OSCE WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS: FEBRUARY 1 - 5, 2010

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 USOSCE 000036 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/10/2019 TAGS: OSCE PGOV PREL MARR KZ KV RS GG AL SUBJECT: OSCE WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS: FEBRUARY 1 - 5, 2010 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Carol Fuller for reasons 1.4 (b) and ( d) CDA Fuller Meets Albanian DFM Edith Harxhi ¶1. (SBU) In a January 27 meeting with CDA Fuller, Albanian Deputy Foreign Minister Edith Harxhi sounded hopeful the SP would return to parliament before March and said the GoA was waiting to see what SP Leader Rama's next move would be upon his return from a trip to the United States. On the Balkans in general, Harxhi was pessimistic, commenting that the EU needed to step up and quit relying on the United States. She said Macedonia was "in bad shape" with stagnation on the name issue and criticized the GoM for pushing a policy of making Macedonian language mandatory for ethnic Albanians but not vice-versa. She said that in her meeting with the Kazakhstani delegation, her interlocutors seemed uninterested in the Balkans and poorly informed, particularly on Kosovo. Regarding Albania's bid for the 2014 Chairmanship, Harxhi said the GoA is working on a strategy paper and plans to increase the size of its OSCE delegation by adding three diplomats in the near future. CDA Fuller encouraged Harxhi to consider closer consultations with Lithuania regarding Albania's preparations for the Chairmanship; to look at seconding MFA staff to other countries and to OSCE institutions; and to share strategy and planning documents with other participating States to demonstrate Albania's seriousness and willingness to do the hard work of preparing for a Chairmanship. Albanian DFM Shares Views on Adjustments to OSCE PiA ¶2. (SBU) Discussing her views of the OSCE Presence in Albania (PiA),DFM Harxhi told CDA Fuller that the PiA has done excellent work in areas such as elections and continues to fill a needed role in improving the justice system, but said there was room for reductions in some areas of activity, such as civil administration and border management, where there is duplication with other entities. Harxhi said a reduction in the number of Project Offices was probably justified as well, specifically naming the Offices in Vlora and Skodra as possibilities, as they are now only about an hour away from Tirana (previous discussions with the Albanian delegation have suggested a focus on closing Kukes, but Harxhi did not mention this Office). CDA Fuller asked Harxhi to stay in close contact with Embassy Tirana regarding GoA intentions for the PiA and noted the United States was open to considering strategic adjustments where portions of the mandate had been fulfilled, but cautioned that any reductions had to be justified by progress. Harxhi said she had recently asked Head of Presence Robert Bosch to play a more active role in resolving Albania's political deadlock, but he had told her he feels "helpless." Harxhi attributed this partly to reluctance on his part to become more involved, since he is planning to return this summer to a position in the Dutch MFA. Chairmanship Offers Possible Compromise on Human Dimension Agenda ¶3. (C) In response to concerns expressed by the United States, the EU, Canada, and Norway, the Kazakhstani Chairmanship called an informal meeting January 29 to discuss possible compromises on the human dimension (HD) agenda. The Chairmanship's representative initially appealed for the original agenda to be accepted by all delegations, but USOSCE 00000036 002 OF 004 delegations remained steadfast in reiterating the recommendations provided at the January 22 HD Committee meeting. After much discussion and solid arguments, the Kazakhstani representative offered a possible compromise: replace the proposed Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on "Combating Trafficking in Human Beings" with a meeting on "Freedom of the Media;" make the "Trafficking" topic the focus of one of the Special Days at the annual Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, instead of "Media Self-Regulation;" and replace the Special Day topic of "Strengthening the Independence of the Judicial System" with "Freedom of Movement." Although none of the delegations could respond definitively, the Kazakhstanis noted they would work with Russia, Belarus, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan on the proposed compromise prior to the next HD Committee meeting, which has been postponed until February 4. This experience demonstrates how a unified approach by like-minded delegations can succeed at moving the Kazakhstanis from their default position, which appears unsympathetic to our full range of HD priorities. EEF on Transport Security and Borders Kicks Off in Vienna ¶4. (U) Segment I of the Economic and Environmental Forum (EEF) kicked off in Vienna February 1 with addresses by the Kazakhstani PermRep, the Secretary General, and the Coordinator of Economic and Environmental Activities. Opening remarks highlighted the importance of good governance in border management for trade and economic growth and the potential of Central Asia as a transit route. Presentations by the UNECE, the International Transport Forum, and the International Road Transport Union made clear that there is an abundance of relevant instruments which would improve the performance of the transport sector and customs and border management if there were wider accession and more complete implementation. U.S. welcoming remarks encouraged a strategic and cross-dimensional approach to the issues under discussion, highlighted the Kazakhstani Chairmanship and the Forum as an opportunity to promote good governance and management at border crossings in Central Asia, and stressed the topic's relevance to the OSCE's involvement with Afghanistan. Kazakhstan Outlines Efforts on Georgia Conflict ¶5. (SBU) In the weekly meeting with the Chairmanship February 2, Kazakhstani PermRep Abdrakhmanov commented that both Moscow and Tbilisi seemed "ready to talk" about next steps in Georgia but lacked trust, which the Chairmanship intended to help build. Abdrakhmanov felt Kazakhstan's special representative for protracted conflicts, Bolat Nurgaliyev, as well as other OSCE personnel, were gaining acceptance in the region but noted the OSCE as a whole still was viewed with distrust. He noted both sides were accusing the other of preparing for war, which made it difficult to solve practical problems, such as the continued lack of water for Georgia and natural gas for the South Ossetia region. In terms of implementing the proposed OSCE support team, Abdrakhmanov said the situation was largely unchanged from last year, with South Ossetian representatives still insisting on Nurgaliyev's personal presence, which would not always be possible. Nurgaliyev's near-term goals would be to assist in cooling rhetoric on both sides and to listen to all proposals. Conflict Prevention, Energy Security Key EU Priorities USOSCE 00000036 003 OF 004 ¶6. (SBU) During the weekly EU coordination meeting February 3, Head of EU Delegation Ambassador Lundin and Spanish Ambassador Betanzos Roig (representing the EU Presidency) asked for adequate time to examine the U.S. proposal for a conflict prevention and resolution mechanism and requested more details on content and procedures as envisioned by the USG. They appreciated U.S. leadership in this area and stressed that conflict prevention would be a key EU priority over the next year. Lundin suggested any conflict prevention role for the OSCE would need to be focused and coordinated and would need clear channels of communication to relevant UN agencies. He noted there was a serious debate in Brussels regarding the division of labor among various institutions, especially in light of EU experience in Afghanistan, where numerous EU institutions have been active but not always coordinated. Lundin expressed confidence there would be strong attention from Brussels to getting the balance right and noted the goal should be to cover more types of threats with the same instruments. (The EU slogan: "Multidimensional problems, multipurpose solutions.") Another priority for the EU will be energy security. Lundin and Betanzos Roig noted there were factions within the EU that want to increase political attention to energy security, while others seek to focus on technical issues with a lower political profile. The EU also is debating whether one mechanism or a set of complementary mechanisms is most desirable. Russia Says Lack of Progress in Geneva "Disheartens" Abkhazia, South Ossetia ¶7. (SBU) Declaring the January 28 round of the Geneva discussions "fairly complicated," Russia claimed at the February 4 Permanent Council meeting that the lack of specific results in Geneva had "disheartened" the Abkhaz and South Ossetian participants, adding that the "clearly pro-Georgian" set of proposed interim security measures had prompted the Abkhaz and South Ossetians to question the value of participating in future rounds. Russia reiterated its position that any new international presence must be agreed with the "independent republics" and again urged participating States to recognize the "new realities" in the region. Russia further suggested that Abkhaz and South Ossetian authorities be invited to participate in the OSCE's Corfu Process discussions on European security. The EU, the United States, and Georgia offered starkly different interpretations of the latest round of the Geneva discussions, highlighting the success of the IPRM for the Abkhazia region and calling for the renewal of the mechanism's South Ossetian counterpart. Head of OSCE Mission in Kosovo Reports to PC ¶8. (U) In his January 4 report to the Permanent Council, OMIK Head of Mission Werner Almhofer described the OSCE's activities in Kosovo and gave an overview of major political and security developments. Among other issues, he noted relatively high election turnout overall in the November 2009 municipal elections, including among Serbs south of the Ibar. In her response, the Serbian PermRep echoed much of President Tadic's January 22 address to the UNSC, criticized OMIK's report for presenting a misleading picture by not including information that only 6,022 of more than 100,000 ethnic Serbs participated in the elections, and pointed to Kosovo as the "only territory in the Western Balkans that is labeled not free" in the 2009 Freedom House report. Calling it an issue that could be a litmus test for honesty of USOSCE 00000036 004 OF 004 purpose, she repeated Tadic's call for an alternative framework for decentralization through a status-neutral organization such as the OSCE, a remark that left many delegations and OMIK's HoM himself wondering privately if Belgrade was planning to put a concrete proposal on the table. The Serbian PermRep also repeated earlier calls for an "Outreach Unit" to do more work on the protection and promotion of the rights of non-Albanian communities. Russia went on the offensive against the Northern Strategy, saying it could lead to inter-ethnic conflict, and said Serb turnout in the elections represented not recognition of Kosovo authorities, but rather distress at increasing isolation. U.S. remarks noted the elections as a sign of progress, called for a constructive approach in the north, cautioned against engagement with parallel institutions, and urged OMIK to prioritize capacity-building activities. FULLER