NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL MEETING, JULY 1,2009

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 USNATO 000288 NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/02/2019 TAGS: PREL NATO EWWT MARR MOPS AF PK RS SUBJECT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL MEETING, JULY 1,2009 Classified By: A/PolAd A. "Hoot" Baez. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C/NF) Summary of the July 1 meeting of the North Atlantic Council: -- AFGHANISTAN: The NATO Senior Civilian Representative briefed the North Atlantic Council on the status of preparations for Afghanistan's upcoming elections, stressing that it was important that the international community not violate the principle of non-interference while trying to create a level playing field for candidates. The deployment of three NATO AWACS planes to Konya, Turkey, is complete; AWACS operations in support of ISAF will begin once all overflight clearances have been obtained. A status report on the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan will be provided to Allies by mid-July. Italy made a contribution to NATO TV, while Slovakia made a contribution of troops. There was no report of spillover into Afghanistan from the recent unrest in Iran. The Senior Civilian Representative commented on his good relationship with GEN McChrystal, the new commander of ISAF, adding that he shared McChrystal's view that avoiding civilian casualties was a strategic priority. -- BALKANS: The Secretary General (SYG) said he expected to circulate SACEUR's recommendation for KFOR movement to Gate I (10,000 troops) of Deterrent Presence early the week of July ¶6. The Council tasked the International Staff to review options for opening the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) Trust Fund to outside contributions in an effort to fill the Trust Fund's continuing shortfall. -- Piracy: The SYG said the IS recently had fruitful discussions with Kenyan authorities about establishing an agreement for transferring captured pirate suspects and would hold similar discussions with the Seychelles, Djibouti, and Tanzania. Kenya said any assistance which could be provided to it would be appreciated. Kenya had also stressed the need to address the causes of piracy in Somalia. The Chairman of the NATO Military Committee said Standing NATO Maritime Group-2 (SNMG-2) had replaced SNMG-1 for NATO's counter-piracy operation. -- IRAQ: The Secretary General reported that the Legal Advisor for the Iraqi Ministry of Defense was in Brussels in order to complete negotiations on the full text of an agreement providing a legal framework for the NATO Training Mission-Iraq. (Note: The draft agreement was e-mailed to �A;EUR/RPM on July 2.) -- NATO-Russia: In response to the Canadian PermRep, the Secretary General said that he believed a political agreement in principle had been taken by NATO-Russia Council (NRC) Ministers at their June 27 meeting in Corfu to restart mil-to-mil cooperation, despite the fact that the meeting had been an informal ministerial. He said that a formal tasking from the NAC was now needed to actually begin the reengagement process. END SUMMARY Afghanistan -------------- USNATO 00000288 002 OF 004 ¶2. (C/REL NATO) Karzai Confident: NATO Senior Civilian Representative (SCR) Ambassador Fernando Gentilini provided the North Atlantic Council (NAC) with a field update and security assessment on preparations for the August 20 presidential and Provincial Council elections. Gentilini said that Karzai was confident he would win the presidential election. Gentilini cautioned that NATO should not express preference for one particular candidate, but should instead be impartial. Gentilini reminded the Council that the success of the elections would depend on Afghan public perception, adding that the international community had to walk a narrow path between providing for a level playing field for the candidates and violating the principle of non-interference. ¶3. (C/REL NATO) Four Election Issues: According to Gentilini opposition candidates had focused on four issues regarding the upcoming elections: media access, transport, security, and the need for international observers. Gentilini confirmed that Karzai had not yet signed the media law, but added that in his view the situation was not too bad. He said that private television coverage of opposition candidates was good and that the candidates (including Karzai) had agreed to election debates with media access. Gentilini said that Minister of Defense Wardak had promised air transport, while noting that ISAF stood ready to back-fill this capability if needed. On security, Gentilini said that Minister of Interior Atmar had announced he would provide close protection teams for presidential candidates. While assessing that the security plan for election was generally on track, he did caution that it was incomplete in some parts. He said that the Afghan army was advanced, but police were lagging behind. Gentilini also said that his office was in touch with the OSCE and EU on the issue of election monitors, leading Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer to note that he would distribute a letter he had received from his counterpart at the OSCE requesting ISAF support for OSCE election observers. Gentilini added that in addition to the EU and OSCE monitoring missions, there would be approximately 8,000 Afghan observers (currently in training) stationed around the country. ¶4. (C/REL NATO) Elections preparation assessment: The SCR encouraged donors to act now with civilian and military contributions rather than waiting until after the elections, as new resources would take time to become fully operational. Gentilini stressed that the release of results information would have to be handled carefully. He quoted UN Special Representative Eide's remarks that the day after the election would be "unpredictable and volatile." Gentilini also stressed that the elections were a "one-shot event," but were a part of a process. ¶5. (C/REL NATO) PRT support and election monitors: Gentilini encouraged Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) to support the elections. The UK announced that its PRT in Helmand would provide logistical support to the EU's election observer mission. ¶6. (C/REL NATO) Status of integrated approach pilot districts: Responding to a French request for a status update on the five identified pilot districts for the UN's "integrated approach," SCR Gentilini said the program would USNATO 00000288 003 OF 004 need renewed energy following elections since district officials, Afghan forces, PRTs, and international troops were almost exclusively focused on the elections. ¶7. (C/REL NATO) AWACS: The deployment of three NATO AWACS planes to the NATO Forward Operating Base at Konya, Turkey, is complete, with operations ready to commence once overflight rights have been obtained. Luxembourg noted that clearance had been received from Armenia, but was still pending from Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. ¶8. (C/REL NATO) NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan (NTM-A): The Chairman of the NATO Military Committee Admiral Di Paola reassured PermReps that SHAPE would provide the Council an interim update on NTM-A implementation in mid-July. ¶9. (C/REL NATO) Italy Contributes to NATO TV: Italy said that with the Secretary General's personal intervention, Italian PM Berlusconi had decided to make a contribution to NATO TV and the Media Operations Center. This contribution would be a join venture between the PM and RAI TV. The contribution would include the provision of a communications expert to the Media Operations Center at NATO HQ and technical equipment. Italy was also exploring the possibility of providing relevant training courses for Afghans. The contribution would be made for one year, with the possibility that it might continue. ¶10. (C/REL NATO) While Slovakia contributes troops: Slovakia announced the addition of sixteen personnel (a medical unit and combat troops) who will deploy to support Oruzgan and Helmand during the elections and stay on through the end of the ISAF operation. This contribution will boost Slovakia's troop total to 262. ¶11. (C/REL NATO) No Iran unrest fallout: In response to a question from Poland, Gentilini said that there was no obvious spillover into Afghanistan of the unrest in Iran. ¶12. (C/REL NATO) The New Team: Gentilini noted that a transformation of personnel was taking place in Kabul, with a new Commander of ISAF and a new U.S. Ambassador. He also noted the upcoming changes in Brussels: a new Secretary General and a new SACEUR. He said that there seemed to be a lot of determination to work as a team, adding that he had good relations with the new COMISAF Gen. McChrystal, adding that he shared McChrystal's view that avoiding civilian casualties was a strategic priority. Balkans -------------- ¶13. (C) The Secretary General (SYG) said he expected to circulate during the week of July 6 SACEUR's recommendation to the Council that KFOR move to Deterrent Presence Gate I (10,000 troops). The Secretary General said that NATO's Policy Coordination Group (PCG) would review the recommendation and provide its advice before the NAC takes a final decision. (Note: SACEUR's recommendation received Military Committee approval on 1 July.) ¶14. (C) The SYG stressed that the Alliance needs to do everything possible to fill the gap in funding the Kosovo Security Force (KSF). The Council agreed to task the USNATO 00000288 004 OF 004 International Staff (IS) to review options for opening the KSF trust fund for contributions from beyond NATO and non-NATO KFOR members. The Council also agreed to a SYG proposal to task NATO Military Authorities to provide an update on key KSF equipment requirements. Piracy -------------- ¶15. (C) The SYG said the NATO International Staff recently had met with the Ambassador of Kenya in Brussels who had indicated Kenyan interest in negotiating a legal arrangement for the transfer of captured pirates. According to the SYG, the Kenyan Ambassador said that Nairobi would like to base such an agreement on the one it had already agreed with the EU. The Secretary General also reported that the Ambassador had said that any assistance to support Kenya "would be welcome." The Kenyan Ambassador had also stressed the need to address the root causes of piracy in Somalia. The Secretary General said that the International Staff would soon begin negotiations with the Seychelles and Djibouti on possible legal arrangements for the detention of pirates, adding that a meeting with Tanzanian officials was also planned. ¶16. (C) The Chairman of the NATO Military Committee said Standing NATO Maritime Group-2 (SNMG-2) had replaced SNMG-1 for counter-piracy operations. SACEUR had placed SNMG-1 under the command of JFC Lisbon in anticipation of approval of the Operational Plan for Operation Ocean Shield, NATO's long-term counter-piracy mission. Iraq -------------- ¶17. (C/REL NATO) The Secretary General reported that the Legal Advisor for the Iraqi Ministry of Defense was in Brussels in order to complete negotiations on the full text of an agreement providing a legal framework for the NATO Training Mission-Iraq. The Secretary General reminded Allies that they had already agreed in principle to the text's jurisdiction-related language. (Note: A complete version of the text was e-mailed to EUR/RPM.) NRC Wash-up -------------- ¶18. (C/REL NATO) Canada asked the Secretary General how he planned to take NATO-Russia Council (NRC) military-to-military cooperation forward given that the June 27 NRC ministerial in Corfu had been informal and had not even been called into a short formal session to take decisions. While agreeing that the ministerial had been informal, the Secretary General recalled that he had said at the ministerial that he took it that "we can agree to the resumption of mil-mil cooperation" and that no one had objected. He said that he took it that there was therefore an agreement in principle to restarting this cooperation. Nevertheless, he said that a NAC tasking would now be needed to begin the formal process of restarting this cooperation. DAALDER