GERMANS WELCOME CFE COMMENTS AND HOPE FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L BERLIN 000332 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/19/2019 TAGS: PREL NATO GM KCFE RS PARM SUBJECT: GERMANS WELCOME CFE COMMENTS AND HOPE FOR CONSTRUCTIVE CFE CONFERENCE IN BERLIN REF: A. STATE 23176 ¶B. BERNATH-LAURENDEAU EMAILS Classified By: MINISTER COUNSELOR FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS JEFF RATHKE FOR REASONS: 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Michael Biontino, head of the MFA's Conventional Disarmament and Arms Control Division, welcomed "the constructive comments" from all partners and emphasized that he could foresee "no problems at all" accepting many of the ideas he heard at the March 12 HLTF meeting in Brussels. Addressing preparations for the June 10 CFE conference in Berlin, he said that "Alliance unity cannot be an excuse for not talking about certain subjects" at the conference, but emphasized that he felt unity was "certain." Biontino said he hopes for "constructive and not combative" dialogue with Russia, and added that he hopes it is more successful than the last CFE conference Germany hosted in Bad Saarow in 2007. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) PolOff met with Biontino March 18 to discuss his impressions of the March 12 High Level Task Force (HLTF) meeting at NATO and to learn about German preparations for Berlin's June 10 experts-level conference on the future of the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty (ref A and B). Biontino welcomed the "constructive comments" he heard in Brussels -- including from the U.S. representatives -- on the German CFE paper and could foresee "no problems at all" in incorporating them into the draft text. ¶3. (SBU) Biontino noted that the conference will be held at the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences) in the heart of Berlin. The hall hosts roughly 160 people, and he expects all participants will remain together throughout the conference rather than dividing up into break-out sessions. He said the conference should not "feel like a negotiation" and he hopes the set-up will facilitate "constructive, not combative" conversations. He also noted that he expects to distribute the conference agenda "in advance of" June 10. ¶4. (C) COMMENT: The MFA has substantive as well as political interests in the CFE Conference. First, it reflects Germany's long-standing and deeply-held interest in arms control, and its conviction that the CFE Treaty is a cornerstone of Europe's security architecture. Second, it offers a platform for FM Steinmeier -- the Social Democratic candidate for Chancellor in the September Bundestag elections -- to showcase himself (and the SPD) to the German public as a champion of arms control. Third, it gives substance to Germany's strategic partnership with Russia. END COMMENT. ¶5. (C) Biontino said it was "highly probable" that a third draft on the German CFE paper would be shared with the U.S. and NATO Allies well in advance of the next HLTF at the end of April. Biontino was glad he had received "specific, written changes" to the text he had circulated to the Quad and at NATO on March 4 from the U.K. and France, and hopes the U.S. will "soon be in a position to provide such input as well." Biontino said he sees no reason why Alliance unity should be problematic, although "Alliance unity cannot be an excuse for not talking about certain subjects" at the conference. He added that he supported Turkey's calls for a "stocktaking" offsite with Allies prior to the conference. ¶6. (C) Lamenting the fact that nearly 18 months will have passed since Russia suspended its implementation of the CFE in December 2007, Biontino said that the conference will hopefully "bring Russia in and open up an active dialogue." While a supporter of the Parallel Actions Plan (which he called the "best deal for Russia"),Biontino said that there has been little progress in the negotiations and other venues need to be created to "pull the Russians out" and "expose the flaws in their arguments." For this reason, Biontino felt that discussing geographic questions, as well as the "scope and parameters" of changes to the Adapted CFE Treaty, would be helpful. ¶7. (C) When asked about his expectations for Russian openness and engagement, Biontino said that FM Steinmeier met with Russian FM Lavrov on the margins of the December OSCE Ministerial in Helsinki and discussed the conference. According to Biontino, Lavrov seemed "open" to participating in a positive way, a notion echoed by Russia MFA Security and Disarmament Division Director Anatoly Antonov when he met with German Arms Control Commissioner Klaus-Peter Gottwald February 24-25 in Moscow. (NOTE: Gottwald will be in Washington to attend a Carnegie Center conference April 5-7 and is interested in meeting with State Department officials. END NOTE.) ¶8. (C) Still, Biontino recognizes that the conference poses some risk. He noted that "one never knows" whether the Russians are interested in being constructive until they arrive. He labeled "naive" Germany's expectations for the Bad Saarow CFE Conference in October 2007. He also said it is important that Russia not hijack the conference to discuss President Medvedev's European security proposal. Koenig