OSCE,S CORFU PROCESS COMES A BIT MORE INTO FOCUS

UNCLAS USOSCE 000181

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL OSCE RU
SUBJECT: OSCE,S CORFU PROCESS COMES A BIT MORE INTO FOCUS


1. Summary: The OSCE,s Greek Chairmanship has assembled an
outline for how it intends to proceed this autumn on a
comprehensive review of European security, known as the Corfu
process. Leading up to a possible declaration or decision at
the December 1-2 Athens Ministerial the Greek chairmanship
intends to convene a series of weekly informal Perm Rep
meetings to look at existing commitments, conflict
resolution and challenges in each of the three OSCE
Dimensions ) human, economic and politico-military. A
high degree of uncertainty remains about where the Greeks are
going with this and what will be the actual result. End
summary.


2. On July 31 the OSCE,s Greek Chairmanship distributed an
indicative list of topics and schedule for &Corfu Meetings
in the framework of the European Security Dialogue8
(document CIO.GAL/98/09). Designed to provide Vienna
Delegations with a clearer idea of the scope and extent of
the Corfu process from September until the Athens
Ministerial, the list of topics to be discussed encompasses
five main themes:
a) Common Foundations and Commitments in the OSCE Area
b) Common Challenges of a Politico-Military Nature
c) Conflict Resolution in the OSCE area
d) Common Challenges in the Human Dimension
e) Common Challenges related to the Economic and
Environmental Dimension

PermReps will discuss these themes through the prism of the
basic OSCE principles of comprehensive and indivisible
security, existing commitments and the need for strengthened
cooperation on crisis management, arms control and responses
to new challenges. The aim will be to identify areas where
the OSCE has failed to live up to its principles, where
commitments have not been fulfilled and OSCE mechanisms and
procedures that failed to perform fully or to their intended
purpose.


3. The Greeks envision ten PermRep meetings, held weekly on
most Tuesdays starting September 8 and culminating in a
Reinforced PC November 24 in preparation for the Athens
Ministerial. Of the ten meetings, two will be devoted to
each of the three dimensions, while one will be a joint
FSC-PC to review the 2009 Annual Security Review Conference
and another will consider conflict resolution in the OSCE
area.


4. The inaugural meeting September 8 will focus on
implementation of norms and principles of international law
in the OSCE area and will feature a presentation by
Ambassador Herbert Salber, Director of the OSCE,s Conflict
Prevention Center. (Note: Salber is reportedly a bit baffled
by his mandate; his staff tells us the Greeks summarily
informed him at the last minute of the date of the meeting
and topic, but have said nothing else in terms of goals and
expectations).


5. Although this process was established in response to an
initiative last year by Russian President Medvedev, the
Russians have so far displayed a marked disinterest in the
Greek plans. Greek Ambassador Marinaki told us July 28 that
she had received little feedback from Russian Ambassador
Azimov on the Greek plans. At an Ambassadorial-level
discussion July 21, Azimov, while paying lip service to the
concept of comprehensive security and to a central OSCE role
in the process, restated Russia,s desire to keep the
dialogue focused on hard security. Subsequent informal
contacts with members of the Russian delegation seem to
confirm their current lack of serious intention to engage in
the process.


6. Comment. While the list and principles from the Greeks
is helpful, it remains unclear what the final product put
before Ministers in December will actually entail. As we
have repeatedly emphasized to the Greeks in Vienna, the
substance must drive the process. We will need to see a
critical mass of relevant issues and a workable basis for a
dialogue (necessarily involving some Russian buy in) to
emerge before committing to any sort of end product for
Ministers to endorse in December.
NEIGHBOUR