DASD WALLANDER AND MOLDOVAN MINISTER OF

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 CHISINAU 001001 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/UMB E.O. 12958; DECL: 12/24/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM PINR RS MD SUBJECT: DASD WALLANDER AND MOLDOVAN MINISTER OF DEFENSE MARINUTA DISCUSS DEFENSE AND SECURITY ISSUES Classified by: Ambassador Asif J. Chaudhry for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Celeste Wallander, accompanied by the Defense Attache, met with Moldovan Minister of Defense Vitalie Marinuta on December 11. The DASD and Minister discussed ways to enhance bilateral defense cooperation and reviewed upcoming Bilateral Defense Consultations (BDC) scheduled to take place in Washington from January 11-12, 2010. DASD Wallander lauded Moldova's democratic process and noted the U.S. sought to deepen relations with Moldova and its defense establishment. Minister Marinuta laid out his reform vision, noted Moldova is seeking to sign a new Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP)with NATO in 2010, raised the issue of repayment of Coalition Support Funds (CSF) for Moldova's Iraq deployment, and expressed general support for a possible international peacekeeping deployment. End Summary. Moldovan Priorities -------------- ¶2. (C) At the December 11 meeting, Minister Marinuta thanked DASD Wallander for her visit to Moldova and explained that 2009 had been a difficult year for Moldova because of the global economic crisis and the country's protracted election process. Despite these challenges, Moldova has a functioning government that has already taken decisive action to fulfill its commitments to the Moldovan people. ¶3. (C) Marinuta emphasized that defense reform would take place within the context of the new government's five priorities, which included European integration, overcoming the economic crisis, settling the Transnistria issue by peaceful means within the 5 plus 2 format, implementing the rule of law, and decentralizing political power. Marinuta described the new climate of reform in the government, which the Ministry of Defense will actively support. He emphasized that reform across Moldova's entire security sector was essential if the Ministry of Defense was to reform successfully. The economic situation would continue to impact the extent of Moldova's contribution to international engagement and security efforts. ¶4. (C) DASD Wallander said she understood that 2009 had been a difficult year for Moldova. The USG has been impressed by the democratic manner in which Moldova and its new government has handled the political situation. The new government's commitment to the rule of law and democracy established a firm basis for enhanced defense cooperation. The U.S. looked to the 2010 Bilateral Defense Consultations to review Moldova's priorities and seek areas of further cooperation that would strengthen U.S.-Moldovan relations. Moldovan Defense Reform -------------- ¶5. (C) Minister Marinuta pledged that Moldova would come to the Bilateral Defense Consultations in January 2010 with concrete priorities to help focus bilateral defense cooperation on helping Moldova reach the following defense reform goals: --Establish a National Security Strategy in 2010; --Create a defense planning system Q with assistance of the U.S. Naval Post Graduate School's Center for Civil Military Relations (CCMR); --Develop force capabilities that are interoperable with NATO and other partner nations for participation in international peacekeeping operations; and --Enhance conventional capabilities with a focus on improving training and equipment in the Special Forces and Peacekeeping battalions. CHISINAU 00001001 002 OF 004 ¶6. (C) Minister Marinuta informed DASD Wallander that the Moldovan Ministry of Defense (MOD) planned to enhance training through Moldova's military institute by revising its curriculum and building a Senior Officer Course. Despite the strong interest in reform, Moldova continued to have serious challenges that would impede reform efforts. Marinuta noted that the lack of an elected President for a majority of 2010, combined with local elections not scheduled until 2011, will hamper the reform process. Moldova's economic challenges were well known, yet risked further cutting into already small defense spending rate. The significant impact of the global economic crisis had resulted in a 20% reduction in the Moldovan defense budget in 2009, which could lead to another 20% reduction in 2010. ¶7. (C) DASD Wallander underscored that Moldova's defense priorities are focused on the right areas and both sides should use the opportunity of the BDC to establish security cooperation activities that will support Moldova's ability to reach its reform goals. DASD emphasized that the new Moldovan government's interest in reform represented an opportunity to deepen bilateral defense relations. Due to Moldova's size and already strong IMET trained officer course, targeted assistance could do a great deal in strengthening and reforming Moldova's defense institutions. Bilateral Defense Relations -------------- ¶8. (S) Minister Marinuta thanked DASD Wallander for U.S. defense assistance and reiterated the importance U.S. support provides for modernizing Moldova's Armed Forces. Expanding on his point, Minister Marinuta pointed to seven military colleagues flanking him around the room, who were educated in the U.S. through IMET funding. Marinuta thanked DASD Wallander for the recent U.S. Special Forces Joint Combined Exchange Training that concluded in November 2009 in Moldova. The training had been extremely beneficial to personnel who attended the course and had a positive morale and institutional boost to the Armed Forces. Marinuta expressed a strong desire for similar events in the future. ¶9. (S) DASD Wallander reflected on the Joint Combined Exchange Training, noting it was a success due to Moldova's commitment and the new government's support of the training activity. Emphasizing that the U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) has an extensive military-to-military engagement program in the region, DASD Wallander conveyed that Moldova could best take advantage of U.S. engagement by fully participating in regional activities and exercises. DASD noted that USEUCOM and Moldova will need to review the FY10-11 calendar of activities and exercises in the region to ensure Moldova is taking full advantage of opportunities. Participating or observing multilateral events in the Western Balkans could be of particular interest due to the proximity and shared experiences of small states in Europea undergoing defense reform. Individual Partnership Action Plan -------------- ¶10. (C) Turning to relations with NATO, the Minister expressed that he wanted Moldova to sign a new Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) in ¶2010. Emphasizing that the existing plan was outdated, Moldova needed to revise its goals and priorities under the IPAP. Moldova's establishment of a government commission to review these goals and priorities is a first step in this process. Coalition Support Funds -------------- ¶11. (C) The Minister relayed Moldova's continued interest in resolving the issue of expenses Moldova incurred from its six rotations in Iraq CHISINAU 00001001 003 OF 004 from 2005 through 2008. He explained that receiving the requested $209,000 was essential for the Ministry of Defense to convince Moldova's political leadership to back any future international deployments. Marinuta noted that the MoD will utilize reimbursed funds to improve the 22nd Peacekeeping Battalion's training and readiness for potential deployments abroad in support of international missions. DASD Wallander understood Moldova's concerns and noted the U.S. was in the process of validating the expenses. Additional information had been requested through DAO Chisinau and the U.S. appreciated a timely response which will facilitate the closure of this issue, which DASD agreed had gone on for too long. Transnistria -------------- ¶12. (C) Marinuta stressed the importance of resolving the issue of the large stocks of Soviet- era small arms ammunition stored in the Colbasna ammunition depot in Transnistria. The Minister believed a resolution of this issue would eliminate the danger to the local populace and remove one of Russia's reasons for keeping its forces in Transnistria. DASD Wallander stated that the U.S. had resources and programs that could potentially help Moldova with the disposal of stocks of unstable ammunition. She said that the incidents in Albania and Russia illustrated the importance safely disposing of dangerous stockpiles of ageing ammunition. The Minister noted that Moldova was making great progress on ammunition stockpiles in Moldova with the help of OSCE, but explained that the Moldovans and OSCE had no access to the ammunition at Colbasna because it was in Transnistria and controlled by Russian peacekeepers. ¶13. (C) Regarding the political process on Transnistria, Marinuta believed it was unfortunate that Russia had not supported the OSCE declaration on Transnistria at the recent summit in Corfu. Although Moldova provided peacekeepers to the Joint Control Commission in Transnistria, the government believed that there is a need to replace military peacekeepers with civilian international observers under an international mandate. ¶14. (C) DASD Wallander pledged U.S. support for working toward resolving the Transnistria problem via the 5 plus 2 format and expressed regret that little progress had been made in the past. A shift from military peacekeepers to civilian observers in Transnistria would support transparency and stability in Moldova. DASD Wallander noted that the U.S. "reset" with Russia sought to improve the bilateral atmosphere so that the two countries could engage in productive dialogue on important issues, including regional security issues like Transnistria. She emphasized that the U.S. did not view relations with Russia as a zero-sum game and that there was room for Moldova to have good relations with both Russia and the United States. International Deployment -------------- ¶15. (S) DASD Wallander thanked Moldova for its past troop contributions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. If Moldova was interested in participating in ISAF, there were a number of different ways to structure a contribution to NATO's efforts in Afghanistan. DASD Wallander stressed that the U.S. wanted what is appropriate for Moldova given its political situation and its priorities for defense reform. Minister Marinuta responded that the Ministry of Defense was engaged through Moldova's National Security Council to raise Moldova's possible participation in an international mission. He said that Prime Minister Filat and Acting President Ghimpu wanted Moldova to participate in such a mission but were unsure of which mission would be best for Moldova. DASD Wallander emphasized that any Moldovan participation in an international operation should CHISINAU 00001001 004 OF 004 support Moldova's national security and defense reform priorities. ¶16. (U) This message was cleared by Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Wallander. CHAUDHRY