Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09CHISINAU1001
2009-12-30 06:06:00
SECRET
Embassy Chisinau
Cable title:  

DASD WALLANDER AND MOLDOVAN MINISTER OF

Tags:  PGOV PREL KDEM PINR RS MD 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO7722
RR RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSL
DE RUEHCH #1001/01 3640606
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
R 300606Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY CHISINAU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8714
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
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)

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