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.

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Russia Mocks Allies' Statements
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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.

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JCG Draft Contribution Discussed
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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.

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Duration of Present Session
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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.

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Next Meeting
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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