READOUT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL MEETING MAY 6, 2009

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 USNATO 000177

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/08/2019
TAGS: PREL PHSA PARM MOPS AF XA RS KN
SUBJECT: READOUT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL MEETING MAY 6, 2009

Classified By: Classified by Ambassador Kurt D. Volker for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).

USNATO TODAY, NAC EDITION, May 6, 2009

(C/NF) Summary from the NAC Meeting:

-- AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN: Discussion centered on reports of a
significant civilian casualty incident in Farah province on
May 4, with Permanent Representatives calling for information
from the ISAF chain of command as soon as possible. The
Secretary General agreed to organize a comprehensive briefing
for the Council on Pakistan's current security situation,
while stressing that this will require the assistance of
national experts from capitals.

-- PIRACY: Denmark urged that NATO endorse a long-term
counter-piracy operation by the Defense Ministerial in early
June. Portugal, Belgium, Spain, and France stressed that a
NATO operation should neither weaken nor compete with the
ongoing EU mission, while the U.S., Canada, and Norway
insisted that this should not prevent or delay agreement on
the operation.

-- RUSSIA: The Secretary General informed Allies that the
Russian Foreign Ministry had formally revoked the diplomatic
status of two Canadian-seconded NATO diplomats in Moscow,
previewing for Allies the statement he intended to make in
response.

-- GEORGIA: The Secretary General informed Allies of his May
5 discussion with Georgian President Saakashvili in which he
stressed that Saakashvili should not make irresponsible or
inaccurate statements regarding the upcoming Partnership for
Peace exercises to held in Georgia

-- BALKANS: Assistant Director of the International Military
Staff Operations Division Major General Li Gobbi briefed that
the Kosovo Police Service and EULEX have effectively handled
ongoing reconstruction-related demonstrations near Mitrovica,
without KFOR having to act as third responder.

-- IRAQ: The Secretary General announced that NATO Assistant
Secretary General Howard and NATO Legal Advisor De Vidts are
in Baghdad for negotiations on the long-term status of forces
MOU for the NATO Training Mission-Iraq (NTM-I).

-- NEW HEADQUARTERS: After a briefing on the status of the
new NATO Headquarters Building, the Canadian PermRep
suggested finding ways to save money on the project,
including speeding up the tendering process. While
sympathetic with the desire to save money, most Allies
stressed that no actions should be taken which would further
delay the project or which might inadvertently drive up the
costs. Ambassador Volker stressed the need for the building
to meet strict security standards and asked about its ability
to handle future rounds of NATO enlargement.

-- STATEMENTS ON POLITICAL TOPICS: The Czech Republic
briefed on recent EU events noting in particular a Presidency
statement voicing concern over the signature of protection of
borders agreements between Russia and Abkhazia and South
Ossetia, declaring the move contradictory to the 12 August
2008 six-point cease-fire agreement.


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END SUMMARY.

(C/REL ISAF) Afghanistan-Pakistan: Reports of a significant
civilian casualty incident in Afghanistan's Farah province on
May 4 dominated the discussion during the North Atlantic
Council's May 6 discussion of Afghanistan. Italy, Germany,
and Spain called for full information and a briefing as soon
as possible from the ISAF chain of command, even though ISAF
forces reportedly were not involved. Ambassador Volker
supported this idea, noting that a joint investigation by
Afghan and Coalition Forces had already been announced. The
International Military Staff acknowledged the sensitivities
of the incident, and said that all actors on the ground,
including the Regional Command West commander, were involved
in confirming information in Farah. The Secretary General
agreed on the need to quickly obtain information on the
incident, while stressing that the reliability of the
information gathered should not be sacrificed for the sake of
speed.

(C/NF) In response to a request from the Canadian Permanent
Representative, the Secretary General said he would organize
a comprehensive briefing on Pakistan's current security
situation, including the disposition of its nuclear weapons.
The Secretary General stressed, however, that such a briefing
would require the assistance of national experts from
capitals. Responding to a question from Spain, Major General
Li Gobbi of the International Military Staff said ongoing
Pakistan military fighting with militants is affecting ISAF
logistics lines mostly by limiting the mobility of civilian
contractors.

(C/NF) After providing a briefing on the political situation
in Afghanistan, including the registration of presidential
candidates, the Secretary General called attention to the
need for ISAF to help create a level playing field for the
upcoming elections.

(C) Piracy: Portugal, Belgium, Spain and France, signaled
that they were likely to break silence on a couple of
piracy-related documents currently under Council silence
procedures (Note: One of these documents relates to the
strengthening of the Rules of Engagement for the ships
currently taking part in NATO's counter-piracy mission, while
the other is an initiating directive seeking military advice
for a longer-term NATO role in counter-piracy. End Note).
These countries argued that a NATO operation should neither
weaken nor compete with the ongoing EU mission, with Belgium
arguing that there should be no duplication of effort "in
space or time" with the EU operation. These countries also
said that NATO needed to address legal issues regarding
NATO's detention of captured pirates.

(C) Ambassador Volker, supported by Canada and Norway, said
NATO-EU issues should not be obstacles to moving forward on
NATO's counter-piracy efforts, especially considering the
size of the piracy problem. Turkey, supported by the U.S.,
Canada, and the Secretary General, argued that
complementarity was a two-way street. The Secretary General,
for example, argued that there was no reason why NATO's Rules
of Engagement should not be strengthened to equal those of
the EU or Task Force 151. Turkey also stressed that all
international efforts, including NATO's and the EU's, should
operate within the UN framework provided by the Contact Group
on Piracy. Ambassador Volker joined the Secretary General in

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arguing that establishing the legal framework for detention
would take considerable time and could be worked on during,
rather than before, the establishment of a long-term
counter-piracy mission for the Alliance. While recognizing
that certain nations were likely to break silence on the
documents under discussion, the Secretary General nonetheless
urged Allies to move expeditiously on this matter. He added
that Allies should not to seek "perfection" in these
documents. Denmark urged that NATO endorse an operation by
the Defense Ministerial in early June.

(C/NF) Russia: The Secretary General informed Allies that the
Russian Foreign Ministry had formally revoked the diplomatic
status of two Canadian diplomats seconded to NATO as the
director and deputy director of the NATO Information Office
in Moscow. The Secretary General said that he would issue a
statement noting that this action was unjustified, while also
reaffirming NATO's willingness to reengage with Russia.
(Note: The Secretary General's statement was e-mailed to
EUR/RPM and will also be reported via septel. End Note).

(C/NF) Georgia: The Secretary General also informed Allies of
his May 5 conversation with Georgian President Saakashvili
regarding the Partnership for Peace exercises in Georgia, as
well as the attempted mutiny at a Georgian military base. He
said he had told Saakashvili the exercises would proceed on
schedule, despite the attempted mutiny. At the same time, he
said he had stressed that Saakashvili should refrain from
calling the exercises "NATO exercises" or "NATO-Georgia
exercises." Instead, he said that he had told Saakashvili
that he should make clear that these are Partnership for
Peace exercises which Georgia is hosting and which are not
"aimed at" or "threaten" any other country. He said he had
expressed frustration with Saakashvili for not following
similar lines during his recent talks with the press.

(C) Briefing on the new Headquarters: Assistant Secretary
General for Defense Investment Peter Flory and Director of
the HQ Project Office Tony Carruth briefed PermReps on the
status of NATO's new headquarters building, the first such
briefing to the NAC in two years. Carruth stated that tender
documents were being completed. The Deputy Permanent
Representatives Headquarters Board (DPRHQB) is expected to
approve a second stage authorization request at its upcoming
meeting. Thereafter, Belgium will release construction bids,
which will be due by the end of 2009. Contracts will be
awarded in May 2010, with construction starting likely to
start in August 2010. Construction is expected to take 58
months, with the expected hand-over date to NATO of May 2015.

(C) Following the briefing, the Canadian PermRep intervened
to point out the 370 percent increase in estimated costs
since the project was first agreed in 1999. Arguing that
NATO was "in the driver's seat" to take advantage of
competitive bids given the current financial situation and
should leverage current market conditions, he said Allies
should look at speeding up the tendering process. He also
said Allies should task Deputy PermRep's with examining
options of how to save 15 percent on items such as furniture
and doors, pointing out that such items would probably be
cheaper bought off the shelf rather than being custom made.
While Ambassador Volker and other Allies expressed sympathy
with the desire to save money, they also stressed that
nothing should be done which could further delay the project.
Allies also agreed that there should be no reopening of the

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building's design. Ambassador Volker took the opportunity to
make clear that the building needed to meet strict security
standards, as well as adding that he hoped the building would
be capable of accommodating any new Allies added to the
Alliance in future rounds of enlargement.

(C) Balkans: The Secretary General said that
reconstruction-related demonstrations near Mitrovica will
likely continue until Kosovo Serb and Albanian communities
reach an agreement, emphasizing the need to maintain
diplomatic pressure on Belgrade to play a constructive role.
Assistant Director of the International Military Staff
Operations Division Major General Li Gobbi added that the
Kosovo Police Service (KPS) and the EU Rule of Law Mission in
Kosovo (EULEX) have thus far effectively handled the
situation without KFOR involvement, although KFOR is closely
monitoring the situation and stands ready to respond if
needed.

(C) Iraq: The SYG announced that ASG Howard and Legal
Advisor De Vidts are in Baghdad for negotiations on the
long-term status of forces MOU for NTM-I.

(C/NF) Statements on Political Subjects: The Czech Republic
briefed on recent EU events noting in particular a Presidency
statement voicing concern over the signature of protection of
borders agreements between Russia and the Georgian separatist
regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, declaring the move
contradictory to the August 12, 2008, six-point cease-fire
agreement. Other EU events include a visit by the
representatives of the Political and Security Committee to
Kosovo and the upcoming Eastern Partnership and Southern
Corridor summits in Prague.
VOLKER