Greek Views on April GAERC Issues

C O N F I D E N T I A L ATHENS 000651

SIPDIS
AMEMBASSY BELGRADE PASS TO AMEMBASSY PODGORICA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/04/23
TAGS: PREL PGOV EUN GR
SUBJECT: Greek Views on April GAERC Issues

REF: JEFFREY GIAUQUE EMAIL 4/17/2009

CLASSIFIED BY: Paul M. Carter, Deputy Political Counselor; REASON:
1.4(B),(D)


1. (C) DepPolCouns and PolOff delivered ref points on U.S.
positions on the April 27-28 GAERC to MFA European Correspondent
Niki Kamba. Kamba said the agenda for the GAERC included: the
Middle East, the Eastern Partnership, the May 6 EU-Canada summit,
and following up on the EU-Obama meeting. She noted that Iran
would not be a separate agenda item but that the GAERC would affirm
the E3 plus 3 "standard line." On Burma, Kamba said that the
ministers had already agreed to rollover its Common Position,
including sanctions, for another year.




2. (C) The following comments from Kamba are grouped by agenda /
issue item:

MIDDLE EAST: Kamba said that a permanent ceasefire was important
for Greece, and that it was crucial for Israel-Hamas prisoner talks
to resume. She noted that arms smuggling into Gaza must be
prevented, but that Gaza crossings should be reopened in a "stable"
way. The EU wanted to reactivate its presence at the Rafah border
crossing. Greece wanted the new Israeli government to resume its
peace process discussions on the basis of a two-state solution, but
ongoing settlement activities were damaging to the process. Kamba
noted that Middle East envoy George Mitchell's recent trips to the
region were positive, even if progress was slow.

EASTERN PARTNERSHIP, UKRAINE, MOLDOVA: Kamba said that the EU was
looking forward to the May 7 Eastern Partnership launch summit in
Prague, and that she hoped that this would result in progress
domestically for Ukraine and Moldova, as well as in their
respective relationships with the EU. On Ukraine, Kamba called the
IMF agreement "positive," noting that improving the reliability of
Ukraine's energy transport network was a top priority for the EU.
Ukraine's economic and political crises were troubling, and Greece
did not expect any marked improvement prior to the presidential
election. On Moldova's recent elections, while they fell short of
a fully transparent, democratic process, "some criteria were met."
The Moldovan opposition certainly had the right to make its voice
heard, but it needed "balance" in its strategy. While Transnistria
would not be on the agenda, Romania had successfully pushed for a
discussion on problems that Romanians were having with visas for
Moldova. Kamba added that Greece's OSCE Task Force and its OSCE
mission in Vienna were taking the lead on any Transnistria 5 plus 2
or 3 plus 2 talks.

EU-CANADA SUMMIT: Kamba stated that the agenda for the May 6
EU-Canada summit in Prague would be discussed at GAERC, but had no
further details.

CROATIA: Kamba said that Croatia would not be an agenda item, but
Greece's stance was that a swift, bilateral solution to the
Slovenia-Croatia dispute was critical. Greece continued to be
"very pro-enlargement" overall.

IRAN: Iran would not be on the agenda, and the GAERC would just
reiterate the standard E3 plus 3 line in a short conclusion. In
response to the demarche point about tightening sanctions, Kamba
said that the EU would not be designating any additional Iranian
individuals or entities at this time.

BURMA: The EU had already agreed on its Burma policy by rolling
over its Common Position, along with sanctions, for another year.
Kamba stressed that flexibility was important, however, noting that
the EU reserved the right to modify, increase, or lessen sanctions.
Greece did not expect much out of the controversial 2010 elections,
but there was a general commitment to increased EU engagement with
Burma. Kamba stressed that there was no decision yet on any direct
EU-Burma dialogue.
SPECKHARD