(U) SECRETARY CLINTON'S JANUARY 21, 2010, MEETING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 STATE 011453

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/04/2020
TAGS: OVIP CLINTON HILLARY PREL EAID PGOV KNNP XG HA XD
SUBJECT: (U) SECRETARY CLINTON'S JANUARY 21, 2010, MEETING
WITH EU HIREP ASHTON

REF: USEU BRUSSELS 65

Classified By: EUR A/S PHILIP H. GORDON. REASON: 1.4 (D)


1. (U) January 21, 2010, 11:00 am - 12:30 pm, Washington.


2. (U) Participants:
U.S.
The Secretary
Deputy Secretary Steinberg
EUR Assistant Secretary Gordon
PA Assistant Secretary Crowley
Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy Morningstar
Director for Policy and Planning Slaughter
NSC Director (EUR) Kvien
Deputy Chief of Staff Sullivan
EUR/ERA Deretic (notetaker)

EU
High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Ashton
Director General for External and Politico-Military Affairs
Cooper
Director General for External Relations Vale de Almeida
Cabinet Member Everts
Spokesman Lutz


3. (C) Summary. The Secretary and European Union High
Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Catherine Ashton met in Ashton's first official visit abroad
as HiRep. Both agreed that the Lisbon Treaty's creation of
an EU "foreign minister" provided an exciting opportunity for
increased U.S.-EU engagement, especially on development.
Ashton assured the Secretary that she was the only EU
interlocutor on foreign affairs. On Haiti, the Secretary and
Ashton agreed to focus on medium- and long-term plans and use
Haiti as a model for a new development strategy. On Iran,
they agreed there was progress with Russia, and the U.S. and
EU should focus on engaging China. Both agreed Turkey needs
to see the way forward to the EU but also do more
domestically and on Cyprus to move towards the west. The EU
is close to appointing a single representative in Kabul, but
Ashton could not commit to an announcement before the London
conference. The U.S. and EU should engage broadly with Yemen
and look for opportunities to improve the economic situation.
Ashton said she is still working out her Bosnia strategy.
The EU asked for consultations on Kosovo. The Secretary
asked for closer U.S.-EU cooperation on Pakistan assistance,
data sharing/privacy, and a joint crisis response capacity.
Ashton urged follow-up on climate change. The Secretary and
Ashton agreed to meet again in conjunction with the April
NATO Ministerial in Tallinn. End Summary.


4. (SBU) The Secretary and Ashton agreed the U.S.-EU
relationship post-Lisbon was exciting and promising, with a
daunting range of topics. While the U.S. partnership with
Solana was great, the U.S. and EU now could really unite
efforts, especially on development--Lisbon was smart to
combine diplomacy and development.

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HAITI
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5. (C) The Secretary and Ashton agreed that it was important
to focus on the medium and long term in Haiti. The Secretary
suggested a strategic plan for using Haiti as a model for a
new kind of development, along the lines of the Marshall
plan. The idea would be to help businesses, build a middle
class, allow the Haitian government to take responsibility
while focusing on key objectives, and set the stage for
long-term success. Ashton thought a new strategy would
encourage involvement from EU countries, including those
without current ties to Haiti. Ashton stressed the
importance of linking trade and aid, as well as developing

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rule of law to promote investment. Ashton suggested key U.S.
and EU officials meet in the days after the Montreal
conference to work on a development timeline ahead of the
donors' conference. All agreed the UN, U.S., EU, Inter
American Development Bank, and World Bank would be the lead
actors on assistance.

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IRAN
--------------


6. (C) The Deputy Secretary said 2010 would be a
determinative year for Iran and emphasized the importance of
the dual-track strategy. He and Ashton agreed conversations
with Russia had been productive, but China was reluctant to
engage. The challenge would be to shift Chinese thinking
from viewing support for sanctions as a favor to the West to
recognizing its own energy and security interests were at
stake.


7. (C) The Deputy Secretary said UNSR 1874, the DPRK
sanctions resolution, could be used as a point of departure
for an Iran resolution. Ashton said the EU preferred China's
agreement on sanctions. The EU FMs would discuss Iran
January 25; the European Parliament was in favor of smart
sanctions. Ashton aimed to take up Solana's former role in
the P5 1/E3 3 dialogue. Cooper said the EU could place a
tough interpretation on UNSC sanctions.


8. (C) The Deputy Secretary informed Ashton that Congress
likely would pass legislation on Iran that would affect
European businesses. While there could be flexibility on
implementation, European companies, especially those in Italy
and especially ENI, need to show restraint. Ashton said she
would deliver a blunt message to Italian FM Frattini that
night. The Secretary added Japan needed to stop investment.
Ashton and the Secretary agreed India and Brazil should play
a larger role on Iran. Urging India and Brazil to play a
larger role on key issues was a long-term goal for Ashton.
The Secretary asked Ashton to have Spain work with Brazil on
how to be a major player.

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Turkey/Cyprus
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9. (C) The Secretary said Turkey was giving up hope on EU
membership, and this represented a missed opportunity.
Ashton replied that Turkey should be in the EU, but it was
not working towards it. The EU's official position remains
that Turkey is a membership applicant. Assistant Secretary
Gordon said EU membership was the only leverage to sway
Ankara on key regional issues, and urged Ashton to speak
publicly about Turkey's EU path.


10. (C) Vale de Almeida asked for U.S. help on Cyprus
negotiations. The Secretary said the U.S. was working on how
to push things forward. The Secretary asked Ashton to
coordinate with the U.S. on joint messaging to Cyprus,
Greece, and Turkey. She said the U.S. could not be seen too
much in the forefront on the issue. Ashton hoped to travel
to the region, and highlighted the importance of solving the
problem for NATO-EU cooperation, including for protection of
EU police trainers in Afghanistan.

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Afghanistan (also SEPTEL on Ashton's meeting with SRAP
Holbrooke)
--------------


11. (C) The Secretary asked Ashton to appoint a single EU
civilian representative in Kabul ahead of the January 28
Afghanistan conference in London. Ashton said the EU had
agreed to a single representative and promised a decision as
soon as member states could agree on a name, but did not
commit to have someone for London. Ashton noted the change
would help the EU work on EUPOL-NATO issues. Ashton took up
the Secretary's request for support in ensuring that the role
of women in Afghanistan was emphasized through their
representation in the London delegation and conference papers.

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Yemen
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12. (C) Ashton was skeptical that the Yemen meeting on
January 27 would bring real progress, but rather saw it as an
opportunity to demonstrate interest in the Yemeni economy.
She noted the EU had given Euros 100 million to Yemen in the
past three years, with 100 million more to scheduled for the
next three. With little going for it, Yemen needed
international assistance. The Deputy Secretary responded
that U.S. wants broader engagement with Yemen. The Yemeni
government needed to walk the walk on political and
development issues. The U.S. wants immediate cooperation on
counterterrorism issues, but that was not the public message.
With assistance, it was important not to over-commit without
information about absorption capacity. Working groups might
come out of the meeting in London. The Secretary noted that
Saudi Arabia and Qatar had had a difficult time with their
assistance in Yemen. Yemeni President Salih was hard to
influence, and it was important to look for leverage. The
Secretary said the U.S. had had good cooperation with the GoY
on counterterrorism in recent weeks.

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Bosnia
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13. (C) The Secretary called Bosnia a high mutual priority
and welcomed Ashton's interest in continuing with the Butmir
process. The Secretary asked for Ashton's support in
enforcing 5 2 conditionality on transition from the High
Representative to an EU Special Representative (EUSR),
keeping the dual-hatted Office of the High
Representative/EUSR, at least until October elections, and
extending the EUSR mandate while possibly looking for a new
representative. Ashton thought it would be possible to raise
awareness of the EU with lower-level politicians to inject an
EU context in the upcoming elections. While the U.S. and EU
have had tactical disagreements, strategically it was
important for the Bosnians to take ownership of the process.
Bosnian leadership needed to understand clearly the path to
the EU and NATO. Ashton noted Croatia was leaning on Bosnia,
and the EU could use Serbia's membership application as
leverage to press Belgrade to do so, too.


14. (C) Ashton said she would meet with Swedish FM Bildt and
Paddy Ashdown next week to brainstorm ideas for next steps.
Cooper noted it was important to make the EU prospect real
and suggested sending Polish farmers to meet with Bosnian
farmers about the economic benefits of EU membership. The
Secretary suggested Turkey and Russia could play a productive
role if invited into the discussion.


15. (C) For the April NATO ministerial, the Deputy Secretary
said the U.S. would be hard pressed to support MAP for Bosnia
absent some concrete movement since the last NAC. Cooper
noted that it was impressive when Serbian President Tadic
said excluding Bosnia was a mistake. However, it was hard to
make yet another concession on Bosnia without anything in
return. The Secretary and Ashton agreed to consult further
on the way forward on Bosnia.

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Macedonia
--------------


16. (C) Steinberg urged EU engagement to take advantage of
the opportunity for an agreement between Greece and Macedonia
on the name issue.

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Kosovo
--------------


17. Cooper raised the need to change the Kosovo-Serbia story,
where the concrete was beginning to set. The Secretary noted
that Serb participation in elections was changing the story
on the ground, but Serbian FM Jeremic would not change his

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tune. The Secretary told Ashton she had had a tough meeting
with Jeremic in Washington. The Secretary point out
Montenegro recently recognized Kosovo. Cooper suggested a
group from the EU visit Washington to consult further.

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U.S.-EU Energy Council
--------------


18. The Secretary and Ashton agreed on the importance of the
new Energy Council, focusing on European security issues,
including the Southern Corridor, and clean energy
technologies. Morningstar asked Ashton for high-level EU
visibility in the Southern Corridor area, as requested by
leaders in the region. Turkish comments on gas flowing
through Iran going to the Nabucco pipeline, a joint
post-election action plan on Ukrainian energy, and Kurdish
gas issues also could be topics for the Council.

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Pakistan Assistance
--------------


19. (C) The Secretary asked Ashton for closer U.S.-EU
cooperation, and pointed out the opportunities for additional
EU investment and assistance, including the World Bank
Multi-Donor Trust Fund and Malakand Pilot Project Strategy,
among other initiatives. Ashton said a free trade agreement
wasn't possible, but that the EU was working on assistance to
ready Pakistan for freer trade.

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Data Sharing/Privacy
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20. (C) The Secretary and Ashton agreed to work closely on
data sharing/protection to conclude a binding agreement on
the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program (TFTP),and secure the
passenger name record (PNR) agreement. The Secretary said it
was important to get the word out on the value of these
agreements and suggested convening a group of experts on the
issue. Ashton noted the European Parliament was becoming
more reasonable and had a change of heart on opposition to
body scanners.

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Joint Crisis Management Capacity
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21. (SBU) Noting the Haiti crisis, the Secretary suggested
the U.S. and EU continue work on developing a joint capacity
for crisis management, especially combined planning,
exercise, and training. She expressed U.S. interest in
seconding U.S. personnel to EU operations and vice versa,
starting with U.S. readiness to send one or two experts to
the EU mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The
U.S. and EU should be committed to increasing effectiveness
and limiting duplication of effort.

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Climate Change
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22. (SBU) Ashton raised Copenhagen follow-up as an important
priority. While Copenhagen did not go as well as the EU
would have liked, it was important to plan for the next
opportunity.

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U.S.-EU Ministerial
--------------


23. (C) The Secretary and Ashton agreed to try to meet in
conjunction with the NATO ministerial in Tallinn in April.
Ashton assured the Secretary that she was the only EU
interlocutor on foreign affairs.
CLINTON