESSALONIKI
AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PASS TO AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK
AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PASS TO AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/11/25
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR OSCE KPIR GR MK TU IR
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR AND DROUTSAS DISCUSS MACEDONIA, IRAN, TURKEY,
MORE

REF: STATE 120288

ATHENS 00001655 001.2 OF 003


CLASSIFIED BY: Daniel V. Speckhard, Ambassador; REASON: 1.4(B),(D)


1. (C) SUMMARY. Ambassador Speckhard called on Alternate FM
Droutsas November 23 for a tour d' horizon prior to the December
1-2 Athens OSCE Ministerial, focusing on Macedonia, Iran, and
Turkey. The Ambassador urged Droutsas to stay engaged and push for
a solution to the Macedonia name issue in light of the December EU
Council meeting. Droutsas was upset at UN negotiator Nimetz'
handling of his recent meeting with Greek Macedonia name negotiator
Vassilakis that led to press leaks by the Macedonians, but
underscored the Greek commitment to negotiations. The Ambassador
raised U.S. concerns with Iran, and Droutsas offered that PM
Papandreou's position as Socialist International president could
serve as an additional channel of communication. On Turkey,
Droutsas took a positive approach, and noted a reply from PM
Papandreou to PM Erdogan's note earlier in the month is
forthcoming. Droutsas also stated that as OSCE Chairman, Greece
would not stand in the way of Kazakhstan's desire to host a Summit
during its upcoming tenure as CiO. On Cyprus, he said the EU acqui
communitaire should be used more in the negotiations as a reference
point for solutions, which favor neither one side nor the other.
Ambassador Speckhard also urged Droutsas to take a positive step in
the counter-piracy framework by adding Greece's signature to the
New York Declaration, and to continue pushing the MFA to grant the

necessary permission that will allow construction of a $32 million
fuel pipeline at the U.S. naval facility at Souda Bay. END
SUMMARY.



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Macedonia

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2. (C) Following up on the disappointing results of the recent
Nimetz-Vassilakis meeting , the Ambassador asked Droutsas for an
update on Greek efforts to work on a solution for the name issue
with Skopje. The Ambassador urged him to stay engaged and push
forward for a resolution on the name issue and pay particular
attention to managing the upcoming EU Council meeting in a way that
contributed to a successful outcome. Alternate FM Droutsas relayed
that he was upset with the way Nimetz had handled the meeting with
Vassilakis and the way Skopje had played to the public the results
of the Nimetz meetings. Greece had reluctantly sent Vassilakis to
New York, having been summoned by Nimetz without talking to Athens
first. Droutsas informed the Ambassador that Vassilakis had told
Nimetz to deliver the strategic message that Papandreou and he had
been saying since the October 4 elections: Greece was committed to
working to find a mutually satisfactory and lasting solution to the
name dispute. When the Ambassador noted that the reports of the
meeting had left the exact opposite impression, Droutsas blamed
Nimetz, stating that Nimetz had pushed for details and as a result
was given the long-standing existing official position. The way
Nimetz then shared this with the Macedonians only made matters
worse, with Macedonian leaks to the press compounding problems in
Skopje and Athens. Droutsas was visibly upset with the way the
first interaction on these negotiations was handled and felt it was
undermining rather than contributing to their success.




3. (C) Droutsas was careful to reiterate the Greek commitment to
the U.N. framework for negotiations and said that they were not
opening an alternative with the Kappo-Proteger consultations. He
reiterated the Prime Minister's approach of building more positive
relations between the two countries. He foreshadowed to the
Ambassador a forthcoming announcement, as part of their broader
effort to change the dynamic with Skopje, that Papandreou was
inviting the leaders of Albania and Macedonia to a Summit on
environmental issues in the Prespa region in northwestern Greece
where the three nations' borders come together.

ATHENS 00001655 002.2 OF 003


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Iran

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4. (C) The Ambassador raised Iran points in reftel, stressing the
USG's desire to consult on next steps, given Iran's unwillingness
to work with the international community, particularly Iran's
disappointing follow-up to its commitments with the P5+1 in Geneva
on October 1. Droutsas was non-committal, but agreed that the news
is not good. He also noted that Greece has had a long relationship
with Iran and the Prime Minister himself has channels of
communications due to his position as president of the Socialist
International. As in the past, he urged the U.S. to consider using
the PM as an effective interlocutor in advancing the international
community's objectives on sensitive issues.



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Turkey

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5. (C) On Turkey, Droutsas reviewed recent overtures by the Prime
Minister. He said that Erdogan, whom the PM knows well, appears to
be in agreement to refresh the relationship, and that Papandreou
would be responding soon to the Erdogan's letter. In Droutsas'
view, this process had to proceed in a step-by-step manner.
Droutsas said the regular, high-level, close-hold bilateral
consultations would continue, though perhaps with greater impetus.
Ambassador Speckhard raised the need for confidence building
measures in the Aegean, pointing to the informal discussions
between Alternate MOD Beglitis and Assistant Secretary of Defense
on the margins of the November 16 High Level Consultative Committee
on a possible role for NATO in creating "rules of the road" for all
of NATO's airspace that would be equally applicable to the Aegean.
Droutsas reiterated that the Prime Minister would be moving forward
on Turkey in continuance of what had been started when Papandreou
was Foreign Minister in the last PASOK government (1999-2004),that
both sides know each other very well, and that the GOG feels that
things are moving in the right direction.



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OSCE

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6. (C) Turning briefly to the OSCE in light of the upcoming Athens
Ministerial December 1-2, Droutsas said that Greece's main
objective was to embody the Corfu process so that the necessary
work would continue. He said it remained to be seen whether there
would be a political declaration at the conclusion of the
Ministerial, and that Greece would not stand in the way of
Kazakhstan's desire for an OSCE Summit during its upcoming tenure
as Chairman-in-Office, but that consensus of all members was
necessary for this idea to move forward.



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ATHENS 00001655 003.2 OF 003


Cyprus

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7. (C) Droutsas told the Ambassador that the key was for both
sides to be free to negotiate and not have positions dictated by
others on the outside. In his personal opinion, the negotiations
could be aided by using more effectively the EU's acqui
communitaire. The EU acqui should not be seen as favoring one
community, but rather the principles on which the EU is based and
on which a united Cyprus must abide by. Solutions to many of the
issues being discussed could be found if this were used as the
basis of agreement.



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Counter-piracy

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8. (C) Following up on the conversation started during PM A/S
Shapiro's October visit, the Ambassador handed Droutsas a copy of
the New York Declaration on best practices for merchant vessel self
protection, and urged Greece to join the U.S. and others as a
signee at the upcoming meeting of the Contact Group in January.
The Ambassador noted that the shippers with whom we had met with
here and in Washington seem now to understand that there is no
obligatory requirement to use armed guards and that the statement
is declaratory, not an international legally binding agreement.
Droutsas said he would take the request on board.



--------------

Souda Bay Fuel Pipeline

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9. (C) The Ambassador asked if the Greek government was still on
track for giving the U.S. the go-ahead soon to proceed with the
construction of a new fuel pipeline and fuel storage tanks for the
U.S. Naval Support Activity at Souda Bay, Crete. (Comment: Greek
interlocutors had assured ASD Vershbow on November 16 that the
permission could be granted before the end of 2009.) Droutsas did
not seem familiar with the issue. North America Officer Director
Chrisoula Alyferi reassured the Ambassador, however, and stated
they hoped to share a proposal very soon. The Ambassador
emphasized that the Alternate Minister of Defense and Assistant
Secretary Vershbow agreed to work to resolve all outstanding issues
by the end of this year.
Speckhard