U.S. SECURITY DIALOGUES WITH GREECE

C O N F I D E N T I A L ATHENS 000089

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/10
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR GR
SUBJECT: U.S. SECURITY DIALOGUES WITH GREECE

REF: 09 STATE 112900

CLASSIFIED BY: Deborah A. McCarthy, Deputy Chief of Mission; REASON:
1.4(B),(D)


1. (U) The United States has two ongoing security dialogues with
Greece dating back to 1991. Emerging out of the Mutual Defense
Cooperation Agreement (MDCA) of 1990, the Joint Commission (JC) and
the High-Level Consultative Committee (HLCC) aim to foster
U.S.-Greek dialogue on security issues, and provide venues for
practical decisions.




2. (SBU) Of the two security dialogues, the Joint Commission is
intended to meet with a greater frequency (quarterly),and involve
American and Greek officials based in Greece. Co-chairs are the
U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission, and the Greek MFA's North America
Director. The Joint Commission is meant to resolve questions or
differences which may arise concerning the interpretation and
implementation of the MDCA. The U.S. has generally taken the
initiative in scheduling formalized meetings. In practice, formal
meetings, which alternate between Athens and the U.S. Naval
Support Activity at Souda Bay, Crete have met on average once per
year, the last being held on April 7, 2009. The JC co-chairs meet
frequently however, and the relevant interactions have been
considered informal JC session.




3. (SBU) According to the language of the MDCA, the High-Level
Consultative Committee is intended to conduct a comprehensive
review of the defense relationship. The HLCC alternates between
Washington and Athens, and the last meeting was held in Athens in
November 2009. While there is no set list of participants per the
MDCA, delegations are from capitals, typically led by a senior
Defense policy official, accompanied by relevant uniformed and
civilian Defense officials and Foreign Ministry regional and
pol-mil officials. Assistant Secretary of Defense for
International Affairs Vershbow led the U.S. delegation in November

2009. We are increasingly engaged in an exchange of strategic
policy views during HLCC sessions. Typically, pol-mil and defense
cooperation working groups have also been organized on the margins
of the principals' discussion to develop recommendations on thorny
technical issues.




4. (C) COMMENT: The Joint Commission, meeting both formally and
informally, is an important in-country venue to address the
numerous practical aspects of the bilateral political-military
relationship stemming from the presence of the U.S. Naval Support
Activity at Souda Bay. The HLCC has evolved in recent years in the
direction of becoming a forum for the exchange of strategic policy
views among senior Greek and American defense officials. In
practice, the United States has sought to turn the HLCC into a more
dynamic exchange of views of views among senior officials, and to
use the HLCC to focus Greece on pressing global challenges such as
ISAF and the need for enhanced Greek contributions to multinational
operations. Greece sees value in such discussions, but remains
more tied to a traditional format can tend to lead to more stilted
dialogues and exchanges of views read verbatim from staff-prepared
papers. The most recent HLCC in November 2009 struck a better
balance between enabling a free exchange between principals, and
providing working groups the opportunity to delve into other
issues.
Speckhard