Russia Looks to Court New GoG Officials, Displays Interest

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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

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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