CFE/JCG: OCTOBER 27: RUSSIA MOCKS ALLIED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 USOSCE 000244 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR VCI/CCA, EUR/RPM NSC FOR FRIEDT, NILSSON, HAYDEN JCS FOR J5 NORWOOD, COL SMITH OSD FOR ISA (KEHL, WALLENDER) E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/20/2018 TAGS: KCFE OSCE PARM PREL SUBJECT: CFE/JCG: OCTOBER 27: RUSSIA MOCKS ALLIED STATEMENTS; DELEGATIONS DISCUSS MINISTERIAL DECLARATION REF: STATE 109963 Classified By: Acting Chief Arms Control Delegate Chris Ellis, for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) Summary: At the October 27 JCG plenary, Romania supported by 13 other delegations including the U.S., criticized the Russian Federation for refusing a recent CFE inspection request. Delegations discussed a draft JCG political contribution to the Ministerial declaration proposed by Denmark, Spain, and France. The U.S., supported by the UK and Turkey, cautioned that consideration of a draft Ministerial paragraph was premature; the first order of business should be the JCG Chairman's letter. A draft decision on the duration of the present JCG session and the commencement of the next session was circulated. Washington, please see request for guidance in paragraph 7. End summary. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Russia Mocks Allies' Statements - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (SBU) The October 27 JCG plenary was chaired by Denmark. Romania, supported by 13 other delegations including the U.S., raised the Russian Federation's refusal of Romania's October 21 request to conduct a CFE inspection. Russia's Head of Arms Control Delegation Ambassador Ulyanov mocked the Romanian and Allied statements in support of the CFE Treaty as a routine exercise similar to "getting up every day and working out." Ulyanov warned the more words are repeated, the less value they have. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - JCG Draft Contribution Discussed - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶3. (SBU) The Chair (Petersen) sought preliminary reactions to the draft contribution to the Ministerial declaration it circulated to all JCG delegations for consideration the previous week (JCG.DEL/2/09 reported USOCSE 230). Russia said arguing over the semantics of a meaningless text was "hardly a practical approach." Ulyanov noted the focus of the text should be on underlining conventional arms control continues to play a crucial role in enhancing the security and stability of Europe. Kazakhstan (Tulakbeyev) supported the Russian position. The Chair responded that the draft text focused on CFE because it was the JCG's responsibility precisely to deal with issues arising from CFE implementation. ¶4. (SBU) Turkey (Begec) cautioned the draft Ministerial declaration went beyond the realm of JCG and CFE, noting that for 7 years OSCE participating States had failed to reach a political declaration. He added the stakes were raised this year as the December Ministerial declaration would be linked to the Corfu Process. Greece (Sourani) on behalf of the Chairman in Office thanked the JCG Chair for its efforts on the draft text and emphasized just because a political declaration had failed in preceding years, this did not suggest delegations should not strive for a declaration this year. She added that every attempt to make a contribution would be a valuable act of "doing our duty," reminding delegations a Corfu outcome document would not mention CFE but would be more strategic. ¶5. (SBU) The U.S. (Ellis) warned against getting ahead of our authorities (reftel). He said there was still time between now and the Ministerial for developments. Meanwhile, as has been normal practice, he advocated the first step was to consider the JCG Chairman's letter and then, closer to December, begin thinking about the JCG Ministerial contribution. Ellis also underscored any JCG contribution should accurately reflect the current situation regarding CFE. The UK and Turkey supported this approach. USOSCE 00000244 002 OF 002 ¶6. (SBU) Spain, as incoming JCG chair (Sabadell),noted it thought to work the Ministerial paragraph first because it was a "shorter text that could be adopted more easily." Spain indicated it would circulate a draft Chairman's letter in the coming days so that delegations could work on the two texts in parallel. Italy (Negro) said the draft proposal for the Ministerial declaration was "a good basis to start" and recalled that "all our efforts should be to find consensus and adopt a declaration which has been missing for a long time." ¶7. (C) On the margins of the JCG, Turkey expressed disappointment that Denmark, France, and Spain had not consulted Allies prior to circulating their proposed text to all JCG delegations. At the October 28 NATO Caucus, Turkey's Ambassador Buluc complained that the draft paragraph should have first been processed at the Caucus level. Spain (Aguado) responded that the draft was circulated via email to the NATO-T the Friday before the JCG plenary (NOTE: the following Monday was Austrian National Day and offices were closed. End note.). He added that the paragraph was not intended to be a NATO statement, so the language was drafted to garner consensus at 56. The U.S. (Fuller) reinforced the point that discussion of a JCG contribution ahead of the November 5 HLTF was premature. She underlined that our first task was the JCG Chairman's letter. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Duration of Present Session - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶8. (SBU) The Chair recommended that the current JCG session end on December 18 with the last plenary taking place on December 15. He suggested that the next JCG session begin on January 11 with the first plenary to be held on January 19. A draft decision (JCG.DD/2/09) was circulated for review before the next plenary. Mission requests guidance on proposed dates. - - - - - - - Next Meeting - - - - - - - ¶9. (U) The next JCG plenary will be on November 3 under the chairmanship of Spain. The NATO-T, chaired by Croatia, will take place on November 2. FULLER