GEORGIA PERMREP DISCUSSES UNOMIG WITH AMBASSADORS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000076

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/30/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV UNSC RS GG
SUBJECT: GEORGIA PERMREP DISCUSSES UNOMIG WITH AMBASSADORS
RICE, WOLFF AND DICARLO

REF: USUN 70

Classified By: AMBASSADOR SUSAN RICE FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY. Ambassador Rice told newly arrived Georgian
PermRep Lomaia that Russia was tying extension of UNOMIG's
mandate to Abkhaz formal participation in a UNSC meeting
under Rule 39. Participation in an Arria-format meeting
might be a compromise option to preclude their formal
attendance. Rice asked Lomaia whether keeping a UN presence
in Georgia/Abkhazia was important enough to the Georgians to
grant an Arria-format meeting, and she urged Lomaia to
respond quickly with Tbilisi's views. She cautioned Lomaia
that the U.S. wanted Tbilisi's perspective, but would
formulate its own views on the issue in consultation with
other Council members. Rice told Lomaia her soundings of
European members suggested retaining a UN presence to
complement the EUMM was important to Europe, and that they
generally favored an Arria-format meeting as a small price to
pay for a rollover. She suggested an Arria-format meeting
would be a better option for Georgia than official
participation under Rule 39. Ambassador Lomaia, who is
leaving New York today, and will not return until February
20, said he would immediately seek instructions from Tbilisi
and that his Charge would respond to USUN. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) Newly arrived Georgian PermRep Alexander Lomaia and
Deputy PermRep Irakli Chikovani paid a call on Ambassadors
Rice, Wolff and DiCarlo on January 30 to discuss U.S. and
Georgian approaches to the February 15 mandate expiration of
the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG).
(This cable covers the entire meeting, but Ambassadors Wolff
and Rice were only present for parts of the session.)
Ambassador Lomaia has been in New York for a week and has not
yet presented his credentials. He is leaving New York on
January 31 and will not return until February 20-- after the
expiration and possible extension of UNOMIG.


3. (C) Ambassador Lomaia said that overall he thought the
draft resolution, which had been shared with Georgia by USUN
and the German Mission, was a good starting point for talks.
(See Reftel para 12 for text of draft resolution.) Georgia
had some specific comments on the draft that had already been
shared among experts, such as concern about the name of the
mission as it appears in the resolution (UN Mission) and weak
language on the right of return of internally displaced
persons (IDPs). Lomaia also wanted to find a way to remove
the reference to the Moscow Agreement without removing the
symmetrical security zones which were incorporated by
reference.


4. (C) In answer to a question by Ambassador Rice about how
much value the Georgians placed on the UN mission, Lomaia
said Georgia wants the UN presence to continue, since it
allows continuous interaction with the separatists and some
degree of monitoring. The previous mandate also served to
prevent a Russian military buildup along the administrative
border, and helped to prevent actions that would deprive the
population of freedom of movement. However, Lomaia said
there were limitations on what Georgia could accept as a
price for a rollover. He would not want separate missions in
Sukhumi and Tbilisi, a change of the name of the mission, or
Abkhaz participation in a Council meeting.


5. (C) Lomaia said he was aware that Russia had threatened to
make cooperation on a rollover conditional upon a Council
invitation for Abkhaz de facto authorities to participate in
the Security Council meeting under Rule 39 of the Council's
provisional rules of procedure. He said he had already spoken
with the Austrians, Japanese and Turks who, he said, told him
that they would vote "no" if the Russians were to raise the
issue. Lomaia said he was making the argument to Council
members that an invitation to the Abkhaz would discourage
them from participating in the ongoing Geneva talks, and that
we should maintain pressure on the Abkhaz to participate in
that forum, where all regional communities are represented.
He thought even their participation in an Arria-format
meeting would be perceived as a diplomatic victory and would
take them "one step forward toward full recognition." Since
the Geneva talks have not yet successfully addressed
fundamental issues, an invitation to an Arria-format meeting
in New York would reward Abkhaz intransigence, he said. It
would also set a precedent and would open a door for their
participation in New York that would never close, mentioning
the fact that Kosovar leaders now participate in Council
meetings under Rule 39.


6. (C) Ambassador Rice said her soundings of the European
members of the Council indicated they wanted the UN mission
to continue, and would want the U.S. to grant visas for an
Arria-format meeting if that would keep a UN presence on the

USUN NEW Y 00000076 002 OF 002


ground. Absent a U.S. decision to allow an Arria-format
meeting, the Europeans would likely be inclined to grant the
Abkhaz participation under Rule 39 in order to keep the
mission. She urged Lomaia to consult with Tbilisi on whether
keeping the mission would be worth an Arria-format meeting,
and to respond to the U.S. quickly. She cautioned that the
U.S. would make its own decision in consultation with other
Council members.


7. (C) Ambassador DiCarlo added that our longer term goal is
to get a more robust UN mandate in Georgia. If we were to
allow the UN mandate to lapse, it would be very difficult to
reconstitute it later. We had been prepared to offer the
compromise of an Arria meeting in October 2008, and had
consulted closely with former Georgian PermRep Alasania when
we were considering the possibility. In the end it turned out
not to be necessary, since the Russian invasion, recognition
of independence, and the humanitarian and human rights
concerns were still fresh in the Council's minds. DiCarlo
also pointed out that the Kosovo and Abkhazia situations are
not synonymous. There are nine recognizors of Kosovo in the
Council, but only one recognizor of Abkhazia-- even if visas
were granted for an Arria meeting, there would be no forward
momentum to allow them to participate in an official Council
meeting.


8. (C) Ambassador Chikovani asked whether there had been any
discussion of Georgian participation in the adoption. The
Georgians had previously been invited to participate, but
when SCR 1839 was adopted in October 2008, under an
arrangement agreed to between the U.S., Russia and other
members, only Council members were permitted to participate.
Georgia had always been invited in the past, and would
consider it helpful to be present for the adoption. He
suggested Georgia might also want to invite the leader of the
Abkhaz Government in Exile to sit with their delegation in
the Council for an adoption, since this could counterbalance
the positive press Abkhaz representatives might garner from
an Arria-format meeting. Ambassador DiCarlo said she thought
it would be difficult to get agreement on that, but we would
keep it in our minds when considering options.
Rice