NATO-RUSSIA: RUSSIA PULLS THE PLUG ON NRC REFORM

C O N F I D E N T I A L USNATO 000526 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/17/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR NATO RS SUBJECT: NATO-RUSSIA: RUSSIA PULLS THE PLUG ON NRC REFORM REF: A. USNATO 514 ¶B. USNATO 518 ¶C. USNATO 523 Classified By: Ambassador Ivo Daalder for reasons 1.4 (b/d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Russia told the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) Preparatory Committee on November 17 that it was no longer interested in continuing six months of work on the reform document "Taking the NRC Forward," and urged the NRC to instead focus on the proposed Joint Review of common security challenges. Russia said that it had determined the political language in "Taking the NRC Forward" had lost its relevance, and was concerned that the NRC reform proposed in the document was "too drastic." Allies expressed dismay that Russia had wasted the NRC's efforts, and reminded the Russian delegation that the NRC was working on a package of deliverables for its December Ministerial, not simply the Joint Review. Unless otherwise directed, USNATO intends to join other Allies in a letter to the NATO Secretary General stating that it is not appropriate for us to begin work on the Joint Review considering the Russian decision to unilaterally torpedo "Taking the NRC Forward." End summary. Russia's Unilateral Decision -------------- ¶2. (C) Russian DCM Nikolai Korchunov told the NRC PrepCom on November 17 that Moscow questioned the relevance of the reform document "Taking the NRC Forward" and was not interested in working on it further. He explained that Russia considered much of the language in the document of limited significance since it was originally intended to address the political situation faced by the NRC prior to the Corfu Ministerial in June, a situation which no longer existed. Korchunov said that Moscow "had not been convinced" that restructuring the NRC would really take it forward, and considered the reform proposals under discussion too drastic. Russia wanted to examine how to best use the NRC's existing committees and working groups, and could consider some limited NRC reform on a "case-by-case basis." Korchunov said that in the meantime, we would need all of the existing NRC bodies to carry out the proposed Joint Review of 21st Century Security Challenges. Allies: Joint Review is not all for NRC -------------- ¶3. (C) Allies expressed considerable disappointment in Russia, although some said this decision was not surprising considering Moscow's often tepid interest in working constructively within the NRC (refs A and B). Allies pointed out that whereas Russian Ambassador to NATO Rogozin was fixated on the Joint Review during the November 11 NRC Ambassadorial meeting, NATO PermReps and the SecGen had agreed that the NRC was preparing a package of deliverables for the December Ministerial, of which the Joint Review was only a part (ref C). Allied PrepCom representatives reminded the Russian DCM that all 29 Ministers had tasked the NRC with "Taking the NRC Forward," and stressed that the Joint Review was not a substitute for a NRC agenda that was broader and more complex than a single initiative. Comment -------------- ¶4. (C) Russia's decision to end work on "Taking the NRC Forward" calls into question its intention to pursue constructive cooperation within the NRC. Russia clearly wants to keep the NRC a talking shop, the utility of which for Moscow is to interject Russia into NATO in a manner that exacerbates divisions within the Alliance. Moscow appears to have miscalculated, however, as its recent behavior in the NRC has created more unity among the Allies. ¶5. (C) Unless otherwise instructed, we intend to work with Allies on a letter to the SecGen stating that Russia's unilateral decision regarding "Taking the NRC Forward" necessitates that the NRC halt work on the draft Ministerial tasking to launch the Joint Review. DAALDER