MFA STRATEGIC AFFAIRS DIRECTOR ON AFGHANISTAN,

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 001412 NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/21/2019 TAGS: PREL PARM MARR MOPS KCFE NATO EUN AF KG JA IR, IT, FR SUBJECT: MFA STRATEGIC AFFAIRS DIRECTOR ON AFGHANISTAN, DISARMAMENT, EUROPEAN SECURITY, AND MORE REF: A. BISHKEK 986 ¶B. NATO 453 ¶C. PARIS 1393 Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Kathy Allegrone, Reasons 1. 4 (b),(d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On the heels of an early October trip to Washington, recently-appointed MFA Strategic Affairs Director (A/S-equivalent) Patrick Maisonnave updated post October 16 on GOF thinking on Afghanistan, where France cannot contribute more militarily, but may have room for more civilian support; Nuclear disarmament, where U.S. policy continues to be a source of French concern; European security, where the French say new thinking about CFE and Corfu may be merited; NATO reform, which for France is driven by resource limitations, but is also about strategy; and EU sanctions against Iran, which Maisonnave sees as highly unlikely. END SUMMARY. -------------- Afghanistan: French Contribution -------------- ¶2. (C) Maisonnave began the discussion by expressing the GOF belief that a Karzai deal with Abdullah may present one positive way out of the current legitimacy crisis, adding that Foreign Minister Kouchner would go to Afghanistan on October 17-18 to meet with Karzai and Abdullah to discuss the situation. As for French efforts in Afghanistan, Maisonnave referred to an interview with President Sarkozy that had appeared that morning in centrist daily Le Figaro in which Sarkozy said France "will not sent one more soldier." Maisonnave clarified that the French military was both willing and able to contribute more to the international effort in Afghanistan, but that strong public opposition to the war in France made it politically impossible for Sarkozy to approve further deployments. Maisonnave also said that, while France agreed with the McChrystal report, the French did not feel especially "targeted" by potential requests for new deployments since French forces were already serving in a dangerous area. He added that President Sarkozy was referring in the interview specifically to combat troops, and that further civilian support may be possible for France. -------------- Afghanistan: EGF, Manas, and AWACS -------------- ¶3. (C) According to Maisonnave, the French contingent of the European Gendarmerie Force (EGF) will arrive in full force in Mazar-i-Sharif by December 1. The GOF still hopes training facilities in Kabul will be ready in time to move its gendarmes there by summer 2010. Maisonnave was entirely unaware that the French military had left Manas air base, and in fact noted it down, saying he would look into it further. Prior to Bishkek reporting (ref A) that the French and Spanish had pulled out, our various interlocutors had indicated all was well with the negotiations for Manas, most recently during a discussion with Deputy Diplomatic Counselor at the Elysee Damien Loras on October 14. On the French vote against common funding for the AWACS at the NATO Senior Resource Board (ref B),Maisonnave reiterated that France does not oppose the AWACS deployment, but said that France was working with the British on funding issues with a view towards moving forward. -------------- Nuclear Disarmament -------------- ¶4. (C) Having attended the recent P3 consultations on the 2010 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference (NPT RevCon) and Fissile Materials Cutoff Treaty (FMCT) in Washington on October 9, Maisonnave cautioned that it seems we do not share the same objectives with the same degree of intensity. The United States is focused almost exclusively on disarmament and is not ready to fight for key nonproliferation goals at the RevCon while, for its part, France is not ready to pay any price for a satisfactory consensus. Pulling out a cabled report, Maisonnave said France was taken by surprise that the United States not only dropped opposition to Japan's yearly First Committee resolution "Renewed Determination towards the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons," submitted October 15, but has now signed on as a co-sponsor. He said France would vote against the resolution again this year and had understood the United States would do so as well. Maisonnave recognized the absolute right of the United States to change its position, but the shift from opposition to co-sponsorship, without a heads up to France or other PARIS 00001412 002 OF 002 partners, was disappointing. Maisonnave said France was looking at this as a possible "road sign" in the run-up to the RevCon of a growing divergence in our positions. He stressed France's desire for continuing P3 unity and coordination, to the extent possible, given the other obstacles to success in this area. -------------- European Security -------------- ¶5. (C) Asked about France's thinking on European security, Maisonnave said during the October 1 bilateral "2-plus-2" meeting of foreign and defense ministers in Moscow, FM Kouchner proposed a bilateral working group on the issue. Saying he himself would go to Moscow in early November to follow up, Maisonnave was even more cautious on the issue than other recent GOF interlocutors (ref C). However, he repeated that it might be time to reflect on European security, adding specifically on the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) that "some say the Istanbul Commitments were wrong, and some say that CFE is good, but needs work." Maisonnave said the goal was to help the Corfu process on European security, and that in order to do this, it might be worth considering new negotiations on CFE. -------------- NATO Reform -------------- ¶6. (S/NF) Maisonnave said during his recent trip to Washington he noticed that the Department of Defense seemed strongly committed to NATO reform, while the Department of State seemed more cautious, wanting to take into account varying positions of other Allies. In France, Maisonnave said, the situation was the opposite. The MFA, along with the Elysee, was very much in favor of NATO reform while the Ministry of Defense was more "conservative." He said the MFA's desire for reform was resource-driven, especially since France had determined that its re-integration into NATO's military command would require as many as 1,200 French staff. In terms of strategic focus, Maisonnave, who until his recent appointment as Strategic Affairs Director was head of the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy office at the MFA, cautioned that "some new EU members" had been complaining that NATO should not be in Afghanistan, but firmly in Europe. He added that any withdrawal of tactical nuclear weapons from Europe would exacerbate this attitude. -------------- EU Sanctions against Iran -------------- ¶7. (C) Maisonnave said EU sanctions against Iran are extremely unlikely. He said it might be possible to overcome isolated opposition, but that a block of seven or eight member states had formed, including among others Italy, Austria, Spain, Portugal, and probably Sweden, with Italy taking the hardest line. RIVKIN