FRANCE CONCERNED ABOUT LACK OF SUBSTANCE FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 001541 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2019 TAGS: PREL OSCE FR SUBJECT: FRANCE CONCERNED ABOUT LACK OF SUBSTANCE FOR UPCOMING OSCE MINISTERIAL Classified By: Political Counselor Andrew Young For reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (U) This is an action request - please see paragraph 5. ¶2. (C) Summary. During a November 19 meeting with the Political Counselor, Patrick Maisonnave, Director for Strategic Affairs at the MFA, expressed concern that preparations for the December OSCE ministerial in Athens were not going well. While noting that the draft political declaration was still in the early stages, he said that it is very raw, vague and needs to be more substantive. He claimed, "If our objective is to restore confidence in the OSCE as a central part of the process in ensuring European security, we haven't succeeded." Maisonnave further said that Paris is increasingly concerned that we will be participating in a "ministerial for nothing." He raised worries that the OSCE is "bogged down" in the Corfu process and the Washington position against discussing the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty (CFE) is resulting in a lack of concrete substance for engagement. He urged that we re-start discussion on CFE in the coming year and advocated for the USG to reconsider its position opposed to having a 2010 OSCE summit. Maisonnave noted that a summit deadline could give needed momentum to make progress on these important issues at the working level, thus turning the summit into a worthwhile endeavor. End Summary. ¶3. (C) Maisonnave opened the meeting with a message of concern over on-going preparations for the December OSCE ministerial meeting. Despite the USG proposals for the Human Dimension and the French non-paper recently circulated, Paris is worried that the lack of concrete subjects for the planned political declaration will render the meeting meaningless. In particular, he expressed the view that the Corfu process is "bogged down" over hesitations to address the many difficult issues. Maisonnave agreed that the Human Dimension is an important part of the OSCE, but added that the priority issue remains security. Further, Russian threats against the U.S. position on the Vienna document have caused us to lose progress. This is a worrisome development, because this was the first time in two years that Russia had presented a reasonable proposal. Maisonnave recalled that allies did not take Russia seriously when Moscow first raised concerns about the CFE treaty, and it resulted in Russia suspending compliance. He claimed that we risked repeating the same scenario. Maisonnave noted that some of the current negotiating difficulties were traditional "Russian manoeuvres" but that the allies were now getting boxed in without achieving results. He claimed that Paris wanted to re-open dialogue to move the progress forward. ¶4. (C) On CFE, Maisonnave said that everyone recognizes the importance of the current treaty impasse with Russia. Paris is convinced that we must re-launch discussions about the future of the CFE in the coming year (while fully recognizing the U.S. priority to conclude a new START agreement first.) He observed that Washington is unwilling to give up on the 1999 Istanbul Commitments made by Russia. He asked that we reconsider this position in light of the fact that it has been 10 years and the world has changed since those commitments were originally made. Paris thinks it is worthwhile to start discussing the substance of CFE again, perhaps first with other allies and then with Russia. Maisonnave agreed that the OSCE should not have a summit next year "just to have a summit." On the other hand, he argued that a summit could be made legitimate and substantive. With the Corfu process bogged down, a summit deadline would stimulate momentum for progress. He suggested that we push for a result first, and then see if a summit is merited, rather than closing off the idea entirely. Maisonnave also suggested that the OSCE could consider an "informal" meeting as well. ¶5. (C) Comment and action request. Maisonnave delivered a well-developed French position on a number of looming OSCE issues that clearly have significant points of divergence with U.S. views. Post urges that we quickly engage in bilateral consultations to help get the GOF back on track before the ministerial. Post recommends either a high-level visit to discuss these issues in greater detail, or requests substantive guidance so that we can better articulate the reasons underpinning our positions to the French. End comment. PEKALA