Russia Looks to Court New GoG Officials, Displays Interest

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 001721 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: 2019/12/22 TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON ENRG OSCE RS BU GR SUBJECT: Russia Looks to Court New GoG Officials, Displays Interest in U.S.-Greek Bilateral Relations CLASSIFIED BY: Deborah McCarthy, DCM; REASON: 1.4(B),(D) SUMMARY ¶1. (C) In recent weeks Russian officials, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, have reached out to Greek officials and the Greek public, in an effort to display reinvigorated Russian-Greek ties and paint a picture of close cooperation with the Greece on economic, political and cultural issues. In town for the December 1-2 OSCE Ministerial, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Prime Minister George Papandreou, launched a Hellenic-Russian Society aimed at strengthening cultural ties and exchanges, gave an exclusive interview to Greek nationally-distributed newspaper Kathimerini and spoke on Greek-Russian relations to a crowd of over 400 MFA officials, Greek parliamentarians and members of the diplomatic corps. According to the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs' A 5 Directorate for Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia, Lavrov and other Russian officials have also sought Greek advice on Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline negotiations with Bulgaria, Olympic preparations, the agenda for a high-level Greek-Russian working group and bilateral cultural programs. Russian embassy officials in Athens also seem eager to calculate the current state of US-Greek bilateral relations, and requested a mid-December meeting with the U.S. Embassy to probe for details on bilateral economic relations, VWP, Turkey and recent USG visitors in Greece. CONCERNS ABOUT GREEK-RUSSIAN RELATIONS UNDER THE NEW GOG ¶2. (C) According to the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs A5 Directorate for Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia, Russian officials were "concerned" about PASOK's electoral win October 4 and the ascendancy of George Papandreou to the role of Prime Minister. In their assessment, Russian-Greek relations under the previous Kostas Karamanlis-led New Democracy government had been relatively good but Russia saw indications that the GoG under Papandreou would not be so friendly with Russia. In particular, Russia viewed Papandreou's campaign comments on re-negotiating the Burgas-Alexandroupoulis oil pipeline and what they perceived as his pro-American stance as possible indications that there was the potential for drift in relations. EFFORTS TO SHORE UP SUPPORT ¶3. (C) In what may have been an effort to shore up Greece-Russia bilateral relations, the recent visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Athens focused not only on participation in the OSCE Ministerial but also on outreach to Greek officials and the public. ¶4. (SBU) In a December 2 speech entitled "The Situation in the Euro-Atlantic Area and Russia-Greek Relations." delivered to over 400 foreign dignitaries, Greek MFA representatives and members of the international diplomatic corps, Lavrov spoke about the future of bilateral relations between Russia and Greece. Noting his meeting with Papandreou on the margins of the OSCE Ministerial, Lavrov said Papandreou was committed to establishing a strong energy sector and claimed both parties are looking forward to completion of the South Stream gas pipeline and the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline. Lavrov also noted Papandreou's support for promoting Russia cultural and language in Greece - another element of the Greek-Russia bilateral agreement intended to "deepen" relations. Lavrov's address also outlined the launch of a Hellenic-Russia Council with the espoused aim of institutionalizing ties and providing for increased exchanges. ¶5. (SBU) Addressing Papandreou's previously articulated concerns about the environmental impact of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline, Lavrov stated in an exclusive interview with Greek national newspaper Kathimerini that "We are aware of the environmental concerns relating to the construction of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipleline ...We have stated that work on the construction will be completed considering ecological safety...Russia has advanced technologies to ensure environmental safety during the construction of the energy infrastructures." RUSSIA SEEKING GREEK INPUT, INSTITUTIONALIZED DIALOGUE ¶6. (C) In a readout on the Papandreou-Lavrov bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the OSCE Ministerial, MFA officials noted that Lavrov asked for Papandreou's help in convincing Bulgaria to make a ATHENS 00001721 002 OF 002 final decision and commitment to the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline project, sought advice on security planning for the Sochi Olympic games, requested Greek assistance in moving Russia's proposals on European Security Architecture forward and spoke about future meetings of a Greek-Russian Joint Interministerial Committee focused on business, economic and commercial issues, and jointly co-chaired by the Russian Minister for Transportation Igor Levitin and Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Kouvelis. (Note: In a December 9 statement, Kouvelis said that the first meeting of the committee focused on the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline, renewal of cooperation on the South Stream natural gas pipeline through 2016, and collaboration with Russia on renewal energy sources and conservation. End Note) ¶7. (C) Acting on behalf of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putting, Lavrov extended an invitation for Papandreou to visit Russia. According to A5 officials, Papandreou will travel to Moscow within the first three months of 2010, with late January being the earliest estimated time for the trip. ¶8. (C) A5 officials noted that the Russians officials in Athens are also looking to schedule the next in a series of youth leadership and civil society conferences. The last conference took place last Spring in St. Petersburg and the Russians have suggested hosting the next conference in Thessaloniki early next year. While the Greek officials felt that Thessaloniki might not be the right location, they were not opposed to the idea of Greece hosting the next meeting. Farther into the future, Russian officials have suggested that 2013 be the "Year of Greek-Russian Culture" that would included a series of programs aimed at enhancing and showcasing cultural ties. (Comment: The specifics of the proposed "Year of Culture" were sketchy and the commitment unclear. According to the Greeks, Russia has also proposed doing a year of culture with the French and Dutch and may be hedging their bets in case their proposal is not positively received. End Comment) INTEREST IN US-GREEK RELATIONS ¶9. (C) Russian diplomats in Athens have also expressed interest in the current depth of U.S.-Greek relations. POL recently met with Second Secretary at the Russian Embassy in Athens Dennis Federov, who had called the Embassy to request a meeting on "U.S.-Greece relations." Federov inquired about the current USG position on Greece-Turkish disputes in the Aegean, the Visa Waiver Program and potential U.S. assistance to Greece in the face of dire economic straits. Federov also expressed interest in the agenda and substance discussed during Department of Defense Deputy Assistant Secretary Sandy Vershbow's trip to Greece and the November High Level Consultative Committee and Deputy Secretary Steinberg's visit to Athens for the OSCE Ministerial. At the same time, Federov skirted discussion of Greek-Russian economic and energy cooperation and claimed to be unprepared to discuss issues such as Afghanistan and Iran. (Comment: Federov's focus and questions led to the impression that he was more interested in gauging the level of Greek-U.S. dialogue, cooperation and assistance than in the specifics of the USG position on issues discussed. End Comment.) Speckhard