Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09PARTO41409
2009-04-14 23:34:00
SECRET
US Delegation, Secretary
Cable title:  

Secretary Clinton's March 31, 2009 conversation

Tags:  MNUC KNNP AF RU IR OVIP PREL 
pdf how-to read a cable
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DE RUCNAI #0009/01 1042334 
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O 142334Z APR 09 
FM USDEL SECRETARY//EUROPE// 
TO RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE IMMEDIATE 
INFO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 
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RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL IMMEDIATE 
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S E C R E T PARTO 041409 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/30/2019
TAGS: OVIPPREL MNUC KNNP AF RU IR
SUBJECT: Secretary Clinton's March 31, 2009 conversation
with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov

Classified by: Paul Wohlers, Deputy Executive Secretary,
S/ES, Department of State. Reason 1.4.(b,d)

S E C R E T PARTO 041409

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/30/2019
TAGS: OVIPPREL MNUC KNNP AF RU IR
SUBJECT: Secretary Clinton's March 31, 2009 conversation
with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov

Classified by: Paul Wohlers, Deputy Executive Secretary,
S/ES, Department of State. Reason 1.4.(b,d)


1. (U) March 31, 2009; 3:30 pm; The Hague, Netherlands.


2. (U) Participants:

U.S.
The Secretary
SRAP Holbrooke
A/S Fried
Michael McFaul, Senior Director for Russia and Eurasia,
NSC
Howard Solomon, Office of Russian Affairs
Rebecca Callaway (Embassy Notetaker)

Russia
FM Sergei Lavrov
D/FM Alexander Borodavkin
Igor Neverov, Head of North America Department, MFA
Evgeniy Ivanov, Head of Foreign Minister's Office
Vladislav Maslennikov, Minister-Counselor, Russian
Embassy


3. (C) SUMMARY. On the margins of the March 31 Dutch-
Afghan-U.N. Conference on Afghanistan in The Hague, the
Secretary and Russian FM Lavrov discussed the upcoming
meeting between President Obama and Russian President
Medvedev, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Middle
East Peace Process and the North Caucasus. The
Secretary and Lavrov finalized the text of the joint
presidential statement and agreed to a meeting in
Washington in May, with a possible follow-up "2 plus 2"
meeting in June before the Presidential Summit in Moscow
in July. Lavrov was concerned that the joint statement
might contain language that the Iranians perceive as a
threat or accusation. On Afghanistan, Lavrov reiterated
that the Government of Russia (GOR) would consider
delisting former Taliban if there was a strong
evidentiary package and expressed support for an OSCE
election support mission in Afghanistan. Lavrov
highlighted the need to harmonize U.S. and Russian
actions towards Pakistan and pushed for a Moscow
Conference on the Middle East Peace Process in July. END
SUMMARY.

--------------
U.S.-Russia Cooperation
--------------


4. (C) The two leaders met on the margins of the March
31 Dutch-Afghan-U.N. conference on Afghanistan in The
Hague ("International Conference on Afghanistan: A
Comprehensive Strategy in a Regional Context"). The
tone of the meeting was friendly. The Secretary and
Lavrov expressed satisfaction with the joint
presidential statement and the statement on post-START
negotiations. (Note: Both statements were released the

following day during Presidents Obama and Medvedev's
April 1 meeting. End Note.) Lavrov suggested that they
work to finalize the U.S.-Russia Action Plan with the
goal of announcing it during Lavrov's May 7 visit to
Washington. They considered the possibility of a
follow-on "2 plus 2" meeting in June before President
Obama's visit to Moscow in July for a Presidential
Summit. Lavrov mentioned that although there would be
logistical difficulties (i.e. the state flights issue)
if President Obama wanted to come to Moscow, those could
be resolved.

--------------
Iran
--------------


5. (S) Turning to the joint statement, the Secretary
and Lavrov discussed how to express a shared concern


over the possibility of an Iranian nuclear weapons
program without sending a signal to Iran that would
either condone such a program or be perceived by the
Iranians as a threat. Lavrov stressed that Russia does
not want the statement to contradict the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),which has not found
evidence of an Iranian nuclear weapons program. Lavrov
also indicated the need to be very particular about the
text because it might be later adopted by either the
U.N. Security Council or in a bi- or multi-lateral
agreement. The Secretary and Lavrov agreed on language
that recognizes Iran's right to a civilian nuclear
program but underscores the concerns of the U.S. and
Russia about an Iranian nuclear weapons program.


6. (S) In terms of the U.S.-Iranian relationship,
Lavrov said that he "can welcome President Obama's
message to the Iranian People." He said that he thinks
there is a chance to "reset the U.S.-Iranian track," and
that full U.S.-Iranian engagement may be possible. The
opportunity is fragile, and if the April 1 joint
presidential statement contains language that the
Iranians perceive as a threat or accusation, the process
could derail.

--------------
Afghanistan-Pakistan
--------------


7. (C) On the Afghanistan conference, the Secretary and
Lavrov both expressed appreciation for the other
country's ideas and interventions. Lavrov added that he
welcomed U.S. participation in the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization's (SCO) special conference on Afghanistan,
held March 27 in Moscow. Secretary Clinton said that
the United States would especially appreciate Russian
help with the U.N. 1267 committee and establishing a
framework for delisting former Taliban members. Lavrov
expressed support for delisting, but cautioned that
specific procedures would need to be set out and that
the person to be delisted must clearly show that he is
no longer engaged in terrorist violence. Lavrov gave an
example of a governor in Afghanistan whom the Dutch had
asked Russia to delist. In that case, Russia was firm
that the governor would not be delisted simply for
political reasons -- there needed to be evidence that
the governor was no longer an active member of the
Taliban.


8. (C) Lavrov also raised the possibility of the OSCE
doing an "assessment mission" in relation to the
upcoming Afghan elections. The election support in 2004
by the OSCE had been outside its mandate, said Lavrov,
as Afghanistan is not an OSCE member. Russia feels that
a 2009 OSCE election support mission is enough, but an
OSCE assessment would be problematic.


9. (C) On Pakistan, Lavrov mentioned that he had met
with Pakistan's FM Qureshi. Russia and Pakistan are in
close consultations and are interested in setting up
bilateral or group meetings. Lavrov also highlighted
the need to harmonize U.S. and Russian actions towards
Pakistan. Secretary Clinton agreed that the U.S and
Russia should hold meetings on Pakistan, but that the
U.S. Department of Defense may need to get involved if
the meetings discussed the military. Lavrov indicated
that the Russian Defense Ministry would not need to be
involved, as there are no Russian troops on the ground,
but said "let's be inventive."


10. (C) SRAP Holbrooke suggested changing text in the
draft joint presidential statement to note that
terrorist groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan are a
common threat to the U.S. and Russia, and that the two
countries agree to work together and support a
coordinated response to that threat, with the U.N.


playing a key role. Lavrov agreed to the proposal,
saying "We do have problems in our territory from those
(groups)."

--------------
Israel/MEPP
--------------


11. (C) Lavrov raised the Russian proposal to hold a
Moscow Conference as a follow-on to the Annapolis
Conference, noting that "the Arabs are pushing" for a
conference. He added that the GOR is considering a July
timeframe, and perhaps President Obama could be there to
open the conference with President Medvedev. He claimed
that the GOR has been talking to Israeli Foreign
Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who has reportedly said that
he will come to Moscow for the conference. Lavrov
thinks this is worth doing, but that the U.S. and Russia
should be careful not to raise expectations too high.
Russia wants to "let the steam out" and make the
negotiations continue from where they stopped. The
Secretary said that the idea was intriguing, but that
the United States has not talked with either Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or Lieberman yet. She
said that she would bring up the idea informally with
President Obama in London.

--------------
USAID in the Caucasus
--------------


12. (C) Following up on their meeting in Geneva,
Lavrov told the Secretary he had heard back from the
"relevant agencies" on USAID's activities in the North
Caucasus. He appreciates that USAID was working with
the MFA to clarify its programs in the North Caucasus.
He added that a joint U.S.-Russian visit to the region
was planned, and said he welcomed a USAID presentation
of its programs there. Secretary Clinton thought that
this may be the best way to "avoid the thorny issues."

--------------
Airport Delay/Adoption/Visas
--------------


13. (C) Lavrov acknowledged receiving the message from
the American Embassy in Moscow about delays (of Russian
NGO head Migranyan) at JFK airport. The Secretary
assured him that this was not a deliberate act. When
Lavrov raised the compensation offered (to Aleksandr
Kashin) in Vladivostok, the Secretary agreed to discuss
the matter at the June consular consultations. Lavrov
asserted that the $100K was insufficient, and the
Secretary repeated that the U.S. intends to address the
issue.


14. (C) Lavrov responded that Russia also would want to
discuss the adoption issue in June. There is a Russian
law that provides for Russian law to be used to protect
Russian citizens abroad that has never been applied. If
the U.S. applied it (in the Miles Harrison case),that
would go a long way toward gaining support for the U.S.
among the Russian population. Lavrov also repeated
Russia's interest in a bilateral agreement on adoption.


15. (C) Lavrov brought up the matter of two visa
applications by Russian citizens that the U.S. had
denied. Lavrov said that the two persons who were
denied visas have hired American lawyers and intend to
try again. Lavrov acknowledged that a country has the
right to deny a visa to any person without giving an
explanation, but that the American lawyers claim
American procedure had been violated in these cases. He
said he simply wanted to flag this issue for the
Secretary.
CLINTON