SECRETARY CLINTON'S MEETING WITH ESTONIAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 STATE 099089 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/17/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV NATO EAID ENRG MARR AF RS EN EU, GG, BK SUBJECT: SECRETARY CLINTON'S MEETING WITH ESTONIAN FOREIGN MINISTER URMAS PAET, SEPTEMBER 17, 2009, 2:15 P.M., WASHINGTON, D.C. ¶1. (U) Classified by EUR Assistant Secretary Nancy McEldowney, Acting, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶2. (U) September 17, 2009, 2:15 2:45 P.M., Washington, D.C. ¶3. (U) Participants: U.S. -------------- The Secretary EUR DAS Pamela Quanrud Spokesperson Ian Kelly NSC Director Will Schlickenmaier S Staff Joseph Macmanus EUR/NB Estonia/Finland Desk Officer Miguel Rodrigues (Notetaker) Estonia -------------- Urmas Paet, Foreign Minister Vaino Reinart, Ambassador Clyde Kull, MFA Political Director Mai Jogimaa, Counselor Kersti Luha, Spokesperson Jaan Salulaid, Desk Officer Kyllike Sillaste-Elling, Deputy Chief of Mission ¶4. (C) Summary: At his first scheduled meeting with Secretary Clinton, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet proposed working with the U.S. to develop an Estonian Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team (OMLT) for 2011, stressed the importance of Article 5 and contingency planning to NATO's new Strategic Concept, advocated for increased energy links and the new U.S.-EU Energy Council, and proposed new forms of bilateral and multilateral cooperation on civilian assistance in Afghanistan. The Secretary stated that the U.S. is fully committed to Article 5 and contingency planning, supported the right of countries to join whichever alliance they wished, stressed U.S. support for the integration of energy grids, and praised Estonia's Center of Excellence for Cyber Security as a model for the world. She reviewed the outlines of the new U.S. missile defense policy, and both agreed on the need to engage Russia to convince the latter that Europe and NATO pose no threat. The tone of the meeting was warm. End summary. ¶5. (SBU) Welcoming Estonian Foreign Minister Paet, Secretary Clinton expressed appreciation for our extraordinary cooperation with Estonia. Paet thanked the Secretary for the excellent communication with the new Administration, mentioning as examples President Obama's meeting with President Ilves and Assistant Secretary Gordon's visit to Tallinn. Afghanistan -------------- ¶6. (C) Paet proposed direct bilateral cooperation to work toward an Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team (OMLT) for 2011, and he requested a U.S. response. The Secretary welcomed Estonia's interest, noting that we very much value Estonia's interest in training the Afghan army and a functioning police force to secure that country. (Note: Embassy Tallinn is coordinating follow up on the OMLT. End note.) NATO -------------- ¶7. (C) Paet said he thinks the main topics the new NATO Strategic Concept should address are Article 5, "political defense," and the link to out-of-area deployments. He stressed the importance of NATO visibility, such as having NATO exercises in the Baltic area, and thanked the Secretary for U.S. participation in Baltic air policing. Paet observed that President Obama had mentioned contingency planning at the Strasbourg Summit. He added that the Balts are clear about wanting contingency planning addressed in the new Strategic Concept. The Secretary expressed our full commitment to contingency planning. STATE 00099089 002 OF 003 ¶8. (C) The Secretary supported the right of countries to join whatever alliance they wished and commended Estonia for sharing its accession experience with Georgia and Ukraine. She expressed hope that progress could be made with both countries, noting that Georgia had acted prudently by not falling into the traps set for them. She observed the U.S. had spoken out in favor of Russian troop withdrawal from Georgia and that we are going forward with planned exercises. ¶9. (C) Paet observed that Montenegro and Bosnia are almost ready to get Membership Action Plans (MAP) and explained that the Bosnian Foreign Minister had told him Bosnia will request MAP by year-end. The question will arise, he continued, of how to support Georgia and Ukraine next. Paet noted that Montenegro is a small country that will be easy to reform, and he stressed the importance to move forward with Bosnia because of its fragility. Paet invited the Secretary to visit Tallinn for next April's NATO Foreign Ministerial; the Secretary did not commit. Energy Security -------------- ¶10. (C) The Secretary stressed U.S. support for integration of energy grids, observing that increased integration diminishes the possibility that energy may be used as a tool of coercion. She urged Estonia to incorporate energy security into the ongoing transatlantic dialogue while oil and gas prices are down. Paet, observing that sometimes it seems like the U.S. cares more about European energy security than does Europe itself, agreed that energy links are important. He expressed the hope that the U.S.-EU Energy Council would be set up as soon as possible, and that we will soon sign our bilateral agreement on S&T Cooperation on Oil Shale. Cyber Security -------------- ¶11. (C) The Secretary commended Estonia's Center of Excellence for Cyber Security, describing it as a model for the world. She expressed interest in working with Estonia on cyber security, given its experience and our increasing military/security focus on the Internet. Paet thanked her, noting that Estonia has presented candidates to lead the EU's information technology agencies. Democracy Promotion/Civilian Assistance -------------- ¶12. (U) The Secretary expressed appreciation that even in this time of economic crisis, Estonia remains committed to democracy promotion, especially in Moldova, where we are beginning to see a turn-around. Paet observed that Estonia continues with development projects in Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Afghanistan. He noted that he will be going to Belarus in October to upgrade Estonia's mission there to Embassy status. Citing his country's focus on healthcare in Afghanistan's Helmand province, Paet proposed projects on humanitarian/civilian assistance between Estonia, the U.S. and the Government of Afghanistan. Missile Defense -------------- ¶13. (C) Laying out the Administration's new missile defense policy, the Secretary offered that it: is different from the previous policy in that it covers all of Europe and the Caucasus; is more effective against short and mid-range missiles; is not a one-time deal but rather follows a phased approach as threats evolve; and is not a bilateral approach but rather a collective NATO responsibility which we view as an extension of Article ¶5. She indicated that the U.S. has told the Russians that we would welcome their cooperation, since a nuclear-equipped Iran -- or for that matter any rogue state -- would pose a threat to Russia as well. ¶14. (C) Paet responded that the real threat Russia faces is not from Europe or NATO, but from Muslim extremism to the south. He expressed concern that Russia, with a Cold War mentality, is trying to cut off the Baltic countries by staging huge exercises near their borders, and dispatching four ships to the Baltic Sea. He noted that NATO is the proper place for consideration of STATE 00099089 003 OF 003 Guantanamo Detainees -------------- ¶15. (C) Paet offered that his country's security services and the Ministry of the Interior are working to accommodate the U.S. request to resettle Guantanamo detainees. CLINTON CLINTON