RUSSIAN MFA REQUESTS COOPERATION ON BERING STRAIT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MOSCOW 001281 DEPT FOR OES/OA, L/CA, AND EUR/RUS INTERIOR PLEASE PASS TO NPS AND USFWS COPENHAGEN FOR ERIK HALL SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV CVIS ECON EWWT PBTS PHSA PREL KTIA XQ RS SUBJECT: RUSSIAN MFA REQUESTS COOPERATION ON BERING STRAIT INITIATIVES MOSCOW 00001281 001.2 OF 003 *** CABLE TRANSMITTED UNSUCCESSFULLY ON APRIL 29, 2009. SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED -- PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Head of Bilateral Relations at the MFA U.S. Desk on April 17 raised several Bering Strait issues, primarily extending the existing visa-free travel regime to all permanent residents of Chukotka and Alaska, agreeing to create a joint protected territory, and reviving the Bering Straits Commission. Noting that Foreign Minister Lavrov raised Bering Strait issues with Secretary Clinton when they met on March 6 in Geneva, he said we needed to work expeditiously to achieve some sort of deliverable by the time of the July presidential meeting in Moscow. The issues have been discussed before; on the whole, they are not politically controversial. However, they have stumbled on various bureaucratic hurdles which have prevented progress. Joint efforts to advance Bering Strait issues could serve as a compelling demonstration of progress in the bilateral relationship. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) In his first-ever request to meet with the Science and Technology Counselor, Alexander Zakharov, head of bilateral relations at the MFA U.S. Desk, on April 17 discussed several Bering Strait issues, chiefly visa-free travel for residents of Chukotka and Alaska; agreeing to create a joint nature park; and reviving the Bering Straits Commission. He noted that Foreign Minister Lavrov raised Bering Strait issues with Secretary Clinton when they met on March 6 in Geneva and urged that we cooperate to achieve some sort of deliverable by the July presidential meeting in Moscow. Visa Regime: Extend to All Chukotkans and Alaskans -------------- -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Amending the existing visa-free travel regime for indigenous residents of the border areas of Chukotka and Alaska was Zakharov's top issue. The MFA proposed to extend visa-free travel to all permanent residents of Chukotka and Alaska, regardless of ethnicity. Zakharov said that the GOR first tabled this proposal in 1997, but it stalled because there was no response from the USG. He said the MFA Consular Department supports the proposal, and that the MFA will be able to persuade the security services to agree as well. He said regularly scheduled commercial flights ceased because they were not economically feasible, but indigenous people still benefit from the regime to travel the 12 kilometers that separate the two countries by boat. A commercial company is exploring the feasibility of flying from Chukotka's regional capital Anadyr to Anchorage, and then potentially to another point in the United States, and is working with Alaskan authorities and the FAA. ¶4. (SBU) Four border posts exist on the Russian side, two of which are seldom used. Although he has no statistics on travel for the past three years, Zakharov believes more Chukotkans still travel to Alaska than Alaskans travel to Chukotka. We tried to manage expectations by reminding Zakharov that changes in visa regimes can take years of negotiation, and that we are unlikely to make any progress on this issue by July. Zakharov countered that Chukotka and Alaska are so sparsely populated that agreeing on a visa-free regime, which might be able to be extended even further, should be achievable by July. He proposed including a representative from Chukotka in the summit meetings. Joint Nature Park "Beringia" -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The second item on Zakharov's list was resuming a dialogue to establish a joint "Beringia" protected territory on either side of the Bering Strait with national park status. Zakharov thought that the visa-free regime would do much to stimulate tourism and the development of such a park. He acknowledged that the United States and Russia have been discussing a joint park since the late 1980s. Russia has a cross-border park with Finland that could serve as a model. Zakharov explained that while the Alaska state government endorsed this proposal, the move had run into snags on the Russian side because the protected territory in Chukotka has only provincial status, not federal as does the park in Alaska. Creating a national park in Chukotka was on the Soviet, then Russian Ministry of Environment's agenda, but not at the top. Because Chukotka authorities wanted to keep the park within their jurisdiction, plans went nowhere. (Comment: Transferring the Chukotka protected territory to federal jurisdiction would entail additional federal MOSCOW 00001281 002.3 OF 003 expenses which the GOR may be unwilling to bear in the current economic environment. End comment.) Reviving the Bering Straits Regional Commission -------------- -- ¶6. (SBU) Zakharov noted that the fate of these initiatives depends in large part on the efforts of members of the Bering Straits Regional Commission, which has the responsibility for shepherding these types of proposals. The Commission has not met since 2004. The GOR two months ago named a new representative by the name of Gorenshteyn. Zakharov stated that the Russian side had lost touch with the U.S. representative and expressed a desire to resume contact. He emphasized that while there may not be any inherent policy impediments to moving these ideas forward, there are significant bureaucratic hurdles, and movement depends upon consistent motivation and attention on the part of the Commission. Other Issues Previously Discussed -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The remainder of the list Zakharov passed us follows. Zakharov said that these issues had been discussed by Chukotka and Alaska representatives in the past: -- Joint studies and development of oil and gas deposits in Chukchi Sea; -- Establishing regular air connection between Alaska and Chukotka; -- Establishing air and sea transport infrastructure between U.S. West coast and Russian Far East; -- Cooperation of Russian and American emergency services, including Russian Border Guard Service and U.S. Coast Guard; -- Establishing regular mail connection between Russia and the U.S. through Alaska and Chukotka; -- Joint use of the ice-free port of Adak in the Bering Sea (Aleutian Islands) for petroleum storage and transshipment (originally proposed by former Alaska Senate President Ben Stevens); -- Simplifying Alaska-Chukotka trade and customs regime; -- Cooperation through the International Whaling Commission, including among indigenous sea hunters; -- Joint monitoring of whale hunting quotas; -- Cooperation under bilateral Chukotka-Alaska Polar Bear Agreement; -- Joint scientific research on Global Climate Change, including changes affecting traditional nature utilization (changes in habitats of marine mammals, routes and times of migration of marine mammals and birds),as well as other scientific programs; -- Joint studies and monitoring of Bering Sea fisheries; -- Simplifying visits by cruise vessels to populated areas of Chukotka, opening of closed ports on the Chukotka coast for docking of cruise vessels, joint tourist programs (Note: Zakharov said that problems with cruises in the past occurred when ship operators had not properly completed all documents in advance. End note.); and -- Cultural connections between Chukotka and Alaska. ¶8. (SBU) COMMENT: The Arctic is a promising area of bilateral and multilateral cooperation for the U.S. and Russia, as we have highlighted several times in recent months in discussions with our contacts and in public fora. Most of the items on the MFA list are not politically controversial, but have stumbled on various bureaucratic hurdles, as well as a lack of political will, that have prevented progress. The Russian government would welcome efforts on the USG's part to advance Bering Strait issues, and visible success could serve as a compelling demonstration of progress in the bilateral relationship. MOSCOW 00001281 003.2 OF 003 BEYRLE