MFA ON NATO PFP EXERCISES IN GEORGIA, CHOD MEETING

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 001076

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/23/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR RS NATO
SUBJECT: MFA ON NATO PFP EXERCISES IN GEORGIA, CHOD MEETING

Classified By: Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Alice G. Wells. Reason 1
.4 (b) and (d).

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PfP Exercises Are a "Sensitive Issue"
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1. (C) In an April 23 meeting, MFA General European
Cooperation Director Vladimir Voronkov said the upcoming NATO
Partnership for Peace (PfP) Cooperative Longbow/Cooperative
Lancer 2009 exercises were a "sensitive issue" for Russia.
He pointed out that the U.S. and Georgia conducted military
maneuvers one week prior to the start of the August 2008
conflict in South Ossetia, and so the optics of the upcoming
PfP exercises were bad. He complained that when the GOR
asked NATO to reconsider the exercises, the reply was simply
that the exercises had been scheduled well before the August
2008 conflict and that Russia was invited to participate.
Voronkov urged the U.S. to consider the GOR's position, and
predicted harsh words would be exchanged between NATO and
Russia if the exercises happen.


2. (C) Cooperation in the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) would
continue, and Voronkov downplayed Rogozin's April 22
"colorful" comments that Russia "cannot guarantee the safety"
of NATO and PfP participating forces. Voronkov took several
ironic swipes at Rogozin, whose propensity to go far beyond
his instructions has incited Voronkov's criticism in the
past. We reviewed the planning for, and purpose behind, the
exercises, with Voronkov acknowledging that the U.S. and
Russia would continue to agree to disagree over Georgia.

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Cancelled CHOD Meeting
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3. (C) Voronkov told us the GOR never formally accepted the
invitation for CHOD Makarov to meet his NRC counterparts on
May 7, and he denied media reports that Russia's decision to
not attend the meeting was linked to the upcoming PfP
exercises. He said that the April 29 Ambassadors meeting and
the May 19 ministerial meeting should happen before the CHODs
meet. Voronkov said the decision to not attend the CHOD
meeting did not pose a danger to NATO-Russia military
cooperation, which would proceed in a step-by-step fashion.

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Russian Goals for the NRC
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4. (C) Voronkov maintained that the GOR sought real
cooperation within the framework of the NRC as envisioned in
the Rome Declaration. He said the breach in NRC activities
and the "26 against 1" scenario that occurred after the
conflict in Georgia were reminiscent of Cold War practices.
It was time to move past this, he said. He argued "this
showed the public that the NRC can exclude Russia," whereas
Russia desired "smooth cooperation." The NRC is not the
appropriate forum to "sanction Russia," he said. How to best
deal with NATO-Russian tensions was a topic that occupied the
highest levels of the MFA. Voronkov urged that more frequent
and less formal conversations take place that could create an
atmosphere more conducive to cooperation.


5. (C) Voronkov maintained that the NRC can be a useful forum
to work on difficult issues such as Afghan stabilization,
missile defense, the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty,
Medvedev's proposed European Security Treaty (with NATO one,
but not the sole suitable forum),counternarcotics efforts,
piracy, terrorism, and energy security. He emphasized,
however, that without a commitment to use the NRC in a time
of crisis, the organization would be devalued.
BEYRLE