GREECE: PRESSURING IRAN ON HUMAN RIGHTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L ATHENS 000087

SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE, NEA/IR, DRL, P

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/09
TAGS: PREL PHUM IR GR
SUBJECT: GREECE: PRESSURING IRAN ON HUMAN RIGHTS

REF: STATE 12108

CLASSIFIED BY: Daniel V. Speckhard, Ambassador; REASON: 1.4(B),(D)


1. (C) Ambassador Speckhard discussed reftel points with the Prime
Minister's Diplomatic Advisor Dimitris Paraskevopoulos February 8,
on the eve of the PM's February 9 trip to Paris. The Ambassador
urged Greece to join voices with the United States, the EU, and the
international community to let Iran know clearly and publicly that
its behavior is unacceptable. Drawing on the often repeated offer
of having Greece be an interlocutor with Iran given the PM's
Presidency of the Socialist International, the Ambassador suggested
that a strong public message from Greece could be particularly
useful. He also highlighted the absurdity of Iran's candidacy for
the UN Human Rights Council, and hoped that Greece agreed.




2. (C) Paraskevopoulos was non-committal on a public statement,
but took the message on board. He said he expected Iran to come up
during PM Papandreou's February 9 with French President Sarkozy,
noting he was aware of the French position and U.S.-French
cooperation on the Iran dossier. He agreed that an Iranian seat on
the UN HRC would not be appropriate, and shared the human rights
concerns.




3. (C) Paraskevopoulos asked why the official U.S. reaction to
Ahmedinejad's recent "offer" to send uranium abroad for enrichment
had been cautious, in his view. Ambassador Speckhard stressed that
the international community needed to see substance, not statements
from Iran, and that Iran's behavior since the October meeting of
the P5+1 in Geneva raised questions about Iran's seriousness. Iran
should file its official response at the IAEA if they were serious.
Speckhard