Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09USNATO388
2009-09-11 18:16:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Mission USNATO
Cable title:  

SEPTEMBER 8 NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL MEETING:

Tags:  PREL NATO MARR MOPS UN AF PK UK XG RS 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 USNATO 000388 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/10/2019
TAGS: PREL NATO MARR MOPS UN AF PK UK XG RS
SUBJECT: SEPTEMBER 8 NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL MEETING:
AFGHANISTAN, UN, RUSSIA, WESTERN BALKANS

Classified By: A/PolAd A. "Hoot" Baez. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 USNATO 000388

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/10/2019
TAGS: PREL NATO MARR MOPS UN AF PK UK XG RS
SUBJECT: SEPTEMBER 8 NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL MEETING:
AFGHANISTAN, UN, RUSSIA, WESTERN BALKANS

Classified By: A/PolAd A. "Hoot" Baez. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C/REL ISAF) Summary from the September 8 meeting of the
North Atlantic Council:

Afghanistan: At the September 8 meeting of the North
Atlantic Council (NAC),Secretary General Rasmussen told
Allies that he expected to get the Commander of ISAF's
strategic assessment of the situation in Afghanistan no later
than early in the week of September 14, promising that after
receiving it he would distribute it and schedule a Council
discussion of it. The NAC discussed alternative long-term
basing options for Airborne Warning and Control Systems
(AWACS) for Afghanistan following a discouraging letter from
the UAE. The UK said that they had received positive signals
bilaterally from Oman that AWACS could be based there as a
"short-term" interim solution through the end of 2009.
Several Allies offered updates on arrangements for
over-flight of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan by temporarily
deployed AWACS from Konya, Turkey. Allies welcomed the
UK-German-French proposal for an international conference
following the announcement official results of Afghan
elections. Such a conference should define the international
community's role in Afghanistan and lay out its expectations
of the new Afghan government, particularly on delivering
better governance and redesigning a reintegration and
reconciliation plan. Allies acknowledged that this event may
occur a full year ahead of the London Compact's expiration in
October 2010. Germany called for a united press stance on
the September 4 NATO airstrike in Kunduz province while the
investigation continued. Rasmussen stressed the need to
avoid the appearance that Allies were being divided by this
issue.

NATO-UN Relations: (C/REL NATO) NATO Assistant Secretary
General briefed that NATO-UN relations were a "all-in-all a
positive story," but did admit to continuing suspicion of the
Alliance in New York. The Secretary General (SYG) said he

would convey to the UN Secretary General during the UN
General Assembly his ambition to establish a structured,
predictable, and pragmatic NATO-UN relationship. The U.S.,
supported by France, Germany, and Spain, endorsed continued
deepening of NATO-UN cooperation, particularly on
Afghanistan. Norway, supported by Canada, the Netherlands,
Romania, and Spain, called for Allied diplomatic missions to
the UN in New York to coordinate common approaches.
Russian Exercises: (C/REL NATO) Estonia, supported by Poland
and Lithuania, called on the Alliance to take interest in two
significant Russian exercises to take place near the Baltic
states and in Belarus. Adm. Di Paola said the IMS would be
ready to brief the Council on the exercises after their
completion, and the SYG said NATO would continue to monitor
the situation.


USNATO 00000388 002 OF 005


Trip to the Western Balkans: (C/REL NATO) Norway and Hungary
indicated their intention to press for a NAC trip to the
Western Balkans, pushing back against the Secretary General
who has indicated he does not intend to schedule such a trip
in the near future.

--------------
Afghanistan
--------------


2. (C/REL ISAF) Strategic Assessment: NATO Secretary General
(SYG) Rasmussen told Allies that he expected to receive the
strategic assessment of the situation in Afghanistan which
was conducted by ISAF Commander GEN McChrystal no later than
the early part of the week beginning September 14. He
pledged to quickly distribute it and to schedule a Council
discussion of it.


3. (C/REL ISAF) AWACS Long-term Basing: Rasmussen said he
received a discouraging letter from the UAE last week on
long-term basing for Airborne Warning and Control Systems
(AWACS) for Afghanistan. The UAE maintained that
jurisdiction over foreign military personnel was a
constitutionally inflexible issue, leaving Abu Dhabi unable
to accept NATO's proposal. While not abandoning continued
negotiations with the UAE outright, the SYG said that the
NATO International Staff would approach Oman and Bahrain to
see whether they might be receptive to hosting the planes.
The SYG suspected that Bahrain may have a similar position to
UAE on personnel jurisdiction issues, and noted that
solutions in Bahrain or Oman would require over-flight
permission from Pakistan. The Chairman of the NATO Military
Committee (CMC),Admiral Di Paola, added that Dushanbe,
Tajikistan, and Termez, Uzbekistan, had been considered as
options, but were low priority due to prevailing security
concerns, altitude, and unpredictable weather. The CMC said
current security conditions would not permit ISAF to explore
long-term basing in Afghanistan at this time. Germany asked
that negotiations with the UAE continue despite frustrations.


4. (C/REL ISAF) AWACS Short-term Basing: On a more positive
note, the UK said they had received positive signals during
bilateral discussions with Oman that the Alliance may be able
to use UK AWACS based in Oman as a short-term solution
through the end of 2009. The SYG welcomed the offer. He
acknowledged that Azerbaijan had relaxed its stance on
over-flight of temporarily deployed AWACS from Konya, Turkey,
as long as surveillance and radar equipment was turned off
(Luxembourg was prepared to finalize these arrangements with
Azerbaijan). The CMC, however, said a follow-on request by
Baku to have an Azeri observer aboard each flight was
unwelcome and would be difficult to carry out since the
flights were supposed to be non-stop. Nevertheless, he did
not rule the idea out entirely, noting that NATO Military

USNATO 00000388 003 OF 005


Authorities could include an observer on a test flight if
necessary. The SYG said the Azeri and Turkmen requirement
for 14-day advance notification of each flight remained
problematic. Romania, which operates the NATO Contact Point
Embassy in Baku, thought Azerbaijan may offer more
flexibility on pre-notification. Poland, representing the
Ashgabat Contact Point Embassy, said there was a chance that
Turkmenistan would follow Baku's lead. Romania suggested a
high level demarche from NATO to Turkmenistan, possibly to be
delivered on the margins of the September UN General
Assembly, requesting over-flight permission. Poland
advocated a softer approach to avoid the official involvement
of the Turkmen President. The Secretary General sought and
received Allied agreement to run a test as soon as possible
to see whether Azerbaijan and Turmenistan would actually
approve an overflight request.


5. (C/REL ISAF) Elections, Future Compacts: The SYG and
Allies endorsed the UK-French-German proposal for a
post-elections conference on the international community's
relationship with the new Afghan government. Nations agreed
that the conference should aim to define what the
international community could expect from the new Afghan
government on improved governance and a reintegration or
reconciliation program. Allies also wanted to ask the Afghan
government for greater consistency and responsibility in its
attitude toward the international community, while renewing
the international community's commitment as full partners.
Several Allies emphasized that the proposed conference on
engagement with the new Afghan government would mark a new
departure point for the international community's relations
with Afghanistan, even though it would occur a full year
prior to the London Compact's expiration in October 2010.
The SYG agreed to a UK suggestion that the Council should
hold an instructed debate on a "handling strategy" for the
new Afghan government prior to the international conference.



6. (C/REL ISAF) Reactions to the Kunduz airstrike: The
German Charge reported that his government was "taken aback
by some unhelpful statements" by some Allies in the aftermath
of the airstrike in Kunduz, at least partly alluding to press
reports claiming a potential U.S.-German rift over the
operation. He noted that the decision to call for air power
by the German PRT commander was not taken lightly, pointing
out that Germany has always tried to avoid the use of air
power where possible. He said the investigation was ongoing,
but the Germans understood that 12 injured individuals
remained in hospitals and 56 people had died in the
airstrike. Hungary and Albania echoed the German call for
Alliance solidarity and a united press stance through the
investigation of this incident, noting that "it could happen
to any Ally." The Secretary General issued a similar call
for Alliance unity on this issue, arguing that "we have a

USNATO 00000388 004 OF 005


common responsibility not to bring the German government into
any problems." The Chairman of the Military noted that the
investigation into the incident was coordinated with UNAMA
and the Afghans.

--------------
NATO-UN RELATIONS
--------------


7. (C/REL NATO) NATO Assistant Secretary General Martin
Erdmann briefed Allies on the Alliance's progress in
developing relations with the UN, arguing that it is
"all-in-all a positive story" while at the same time noting
that he could not yet call it a "success story." He said
that while suspicion about NATO in New York was fading away
it was nevertheless still there, adding that this suspicion
was stronger among some of the membership than within the UN
Secretariat. In terms of moving forward, Erdmann said that
two organizations should take further steps to build trust
and confidence. He said that NATO should maintain a
pragmatic approach. He also said that the Alliance should
seek greater coordination, including within the Alliance.
The Secretary General (SYG) said he would convey to the UN
Secretary General during the UN General Assembly his ambition
to put in place a structured, predictable, and pragmatic
NATO-UN relationship.

8. (C/REL NATO) The U.S., supported by France, Germany,and
Spain, called for continued deepening of NATO-UN cooperation
within the context of the Comprehensive Approach,
particularly with regard to Afghanistan. Spain, however,
also said that the relationship should remain pragmatic and
not move too fast. Portugal said NATO and the UN should
coordinate their messages to the post-election Afghan
government; the Netherlands suggested the two organizations
coordinate their efforts to establish security benchmarks.
Italy, Canada, and Spain said NATO-UN relations should be
considered in the Alliance's new Strategic Concept.

9. (C/REL NATO) Norway, supported by Canada, the Netherlands,
Romania, and Spain, called for increasing coordination
between Allied diplomatic missions to the UN in New York. In
making the suggestion, Norway noted that together NATO
nations contributed a significant portion of the UN's budget
and that this should be used to our advantage. Romania
suggested that the Alliance may even want to designate an
Allied mission in New York to play the role of a "contact
point embassy" to coordinate Allies' approach within the UN.
Erdmann agreed with Norway that right now NATO was "not
visible" in New York and it made it seem as if NATO nations
are not really interested in the relationship, adding that
there are some in New York who think the issue is a "hobby
horse" for the NATO International Staff.

10. (C/REL NATO) Italy noted that the suspicions of some UN
members about greater NATO-UN relations were more than mere
misperceptions. In was a clear reference to Moscow, Italy

USNATO 00000388 005 OF 005


said some UN members were actively trying to water down the
relationship and that for this reason--for once--NATO should
not engage in too much publicity about the relationship but
should instead keep in below "the screen." (Note: Russian
Ambassador to NATO Rogozin has complained about progress in
the relationship on more than one occasion.)
--------------
CONCERNS ABOUT RUSSIAN EXERCISES
--------------


10. (C/REL NATO) Estonia, supported by Poland and Lithuania,
called on the Alliance (both Allied nations and the
International Staff/International Military Staff) to take
interest in two significant Russian exercises to take place
near the Baltic states and in Belarus. He said he hoped that
the IMS could perhaps provide a report on the exercises.
Chairman of the Military Committee Di Paola said the IMS had
already briefed the Military Committee about the exercises,
adding that the IMS would continue to monitor the situation
and would be ready to brief the Council on the exercises
after their completion.

-------------- -
PermReps Raise NAC Trip to the Western Balkans
-------------- -


11. (C/REL NATO) Norway noted the announcement in the
Political Committee that the Secretary General did not
foresee a NAC trip to the Western Balkans in the upcoming
months and said that he intended to raise this issue during
an upcoming informal meeting of PermReps. Hungary agreed,
arguing that Allies needed to talk about a trip to the
Western Balkans.
DAALDER