NATO-RUSSIA: RUSSIA OFFERS LITTLE AT AFGHANISTAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 USNATO 000491

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/30/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR MOPS NATO AF PK RS
SUBJECT: NATO-RUSSIA: RUSSIA OFFERS LITTLE AT AFGHANISTAN
FORUM

Classified By: Charge John Heffern for reaons 1.4 (b/d).


1. (C) Summary: The NATO-Russia Council (NRC) held an
October 21 discussion on Afghanistan and Pakistan that saw
the U.S. and Allies ask Russia to provide additional
assistance to Afghanistan, while Moscow offered nothing
concrete and reiterated its call for the Alliance to work
with the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) on
counter-narcotics. D/SRAP Jones thanked Russia for support
in the form of transit agreements and suggested that Moscow
resume lethal equipment donations to Kabul, as requested by
the Afghan Minister of Interior, and help repair Afghan
infrastructure. Allies also asked Russia to expand the
limited NATO-Russia transit arrangement to match the
agreements Russia has with the U.S., provide helicopters to
Afghanistan, and help diplomatically with Afghanistan's
neighbors, including Iran. End summary.

Russia Calls for Standing NRC Dialogue on Afghanistan
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2. (C) The October 21 NRC discussion on Afghanistan and
Pakistan brought to NATO experts from 10 of the 28 Allied
capitals, including Deputy to the Special Representative for
Afghanistan and Pakistan (D/SRAP) Paul Jones for the U.S.,
and two from Moscow, MFA Second Asia Department Deputy
Director Ali Mustafabeli and CSTO Secretariat Representative
Mikhail Melikhov. Russian Representative to NATO Ambassador
Dmitri Rogozin kicked off the Russian presentation by
reiterating that he hoped the meeting was the beginning of a
permanent NRC discussion on Afghanistan, then passed around
photographs from Afghanistan showing a heavy Russian
helicopter lifting a Chinook that had engine trouble as a
demonstration of potential NATO-Russia cooperation. He asked
that General McChrystal brief the NRC, reiterated his
proposal to arrange meetings between Russian and ISAF
veterans of Afghanistan, and mentioned Russia's hope to
overcome existing legal barriers to selling helicopters to
NATO.


3. (C) Mustafabeli cited past Russian support to Afghanistan
and remarked that Russia stood "ready" to provide further
assistance, including through the NRC, but offered no
specifics. He cited the impact of Afghan narcotics upon
Russia, mentioning that many Russians believed that Afghan
drug trafficking was purposely aimed at their country, making
it imperative that NATO address this issue. Mustafabeli
lamented NATO's decision not to work with the CSTO on
counter-narcotics, saying that we should "pool our
resources." He said Russia supported OSCE projects in the
region, but reiterated Moscow's concern over security for
projects in Afghanistan itself.


4. (C) Mustafabeli stressed the need to recognize the Afghans
who demonstrated support for their government by
participating in the recent election. He thought the
Pakistani leadership understood the need to fight extremists
and cautioned that it would be a "great mistake" to introduce
foreign troops there. Russia was actively discussing the
situation with Islamabad, including at the last Shanghai
Cooperation Organization (SCO) conference held in Russia that
brought together the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Mustafabeli said that Iran, as an important regional power,
must also factor into South Asian stability.


5. (C) The CSTO's Melikhov gave an overview of the
organization's counter-narcotics effort, Operation Canal, and
urged NATO, the EU, and OSCE to work with the CSTO to address
the threat from Afghan narcotics.

U.S. Calls for Russian Aid To Kabul
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6. (C) D/SRAP Jones thanked Russia for its support to
Afghanistan, citing previous Russian military donations
totaling 90 million USD from 2003-2005, food aid, and the
recent lethal and non-lethal transit agreements. He called

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for additional Russian in-kind donations, including
helicopters and refurbishment of Soviet-built hydroelectric
power plants in the north. Jones also made a call to NRC
members to consider importing agricultural products to help
initiate and increase Afghan agricultural exports. Jones
highlighted the success of the NRC counter-narcotics training
program for Afghan and Central Asian narcotics and law
enforcement officials, and an upcoming December bilateral
meeting hosted by Rosfinmonitoring in Moscow that would focus
on controlling illicit finances that stemmed from the Afghan
narcotics trade. On Pakistan, Jones briefed on the current
U.S. focus to address the nation's energy crisis, and
assisting internal refugees. He encouraged other countries
to offer assistance along these lines, as well as for the
reconstruction phase ahead, in order to achieve long-term
stability in the Swat Valley and surrounding areas.

UK May Send More Troops
--------------


7. (C) The UK's FCO Director for South Asia and Afghanistan
Karen Pierce stressed the need for the new Afghan government
to appoint the right people at the provincial and district
level in order to address the poor delivery of basic
services. She called for a more focused dialogue between
Kabul and the regions that would help strike the correct
balance of power and make Afghanistan a functioning state.
Pierce reminded the NRC that PM Brown said that the UK was
ready to send more troops to Afghanistan if it had a credible
government. She thought the NRC could make concrete
contributions by extending the scope of the NATO-Russia
transit arrangement, improve the NRC counter-narcotics
project, have Russia deliver military equipment to Kabul, and
assist with re-engineering the Afghans' Soviet-era
helicopters.

Allies Want Russia to do More
--------------


8. (C) Allies commented generally on the situation in
Afghanistan, while focusing on additional Russian assistance:

-- Czech PermRep Povejsil thought Russia could use its
experience to reconstruct Afghan dams and irrigation
projects, and called upon Russia to provide support for
Afghan National Security forces. He used the example of the
Czech donation of 12 helicopters to the Afghan National Army
and sending a training team for pilots to Kabul as the type
of activity Russia could undertake. He asked that Russia
consider implementing projects with tangible deliverables to
help inject "new life" into the NRC.

-- Norway agreed with Russia on the necessity to bring in all
regional actors, and thought that Russian diplomacy could be
a means to "deliver" Iran as a more positive force. He
thought the NRC should focus on practical cooperation to
stabilize Afghanistan, including an expanded transit
arrangement and Russian assistance to Afghan security forces,
before turning to a larger political dialogue.

-- Chief of the Romanian MFA's Afghanistan-Pakistan Unit,
Sever Cout, called for expanding the NATO-Russia transit
arrangement to match the bilateral U.S.-Russia lethal transit
agreement.

-- Italian PermRep Stefanini commented that Russian interest
in holding this discussion confirmed its willingness to
cooperate with NATO on Afghanistan. Italian Deputy Special
Envoy for Afghanistan Mercuri cited the SCO special
conference on Afghanistan, held in Moscow in March, as an
example of expanded regional cooperation on this issue.

-- Turkish PermRep Berk cited Ankara's initiation of
tri-lateral summits that included leaders from Kabul and
Islamabad, and explained that the next meeting would include
other Afghan neighbors.


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-- Jerzy Wieclaw, head of the Polish MFA's Afghanistan Task
Force and former Ambassador in Kabul, said the Polish
experience in Ghazni province demonstrated the complexity of
Afghan society and the need for capable local governments.
He thought ISAF and Afghan forces must provide adequate
security to allow local officials to "show up and stay in
their offices." On Pakistan, Wieclaw stressed the need to
provide secular education, and warned against ignoring the
growth of extremism in the southern Punjab province while
attention was directed on Pakistan's north.

NRC Counter-Narcotics Program
--------------


9. (C) Germany and Norway announced their contributions to
the NRC counter-narcotics training program budget for 2010,
committing 100,000 Euros and 100,000 USD respectively. The
U.S. was recognized for having already committed 100,000 USD.

Comment
--------------


10. (C) Allies were disappointed in the relatively low level
of Russian participation in the NRC meeting, as well as
Moscow's failure to bring anything new to the table regarding
assistance to Afghanistan. This situation does not bode well
for Russia's call for NATO and Russia to have a regular
political discussion on Afghanistan, or for Moscow's
insistence that the NRC include an Afghanistan working group.


11. (U) This cable was cleared by D/SRAP Jones.
HEFFERN