GREEK PERMREP FORSEES NO NEAR-TERM PROGRESS ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000811 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/27/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV UNFICYP MK TU CY GR SUBJECT: GREEK PERMREP FORSEES NO NEAR-TERM PROGRESS ON MACEDONIA NAME, CYPRUS Classified By: Ambassador Susan Rice for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. During an introductory call, newly arrived Greek Permrep Anastassis Mitsialis sought Ambassador Rice's concurrence to schedule a Security Council briefing by Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis as Chairwoman-in-Office of the OSCE during the UNGA Ministerial Week. Mitsialis expressed skepticism that the Macedonia name issue would be resolved before Greek parliamentary elections in Spring 2010, and he outlined Greece's views on the Cyprus negotiations and relations with Turkey. Ambassador Rice told Mitsialis that the U.S. would be open to hearing an unusual second briefing from Bakoyannis before the end of the Greek chairmanship, but that Greece's proposal to brief at the end of September, concurrent with the UNGA General Debate, could not be accommodated. END SUMMARY. OSCE BRIEFING -------------- ¶2. (C) During an introductory call on August 26, recently appointed Greek Permrep Anastassis Mitsialis asked Ambassador Rice if the U.S. would schedule another Security Council briefing by Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis as OSCE Chairwoman-in-Office (CiO),to coincide with Bakoyannis' attendance at the UNGA General Debate and Ministerial Week (September 22-30). Mitsialis acknowledged that Bakoyannis had briefed the Security Council in late February, and that the Council had typically held only one OSCE briefing during each chairmanship. Ambassador Rice said that the UNSC schedule was too full during that time period, but said the U.S. would be open to a second briefing from the Greek CiO at another time, perhaps during Vietnam's October SC presidency. MACEDONIA NAME -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Ambassador Mitsialis said that negotiations with Macedonia over its name would be Greece's top UN priority, though he was not personally involved in the negotiations. He predicted that little progress would be made prior to expected Greek parliamentary elections in March 2010. In the intervening 5-6 months, he thought there would be minimal maneuvering space for Greek politicians to ease their positions on the name issue. Greece had already acquiesced to the use of the word, "Macedonia" in the name, as long as it was accompanied by a geographic qualifier, such as "Northern Macedonia" or "North Macedonia". Greece would insist that as part of an agreement, the Security Council encourage member states to use the agreed-upon name in their bilateral relations. Mitsialis called Skopje's approach to the name and identity issue, "unfriendly", and said that Greece was prepared to continue blocking Macedonia's EU and NATO membership if necessary. CYPRUS/TURKEY -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Mitsialis said believed a Cyprus resolution required more time than the Macedonia name issue, with security guarantees, property and settlers as the most difficult issues to be resolved. Mitsialis commented that "artificial time limits" were not helpful, noting that the Secretariat would assess progress in the talks together with Special Advisor Alexander Downer in mid-September, and that the Secretary-General planned to visit Greece and Cyprus in the fall. The key to a Cyprus solution lay in Ankara, he said, not with Turkish Cypriot leader Talat. Turkey's recent actions, such as increasing military overflights of Greek territory in the Aegean, were unnecessarily provocative, as was the Turkish parliament's position that Greek extension of its territorial waters to 12 nautical kilometers would constitute a "causus belli". RICE