Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09GENEVA1089
2009-11-30 17:04:00
SECRET
Mission Geneva
Cable title:  

START FOLLOW-ON NEGOTIATIONS, GENEVA

Tags:  KACT MARR PARM PREL RS US START 
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DE RUEHGV #1089/01 3341704
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O 301704Z NOV 09
FM USMISSION GENEVA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0428
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/CJCS WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/VCJCS WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHEHNSC/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO IMMEDIATE 5585
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INFO RUEHTA/AMEMBASSY ASTANA PRIORITY 2762
RUEHKV/AMEMBASSY KYIV PRIORITY 1772
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PRIORITY 6979
S E C R E T GENEVA 001089 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR T, VCI AND EUR/PRA
DOE FOR NNSA/NA-24
CIA FOR WINPAC
JCS FOR J5/DDGSA
SECDEF FOR OSD(P)/STRATCAP
NAVY FOR CNO-N5JA AND DIRSSP
AIRFORCE FOR HQ USAF/ASX AND ASXP
DTRA FOR OP-OS OP-OSA AND DIRECTOR
NSC FOR LOOK
DIA FOR LEA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/30/2019
TAGS: KACT MARR PARM PREL RS US START
SUBJECT: START FOLLOW-ON NEGOTIATIONS, GENEVA
(SFO-GVA-VII): (U) HEAD OF DELEGATION LUNCH FOR FEDERATION
COUNCIL MEMBERS, NOVEMBER 24, 2009

Classified By: A/S Rose E. Gottemoeller, United States
START Negotiator. Reasons: 1.4(b) and (d).

S E C R E T GENEVA 001089

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR T, VCI AND EUR/PRA
DOE FOR NNSA/NA-24
CIA FOR WINPAC
JCS FOR J5/DDGSA
SECDEF FOR OSD(P)/STRATCAP
NAVY FOR CNO-N5JA AND DIRSSP
AIRFORCE FOR HQ USAF/ASX AND ASXP
DTRA FOR OP-OS OP-OSA AND DIRECTOR
NSC FOR LOOK
DIA FOR LEA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/30/2019
TAGS: KACT MARR PARM PREL RS US START
SUBJECT: START FOLLOW-ON NEGOTIATIONS, GENEVA
(SFO-GVA-VII): (U) HEAD OF DELEGATION LUNCH FOR FEDERATION
COUNCIL MEMBERS, NOVEMBER 24, 2009

Classified By: A/S Rose E. Gottemoeller, United States
START Negotiator. Reasons: 1.4(b) and (d).


1. (U) This is SFO-GVA-VII-049.


2. (U) Meeting Date: November 24, 2009
Time: 1:15 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Place: U.S. Mission, Geneva

Participants:

U.S. RUSSIA

A/S Gottemoeller Amb Antonov
Ms. Purcell (notetaker) Amb Dzasokhov
Mr. Ozerov
Mr. Leontiev (notetaker)

--------------
SUMMARY
--------------


3. (S) A/S Gottemoeller hosted two senior members of
Russia's Federation Council to a lunch on November 24, 2009.
The meeting was very cordial and the legislators expressed
heartfelt support for the success of the treaty negotiations
and emphasized the great interest in the treaty within the
Federal Assembly and the political leadership in Russia.
They insisted on reciprocity and compromise on both sides.
They indicated that movement on a reciprocal basis might be
possible on verification issues, including telemetry and
missile unique identifiers. End Summary.


4. (S) Subject Summary: Legislators Support Treaty;
Legislators Delve Into Treaty Issues; Missile Defense
Cooperation Prospects; and, Treaty Ratification.

--------------
LEGISLATORS SUPPORT TREATY
--------------


5. (S) On November 24, 2009, Gottemoeller hosted a lunch for
visiting Russian Federation Council representatives Alexander
Dzasokhov and Victor Ozerov. Dzasokhov is a member of the
Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, as
well as a former President of North Ossetia, a Politburo

member in 1990-1991, and USSR Ambassador to Syria in
1986-1988. Ozerov is Chairman of the Federation Council and
Chairman of the Defense and Security Committee, and a former
Army officer.


6. (S) The Russian representatives explained that Russian
President Medvedev was very interested in the START Follow-on
negotiations and valued the work of the two delegations
highly. The President wanted to send some representatives of
the Federal Assembly to visit Geneva when he heard that some
U.S. Senators had visited Geneva, so that they would be
well-informed regarding the progress of the negotiations.


7. (S) Amb Antonov inquired into what CJCS Mullen's mood was
when he departed Geneva that morning. Gottemoeller reported
that Mullen's mood was good following his last coffee with
Gen Makarov. He had found his meetings with Makarov to be


productive. Gottemoeller asked how Makarov's mood was;
Ozerov replied that he and Dzasokhov had met with Makarov
that morning, and Makarov believed the treaty should be
signed.


8. (S) Dzasokhov said the message he wanted to convey to the
United States was that Russia's public and its leadership all
had very high expectations for the START Follow-on treaty.
The Federal Assembly leadership and opposition were extremely
interested in the negotiations. He and Ozerov had skipped an
important plenary session because they considered it
important to come to Geneva for 2 days and meet with the
Russian delegation.


9. (S) Gottemoeller commented that the U.S. Senate was also
very interested in the negotiations; they asked her for
briefings whenever she came back to Washington. Her hope was
that the Senate's high interest in her briefings would
produce positive results in the ratification process. The
Russian representatives showed interest in receiving similar
briefings, causing nervous laughter from Antonov.


10. (S) Dzasokhov continued that Moscow had ben pleased to
see some fundamental changes under he Obama Administration,
including a changed U.S. approach to key strategic issues.
Russia approve of the ongoing negotiations in a wide variety
o areas. The Federation Council hoped for successfl
conclusion of a START Follow-on treaty that wold be fair and
entail equal obligations for both arties. Reciprocity was a
very important and sesitive issue for Russia. If
negotiations on disrmament were not successful, it would be
much moe difficult for the United States and Russia to wok
together on important regional problems such asAfghanistan,
Iraq, terrorism, and nonproliferatin. In addition, if there
were good results withthe new treaty in December, the
Non-Proliferatio Treaty Review Conference could open on a
positie note in 2010. Antonov interjected that he and
Gottemoeller were doing eerything they could to reach a
successful concluion to the negotiations.


11. (S) Gottemoeller nted that several complex issues
remained in the egotiations, such as verification issues for
moble ICBMs and the central limits. There were no
nsurmountable obstacles to signing in December, hoever.
START provided a very good historical basisfor agreement.
Russia's initial draft had been hlpful in identifying ways
to simplify the STAR text; the U.S. side had rethought some
items after receiving Russia's first proposed text. The key
was to find a balance between the predictability provided by
the START regime and the flexibility provided by the Moscow
Treaty. Gottemoeller had told the members of the U.S. Senate
that the new treaty would be different from START, with
verification measures adapted from START, but simplified and
made less expensive to implement, as the Presidents had
called for in their July 2009 Joint Understanding. Both
Parties needed flexibility so that they could modernize their
forces. Ozerov responded that the Federation Council
likewise believed the new treaty should be shorter and less
complicated than START.

--------------
LEGISLATORS DELVE INTO TREATY ISSUES
--------------




12. (S) Ozerov raised the issue of verification of Russian
mobile ICBMs. For the sake of reciprocity, he proposed that
Russia be allowed to view U.S. submarines in exchange. He
recognized that there were inevitable differences between the
basing modes, but urged that Russian inspectors at least be
allowed to view the submarines from pier side. Security
issues were a priority for Russia. He wanted the Russian
public to understand the United States better, and the U.S.
public to understand Russia better. The treaty needed to be
reciprocal, with compromises by both sides.


13. (S) Ozerov then mentioned telemetry as an issue where
compromise was possible and noted that Makarov had spoken to
him about it. Gottemoeller pressed the legislators regarding
telemetry. Although the United States was not currently
testing new types of missiles, if it occurred Russia would be
very interested in obtaining telemetry from the flight tests.
The United States was planning to test conventional warheads
on ballistic missiles, and telemetry measures would permit
Russia to obtain information from such tests. Ozerov seemed
interested. Dzasokhov commented that non-nuclear missiles
were better than nuclear missiles, but using them would risk
escalation and proliferation.


14. (S) Dzasokhov asked what aggregate number of inspections
the U.S. side was seeking. Gottemoeller replied that Col
Ilin and Dr. Warner were both very expert and would certainly
reach agreement in their working group on the right number of
inspections. Dzasokhov expressed regret that Votkinsk had
become an obstacle. As the birthplace of Tchaikovsky,
Votkinsk should be a place of harmony and not disharmony.
Gottemoeller emphasized that monitoring missile production at
Votkinsk was important for the United States. While the
United States did not produce as many missiles as the Russian
Federation did at Votkinsk, it might do so in the future.
Russia might therefore have an interest in monitoring
production at the U.S. first stage assembly facilities in
Utah, so that monitoring would be reciprocal. Ozerov did not
show interest in the proposal, but stated he believed that
providing unique identifiers for missiles would not be
difficult and could be a good confidence-building measure.
He added that the verification regime should be simpler and
less expensive overall, with fewer inspections and less
concern about insignificant details.

--------------
MISSILE DEFENSE COOPERATION PROSPECTS
--------------


15. (S) Gottemoeller raised the U.S. interest in missile
defense cooperation with Russia, and stated her view that
cooperation would provide Russia a good opportunity both to
keep abreast of U.S. developments in missile defense, and
have a role in developing missile defense concepts and
technology for the future protection of all Eurasia. This
would be good for both countries. She noted that Under
Secretary Tauscher would be visiting Moscow in December to
begin talks on missile defense cooperation. The Russian
representatives agreed with Gottemoeller's views, adding that
the conclusion of the treaty would also promote cooperation,
while failure to conclude the treaty would encourage those in
Russia who still held Cold War views and those outside Russia


who did not want the United States and Russia to work
together. Russia had great intellectual and scientific
potential and could contribute to cooperative development.
Antonov broke in to note he had frequently said to
Gottemoeller that when the Untied States and Russia worked
together, they could do anything, whether others liked it or
not. He cited the global initiative to combat nuclear
terrorism as an example of such cooperation.


16. (S) Dzasokhov commented on Iran, saying its revolution
was not imported but resulted from an internal rethinking.
Iran was different from other countries and could not be
influenced from the outside. Russia wanted Iran to become a
modern country.

--------------
TREATY RATIFICATION
--------------


17. (S) Gottemoeller noted that as soon as the treaty was
signed, she would return to Washington and begin working with
the Senate on ratification. Ozerov agreed that the chief
negotiators were the most powerful lobbyists for their
treaties. Gottemoeller expressed hope for Senate advice and
consent to treaty ratification by May 2010, although that
depended on signing the treaty in December. Ratification was
even more important than signature, making the legislators'
role very important. Ozerov suggested a joint Russian
Federal Assembly-U.S. Senate group to review the treaty for
ratification. Antonov interjected that it was important not
to repeat the experience of START-II, which Russia ratified
while the United States did not.


18. (S) Dzasokhov concluded that political will among
leaders to maintain a good relationship enabled solution of
any challenges, as the United States and the Soviet Union did
in World War II. He valued the relationship between the U.S.
and Russian Presidents and wished them success in their
efforts to improve relations. This was in the fundamental
interests of both peoples, even though Russia would maintain
its positions and believed that a multipolar world was best.
Dzasokhov closed by saying the lunch was very tasty and the
friendly atmosphere had made it even more tasty.


19. (S) Documents exchanged: None.


20. (U) Gottemoeller sends.
GRIFFITHS