RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR ROGOZIN CONTINUES HIS ATTEMPTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L USNATO 000199 NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/18/2019 TAGS: NATO PREL PGOV RS GG TU GM SUBJECT: RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR ROGOZIN CONTINUES HIS ATTEMPTS TO DIVIDE NATO REF: 2000 USMISSION USUN 002474 Classified By: A/DCM Kate M. Byrnes for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C/NF) SUMMARY: Responding to presentations on Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) at the May 13 meeting of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC),Russian Ambassador Dmitry Rogozin criticized NATO's efforts in Afghanistan as both repeating the Soviet Union's earlier mistakes and inventing new ones. Seeking to further divide NATO Allies and Partners, he cited an interview with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in which Steinmeier supposedly questioned the decision to hold Partnership for Peace (PfP) exercises COOPERATIVE LONGBOW and COOPERATIVE LANCER in Georgia. Allies and Partners largely brushed off Rogozin's rants, and he was specifically rebuked by Germany for wrongly interpreting Steinmeier's remarks. The exchanges illustrate that Rogozin continues to use every opportunity to cause discord amongst NATO nations. END SUMMARY. -------------- The showdown over Afghanistan -------------- ¶2. (C/NF) At the EAPC meeting on May 13, former heads of the Turkish and Swedish PRTs in Afghanistan briefed EAPC Ambassadors on their experiences in Afghanistan and specifically addressed efforts to increase civilian aspects of PRTs. The Swedish leader of the study on the implementation of UNSCR 1325, which seeks to minimize the effects of war on women and maximize their contributions to conflict resolution, briefed Ambassadors on the policy recommendations of the study. The recommendations include using a comprehensive strategy to implement UNSCR 1325 in NATO operations and missions, holding commanders accountable for implementation progress, and establishing expert functions (i.e. gender advisors) to enhance the resolution's effectiveness. Ambassadors applauded the recommendations, but voiced the need to implement them in a measured approach appropriate to local conditions. ¶3. (C/NF) Seeking to disrupt the positive momentum of the room, Rogozin took nations to task for not only repeating the mistakes of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, but "inventing a few" of their own, which further pushed back prospects of resolving Afghanistan's issues. Rogozin stated that he accepted the findings of the UNSCR 1325 study -- and Ambassadors' comments about it -- with skepticism (commenting that Russian reporting out of Kabul indicates implementation of the recommendations will be unlikely). He argued that NATO can not impose "white Caucasian culture" on that part of the world. Continuing his tirade, Rogozin said that civilian projects will not compensate for "ISAF's high-altitude bombing of villages." Stating that the election of a "legitimate president" would be "awesome," he asked what NATO was doing to prepare the Afghan citizens for peaceful elections. -------------- Rogozin aims at Georgia -------------- ¶4. (C/NF) Rogozin also complained about the ongoing PfP exercises in Georgia, COOPERATIVE LONGBOW and COOPERATIVE LANCER. He quoted a recent interview with German Foreign Minister Steinmeier, in which Rogozin alleged that Steinmeier said NATO should have reevaluated whether the exercise should be held in Georgia. Rogozin characterized the exercises as NATO's effort to extinguish a fire using kerosene, and he thanked those nations who "weighed the pros and cons" and decided to opt out of the exercises. The Georgian Ambassador, who recalled that Russia continues to illegally occupy its territory, stated that the exercise was of great importance, that Georgia highly valued the spirit of cooperation evident in the exercise, and that Georgia had been ready to receive Russian observers to the exercises had Moscow accepted the invitation to do so. The German representative strongly rejected Rogozin's argument, rebuking Rogozin for quoting Steinmeier out of context and adding that those excerpted remarks were part of a much larger interview. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶5. (C/NF) The EAPC, with a membership running from Ireland to Kyrgyzstan, often finds it difficult to identify topics of common interest for discussion at a political level. The discussion of UNSCR 1325 was a topic in which most Allies and Partners expressed an interest, especially given their engagement in International Security Assistance Force operations in Afghanistan. In the not-too-distant past, Russia largely ignored the EAPC, attending but saying little. More recently, however, Russia has actively sought to sow seeds of dissention in EAPC discussions. Ambassador Rogozin seems to relish playing the proverbial "skunk at the garden party. DAALDER