GERMANS PUSH NATO DEBATE ON NUCLEAR WEAPONS

S E C R E T USNATO 000498

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/03/2019
TAGS: MNUC PREL KACT NATO
SUBJECT: GERMANS PUSH NATO DEBATE ON NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Classified By: Ambassador Ivo H. Daalder for Reasons 1.4(b) & (d)


1. (S) Summary: In his first meetings with two NATO
counterparts and NATO Secretary General Rasmussen, German
Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle is pushing his
government's new policy to seek the withdrawal of U.S.
nuclear weapons from German soil. In discussions with Dutch
FM Verhagen, Belgian FM Leterme, and SYG Rasmussen,
Westerwelle explained the decision taken by the new German
government in its coalition agreement. After our
conversations with Allies, the SYG, and contacts, USNATO
understands that, in each of these meetings, the FM has
stressed that Berlin will act based on consensus within NATO
-- and not unilaterally-- to move the Alliance closer to
President Obama's Prague vision of a world without nuclear
weapons. End Summary.


2. (S) On November 2, Dutch FM Verhagen and German FM
Westerwelle met in the Hague in Westerwelle's first foreign
travel as the new German FM. During the meeting, FM Verhagen
explained to Westerwelle that he has had a long-term interest
in nuclear weapons basing in Europe and was eager to pursue
the goal of a "nuclear weapons free world." Westerwelle
described the coalition agreement of his newly formed
government and its call for consultations with NATO Allies on
the removal of nuclear weapons from Germany. FM Verhagen
emphasized with Westerwelle that Germany should take "no
unilateral steps" on the issue, but should urge the
withdrawal of nuclear weapons from German soil only within
the context of NATO.


3. (S) On November 3, in a meeting with NATO SYG Rasmussen,
Westerwelle told the SYG that a "nuclear-free Germany was a
good vision," but he added that Germany would pursue that
vision within NATO. Rasmussen stressed the importance of
addressing the issue among the 28 NATO Allies after full
consultations and noted, at the request of USNATO, that the
United States wished to address the issue in a NATO context
only.


4. (S) Also on November 3, German FM Westerwelle plans to
meet Belgian FM Leterme. U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Howard
Gutman spoke at length with Leterme's chief of staff, Frans
Van Daele, who most recently served as Belgium's Permanent
Representative to NATO, to discuss FM Leterme's position on
forward-basing of nuclear weapons. Van Daele told Ambassador
Gutman that Belgium only wished to discuss nuclear weapons
basing within NATO as a whole and in the larger context of
the drafting of the Strategic Concept.


5. (S) Comment: Despite some suggestions to the contrary in
media reporting, Germany is not/not pursing bilateral or
trilateral talks with Belgium and the Netherlands to achieve
a joint position on the presence of U.S. nuclear weapons in
Europe. What the new FM's first diplomatic forays underscore
is that the new German government is committed to achieve the
withdrawal of U.S. nuclear weapons from Germany. The German
Deputy Permanent Representative to NATO, Dirk Brengelmann
(protect),told USNATO that this decision "will not go away."
The recent coalition agreement comes from a central-right
government with a Minister of Defense from the conservative
CSU party-- a part of Germany's government that has always
been a staunch supporter of nuclear weapons basing in
Germany. However, Germany also is intent on pursing the goal
in the multilateral context of NATO during what, no doubt,
will be lengthy consultations with NATO's 28 Allies in the
months and years to come. End Comment.
HEFFERN