LATVIA RECEPTIVE TO IDEAS ON GEORGIAN CONFLICTS;

C O N F I D E N T I A L RIGA 000009

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/06/2014
TAGS: PREL EAID CVIS GG EUN LG
SUBJECT: LATVIA RECEPTIVE TO IDEAS ON GEORGIAN CONFLICTS;
ASKS WHAT ROLE TBILISI?

REF: 08 STATE 134559

Classified By: Ambassador Charles W. Larson, Jr. Reason: 1.4 (D)


1. (C) Summary: Latvia is open to our thoughts on using
carrots and sticks to reintegrate South Ossetia and Abkhazia
into Georgia, but wonders if Tbilisi will play the right role
when it comes to carrots. To that end, they would like to
know more about Georgian reaction to our ideas and what
commitments they have given. One step Latvia has taken on
its own is to refuse to issue visas to residents of South
Ossetia and Abkhazia in Moscow, insisting they apply in
Tbilisi. Attempts to get other EU states to do the same have
not yet been successful. Latvia is interested in seeing more
robust discussion of these issues within the EU. End summary.


2. (C) A/DCM discussed reftel points with Peteris Ustubs, MFA
political director, and Eduards Stiprais, new
director-general for bilateral affairs at the MFA. Ustubs
focused on the incentives part of the package, noting that
when he was last in Georgia in December he discussed with the
Commission representation he difficulties they faced in
getting humanitarian assistance into South Ossetia and
Abkhazia. Ustubs understood that the problem was that the
Georgians insisted on controlling all aspects of such
assistance in a way the Commission found to interfere with
its work. Just back from holiday leave, Ustubs was unsure of
the latest developments, but thought a more open Georgian
approach would be needed to make the plan successful. If
Tbilisi was seen as a barrier to aid to these regions, it
would undermine any positive impact of such aid on the hearts
and minds of the people there towards Georgia and
reintegration. Stiprais added that Russia claimed to have
lots of money to spend in the region, but much of it was
unlikely to reach people who needed it. Stiprais felt the
separatist leaders knew this, which is why they were so
interested in even the small amounts of EU assistance offered
to date. If aid could be distributed transparently and
effectively by the West in partnership with Georgia, in
contrast to graft and abuse in Russian aid, that would also
have a positive impact. But both were nervous that Georgia
could effectively play that role and wanted more information
on our discussions with Tbilisi to date on these issues.


3. (C) On the idea of sanctions, Ustubs said given the low
level of Latvian economic activity there, Latvia would be
unlikely to issue its own statement telling businesses to
stay away from the separatist areas, but he did not rule out
a statement by the EU as a whole. He said that a first step
on visas should be to insist that all applications from
Abkhazia and South Ossetia be handled in Tbilisi, not Moscow.
Someone from Abkhazia applied at the Latvian Embassy in
Moscow in December and was sent to Tbilisi to apply. Almost
immediately, the Embassy in Moscow received a "very
professional" letter in support of the applicant and urging
that his application be accepted in Moscow. Ustubs believes
that the applicant was a deliberate test of the system. At a
lunch of EU pol dir's later in the month, Ustubs suggested
that the EU adopt a common position that all residents of
South Ossetia and Abkhazia apply in Tbilisi, not Moscow, but
received little traction. Privately, the Germans were quite
resistant to such an idea, he claimed.


4. (C) Both officials were interested in further discussion
of these issues. They asked for information on reaction from
other EU members and said they were open to discussing with
the Czech presidency how best to advance the dialogue in the
EU. Both officials felt that we were more likely to be
successful in Abkhazia than in South Ossetia and urged that
our plan be flexible enough to acknowledge differences
between the two.
LARSON