OSCE MINISTERIAL LAUNCHES "CORFU PROCESS"

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 USOSCE 000164

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/15/2019
TAGS: PREL PINS RU OSCE
SUBJECT: OSCE MINISTERIAL LAUNCHES "CORFU PROCESS"

Classified By: CDA Kyle Scott for reasons 1.4(B)&(D).



1. (C) SUMMARY. The first-ever "informal" OSCE Ministerial
debated European security issues on June 27-28, revealing a
broad convergence among most delegations in support of the
U.S. approach that current European security institutions
remain sound (but could be improved),and that discussions on
any adjustments should be carried on within the OSCE to take
advantage of its broad geographic scope and its comprehensive
security approach involving not just military security but
also the economic and human dimensions of security.
Near-term steps were considered important to restore trust
and confidence badly shaken by last August's war in the South
Caucasus and the stalemate in the CFE regime. Many countries
encouraged greater focus on new threats that are felt most by
average citizenry, such as energy security, economic
uncertainty, the challenges posed by immigration, terrorism,
and cybercrime. With little to no support from other
countries, FM Lavrov of Russia stood alone in espousing a
radically different view, and continued to insist on a new
European Security Treaty (EST) to address fundamental
shortcomings in the current security architecture of Europe.
Despite the difference in substance , the Greek
Chairman-in-Office concluded the debate was fruitful enough
to declare "The Corfu Process" a success and to instruct the
Greek Chairmanship to lead a more intensive review of
European security throughout the fall in the OSCE in order to
pave the way for further ministerial consideration at the
December Athens Ministerial of the OSCE. END SUMMARY.

An OSCE First: An "Informal" Ministerial
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2. (SBU) The Corfu gathering was the first-ever "informal"
meeting of ministers from the OSCE's 56 participating States,
and attracted a strong turnout. It was preceded immediately
by a gathering of the NATO-Russia Council. Deputy Secretary
James Steinberg led the U.S. delegation, and was joined by
A/S Phil Gordon and NSC Europe Senior Director Liz
Sherwood-Randall. The original impetus for the gathering was
Russian President Medvedev's 2008 call for a new framework
for European security (including a European Security Treaty),
but last August's Russia-Georgia War gave new urgency to the
need to review security in Europe. The Greek Chair based its
approach on the informal luncheon discussion of broad
European security issues held at the December 2008 Helsinki
Ministerial, modeling it loosely on the EU's "Gymnich"-style
meetings.

The Three R's
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3. (SBU) The Greek CiO shaped the agenda around three R's:
"Reconfirm, Review, Renovate." They sought to have the OSCE
recommit to the basic principles of behavior enshrined in the
Helsinki Final Act, review how countries are fulfilling their
commitments in all three dimensions of OSCE engagement
(political-military, economic/environmental, and human
dimensions of security),and brainstorm on possible changes
or adjustments to improve the situation in order to restore
trust and chart a way forward for cooperation in the Eurasian
security space.

Broad Convergence of Views
--------------


4. (C) Although nuances were apparent, there was a broad
convergence of views among most OSCE participating States.
Many rallied around the points presented by Deputy Secretary
Steinberg: the OSCE's principles remain sound, its
three-pillar comprehensive approach is the right one, and the
root of the problem is not the institutions themselves but
the failure to take advantage of the tools at our disposal to
resolve problems in the OSCE region. More work may be needed
to focus on newer security challenges that resonate with the
public, such as terrorism, radicalization, energy security,
climate change, immigration, and economic dislocation. And
we should not hesitate to improve old tools or create new
ones as required. Positive steps on CFE and Georgia would
also help restore trust. (Montenegrin FM coined the current
situation of lack of mutual confidence as "The New
Mistrust.") The human dimension remained an important
element of European security that deserved equal attention.
Through a dinner discussion and two working sessions the next
day, speaker after speaker made similar points.

Russia Remains Odd Man Out
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5. (C) Despite the overwhelming sentiment in favor of this

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approach, Russian FM Lavrov continued to argue Russia's case
for a radical departure on security in Europe, and to express
caution about a central role for the OSCE in European
security discussions. He proclaimed that the principle of
"indivisibility" of security -- in which OSCE states pledged
not to enhance their security at the expense of others -- had
effectively collapsed, replaced by NATO and EU enlargement at
Russia's expense. (In response, the Deputy Secretary noted
that indivisibility of security went hand in hand with the
sovereign right of every country to choose its own security
arrangements; these were two sides of the same coin.
Similarly, Georgian FM Vashadze argued that NATO and EU
enlargements had rendered Europe more, not less, secure and
stable.) Russia believes the OSCE's comprehensive approach
has become imbalanced, with 80 percent of OSCE activities
allegedly devoted to the human dimension. In other areas,
OSCE states applied dual standards: for example worrying
about Georgian IDP's, but hardly paying attention to Europe's
largest group of IDP's -- Serbs displaced by the war in the
Balkans. Lavrov implicitly accused the EU of hypocrisy in
seeking to expel the UN from Kosovo, while at the same time
complaining about Russian actions that led to the end of
UNOMIG in Georgia. (This prompted French FM Kouchner to
retort that the comparison was "dishonest.") The
all-inclusive security of the OSCE region was now fragmented
into various security organizations, including NATO, the EU,
OSCE, CIS and CSTO, with no coordination or division of
labor, Lavrov stated. He repeated Russia's proposal for a
meeting of the secretariats of these five organizations in
2010 -- an idea that only Belarus explicitly endorsed. To
reverse the negative trends that Russia perceives, Lavrov
advocated a new EST that would aim to turn the political
commitments of the OSCE into legally binding obligations. On
this issue, he received support only from Belarus, Cyprus,
Serbia and to some extent also by Armenia. As an adjunct,
Lavrov called for further reforms of the OSCE to turn it into
a "normal" international organization.


Focus on Georgia
--------------


6. (C) Most ministers placed the responsibility squarely on
Russia's shoulders for forcing the closure of the OSCE
Mission to Georgia, and appealed to FM Lavrov to accept the
Greek Chairman's compromise proposal on the monitors. Russia
circulated a last-ditch alternative, but most delegations
concluded that it offered nothing new and failed the
fundamental test of a status neutral proposal. FM Bakoyannis
told the Deputy Secretary during their bilateral meeting that
she saw nothing new in the proposal, and would reject it in
short order during her bilateral meeting with Lavrov.
French FM Kouchner appealed to Russia to take the first steps
in making progress by allowing the remaining EU Monitoring
Mission access across the boundary line. Georgian DFM
Bokeria told Charge that Georgia appreciated the strong
support it had received.

New Threats: More Emphasis on Energy Security
--------------


7. (SBU) Most of the speakers called for a major focus on new
and emerging threats. While many of the concerns raised
(terrorism, globalization, WMD) were included in the OSCE's
2003 Maastricht "Strategy to Address Threats to Security and
Stability in the 21st Century," two issues received much more
prominent attention at Corfu -- energy security and
environmental dangers. Following the gas shut-off to Ukraine
this winter, energy security in particular was a matter that
was considered ripe for further attention, especially given
the OSCE's membership that includes consumer, producer, and
transit countries.

Protracted Conflicts
--------------


8. (SBU) Many speakers also put the spotlight on the
protracted conflicts that continue to afflict the OSCE
region. Serbian FM Jeremic referred to Kosovo as a "frozen
conflict." Most recognized the lack of progress by the OSCE
on these issues was a significant failure of the
organization, and called for renewed engagement and
consideration of new mechanisms and tools to prevent conflict
and support resolution.


Bakoyannis Sums Up: "The Corfu Process"
--------------


9. (SBU) At the end of the meeting, FM Bakoyannis summed up
her perception of what had been accomplished and what the

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next steps ought to be. The value of existing commitments
and their implementation had been reaffirmed, she said, but
there was general consensus to proceed with a "wide-ranging
dialogue on security anchored in the OSCE." The goal should
be a secure Europe able to respond to threats both old and
new. She proposed an initial set of consultations, based in
Vienna, to elicit a common understanding, in all three OSCE
dimensions, of the "priority threats to our wider security."
This would lead to a "more structured and focused" security
dialogue that, the results of which would be considered at
the Athens Ministerial in early December.

COMMENT
--------------


10. (C) Bakoyannis has set the stage for a detailed review of
all the various points raised during the course of the Corfu
meetings. This can be expected to carry on throughout the
fall. Obtaining a positive outcome will be difficult given
Russia's positions, and its antipathy to the OSCE and the
"Corfu process" suggests Moscow will continue to focus on its
EST proposal rather than measures to improve the OSCE's
crisis management and other tools. Nonetheless, in the
coming months, the U.S. delegation needs to be prepared to
delve into detail on all aspects of comprehensive security in
Europe, including discussions of "priority threats." To do
so effectively, we need to become more specific on the ideas
we have already presented for improving fulfillment of
commitments in the human dimension, possible new mechanisms
to deal with conflict prevention and resolution when
consensus is absent, future steps on energy and security, and
practical steps to strengthen confidence and trust in
Georgia. We will also need to decide how we want to proceed
on CFE, discussions about which will proceed on a separate
track and but which nevertheless remains a part of this
effort, especially given Russia's focus on "hard security."
Christensen