This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 ROME 000461 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/15/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV IT NATO OSCE UN GLOBAL DEFENSE
SUBJECT: PDAS VOLKER DISCUSSES STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH 
ITALIANS 
 
REF: STATE 19516 
 
Classified By: Classified by David D. Pearce, Political Minister Counse 
lor, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary.  On February 7, PDAS Kurt Volker visited Rome 
to meet with high-level GOI leaders to discuss Iran, Iraq, 
the cartoon controversy, the Ukrainian Energy Crisis, NATO, 
OSCE, Balkans, and UN Reform.  Volker stressed the importance 
of Italy's contributions to global security and need for 
continued close cooperation on strategic issues.  GOI leaders 
assured Volker of Italy's commitment to remain engaged 
regardless of the results of the upcoming elections and urged 
the US to include Italy on decisions of global importance. 
End summary. 
 
Participants 
-------------- 
 
¶2. (C) In an early morning meeting Volker met with MFA 
Political Director Guilo Terzi, MFA G-8 and COESPU Director 
Giampaolo Cantini, and MFA NATO Office Director Gianni 
Bardini.  Later, he met with PM Berlusconi's Diplomatic 
advisors Gianpaolo Scarante and Francesco Talo.  In the 
afternoon, Volker participated in a lunch with MFA Director 
General for the Americas Claudio Bisogniero, MFA DG for 
European Integration Ferdinando Nelli Feroci, MFA Deputy DG 
for Middle Eastern Affairs Luca Del Balzo, and MFA Director 
of Balkan Affairs Raimondo De Cardona. 
 
Italian Engagement in Global Affairs 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶3. (C) Volker stressed to all that the US recognized Italy's 
prominent role in contributing to global security.  This 
global engagement gave Italy an important voice in helping 
form US policy and opinion on issues of global security. 
Additionally, today's close cooperation was laying the 
groundwork for future close cooperation. 
 
¶4. (C) Scarante told Volker that Italy would remain engaged 
on the international scene regardless of the results of the 
upcoming elections.   Both Terzi and Scarante urged the US to 
not to freeze Italy out of major international decisions. 
 
Iran 
---- 
 
¶5. (C) Scarante told Volker that Italy was behind the U.S. on 
Iran and was prepared for any option the international 
community decided on.  He cautioned that sanctions might 
strengthen the government.  Scarante also recommended that 
the issue be raised at the G-8 summit - where Italy and Japan 
would be represented.  In Italy's view, the EU-3 had outlived 
its mandate.   Talo added that the Russian proposal merited 
close consideration.  In a separate meeting, Terzi told 
Volker that press reports that the Italian Ambassador in Iran 
had held contacts, on instructions, with Iranian officials in 
order to open up a new channel for negotiations were false. 
He said it was a cautionary example of Iran leaking 
misinformation to the press in order to sow division.  Terzi 
said he had recommended to U/S Burns that a discussion with 
"Friends of the Secretary General" be convened in NY to 
discuss the Iranian issue.  That group should include Italy - 
a key country with vested interests in Iran. 
 
¶6. (C) Volker told Terzi and Scarante that the U.S. 
appreciated the support of the majority of the IAEA Board of 
Governor countries in referring Iran to the Security Council. 
  While this effort had not had an impact on Iranian 
decision-making yet, an international consensus was building 
and the issues of Iranian noncompliance were becoming more 
clear to the world.   The Russian proposal was important, but 
it should not give the Iranians the impression its options 
remain open.   Russia should be encouraged to coordinate with 
and be part of the international effort.   The US was not 
looking at other steps yet, but encouraged Italy to let the 
rest of the international community know that it had 
influence with Iran that it was prepared to exercise. 
 
Iraq 
----- 
 
¶7. (C) Scarante told Volker that coordination on Iraq was 
excellent and Talo cited the successful trilateral meeting 
with the US and UK.   Scarante affirmed that Italy's 
commitment in Iraq remains, and any adjustments to its 
presence in Iraq would be made in close consultation with the 
United States, its other coalition partners, the Iraqi 
Government, and according to conditions on the ground.  He 
added, however, that the Iraq issue remained sensitive in 
Italy, especially during the current election season. 
 
Cartoon Controversy 
------------------- 
 
¶8. (C) Volker told Terzi and Del Balzo that the US condemned 
the violence in the Middle East in response to the cartoon 
controversy and wanted to avoid the situation spinning out of 
control.  The US was particularly critical of Syria, where 
the demonstrations were largely government-sponsored.  At the 
same time, the European response appeared to be singularly 
focused on the issue of freedom of the press without 
considering issues of sensitivity, taste, and respect for 
religious imagery.  The US was urging governments in the 
region to urge calm and speak out against the violence. 
Volker stated that the OSCE was considering initiating a 
discussion on tolerance and respect through its Mediterranean 
Dialogue. 
 
¶9. (C) Terzi said that the GOI was firm in its support of 
freedom of press and freedom of speech.  It recognized, 
however, that European countries needed to take steps to calm 
the situation down and move cautiously on this issue to avoid 
further violence.   EU Political Director Solana had publicly 
urged moderation and tolerance.   Terzi agreed that the OSCE 
could play a useful role.  He added that Middle Eastern and 
North African countries would likely be prepared to 
participate in dialogue but they often sought to avoid 
prominent roles and public commitments.   Italy's special 
interest in dialogue with Middle Eastern and North African 
countries and in democratization was in stemming the tide of 
immigrants to, and through, Italy, which Terzi termed a 
problem that should concern all of Europe. 
 
Hamas Victory 
------------- 
 
¶10. (C) Del Balzo told Volker that the Hamas victory should 
be viewed as a protest vote against Fatah.  The international 
community needed to reserve judgment until a government was 
formed.  In the meantime a financial crisis could lead to 
further extremism.  Del Balzo noted that the EU believed that 
even after the formation of a government, the international 
community should reserve judgment to see how it performs.  If 
Abu Mazen remained in charge of security and foreign policy, 
the results of a Hamas-led PA might not be so bad. 
 
¶11. (C) Volker agreed that the Quartet should avoid a 
financial crisis, but disagreed that the Hamas could be 
allowed to govern without renouncing violence and calls for 
the destruction of Israel.  The US believed the Palestinians 
voted for change and a better life and continued violence and 
confrontation would not produce that.   The U.S. would also 
have legal problems with financial support to a Hamas-led PA, 
unless the party renounced terrorism as a political tool. 
 
Ukrainian Energy Crisis 
---------------------- 
 
¶12. (C) Terzi told Volker that 85 percent of Italian energy 
sources were imported and the GOI had a large stake in the 
resolution of the Ukrainian energy crisis.  Like the US, 
Italy was concerned about Russian interference in energy 
deliveries and the nontransparency of energy contracts 
throughout the region.  They viewed the explosions on the 
pipelines delivering gas to Georgia as particularly 
suspicious.  Italy believed that solving conflicts in the 
Caucasus region would help prevent future energy problems. 
International engagement would also ensure that Russia did 
not protract or influence the resolution of the conflicts in 
its favor.   Terzi noted that the G-8 summit in St. 
Petersburg would give the countries the opportunity to raise 
this issue with Russia.  Discussion of the need for stable 
energy supplies and prices could be discussed and a code of 
conduct for energy suppliers could be adopted. 
 
¶13. (C) Volker told Terzi that the current gas crisis was 
caused by the Russian monopoly position, and while Ukraine 
needed encouragement to avoid entering into a nontransparent 
deal that included shady middlemen, criticism of Ukraine was 
unhelpful at this point.   The US believed that the way 
forward was for Europe to seek out new sources of energy, 
additional suppliers, increase reserves and push for market 
pricing of Russian fuel.  The price differential of Russian 
fuel to Ukraine and Georgia created a margin that could be 
exploited by corrupt politicians and was keeping both 
countries dependent on cheap Russian fuel.  The sooner market 
corrections could be introduced, the sooner both countries 
would be able to resist Russian pressure. 
 
OSCE 
---- 
 
¶14. (C) Volker told Terzi that the US supports OSCE reform 
but that reform should focus on making the organization more 
effective in promoting democracy and other security issues. 
The US was pleased that the OSCE had reached an agreement on 
financing that will allow the organization to continue to 
work for the next three years.  The US was working to get the 
mandate of the head of the Office of Democratic Institutions 
and Human Rights extended to three years to go through the 
2008 Russian elections but Russia was insisting that two 
years would be the maximum they would accept.   The US wanted 
to ensure that OSCE members resisted Russian pressure to 
allow countries to comment on election reporting before it 
was presented to the Permanent Council. 
 
¶15. (C) Terzi said that the Italian MFA was sensing a 
softening of the Russian position on the ODIHR mandate.  He 
also said that Italy's invitation to OSCE members to send 
election monitors to monitor the upcoming Italian elections 
would undermine the Russian argument that there is a double 
standard for elections in Eastern European and Central Asian 
countries.  Volker agreed, adding that as the level of 
confidence in elections in the east increases, the number of 
countries sending observers will decline. 
 
NATO 
-------- 
 
¶16. (C) Volker told his interlocutors that the US was 
encouraged by German PM Merkel's recent speech outlining her 
view that NATO was the primary strategic link in the 
trans-Atlantic community.   France, however, continued to 
argue for limiting NATO's role in the world.  Nevertheless, 
the US and UK were drafting a paper on the expansion of 
NATO's global reach through partnerships with Australia, New 
Zealand and Japan.   The US was studying proposals for 
collective airlift and was favorably inclined on proposals 
for collective funding.  In the US view, collective funding 
already exists; the only question was how to open collective 
funding to humanitarian, peacekeeping and disaster assistance 
operations. The US remained committed to making the NATO 
Response Force operational and was prepared to make 
high-value, high-cost contributions such as communications 
and airlift, but due to commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan, 
the US could not now contribute ground forces. 
 
¶17. (C) Italy was very interested in the proposed US-UK paper 
on expanding partnerships with Australia, New Zealand and 
Japan.  From the Italian perspective, NATO should not dilute 
its capacity and focus by expanding its reach through 
partnerships across the globe before countries and groups of 
countries developed the infrastructure to participate in 
operations.  On budget issues, Italy believed collective 
funding would allow more countries to contribute to NATO 
operations without having to be overly concerned about costs. 
  Bardini told Volker that Italy did not see US inability to 
commit ground forces to the NRF as a signal that the US was 
not committed to the idea. 
 
¶18. (C) Volker told the Italians the U.S. supported a major 
initiative for NATO to build a training center in the Middle 
East to help promote the development of defense reform, 
leadership, logistical, police and peacekeeping capacity in 
the region.  The US had hoped for a site in Jordan or another 
Middle Eastern country.  Qatar had offered $10 million in 
financial support for such a center but as a condition wanted 
it located in Qatar.  He said the US had reservations about 
Qatar hosting the site because of Al-Jazeera,s presence 
there and a desire to keep the facility closer to the 
Mediterranean. 
¶19. (C) Bardini and Cantini told Volker that Italy was highly 
supportive of any initiative to strengthen the capacity of 
regional countries and was already working through various 
initiatives, including COESPU (Center of Excellence for 
Stability Police Units), to develop high-level and 
middle-management leadership capacity.  Italy hoped to 
include other G-8 nations, regional partners (Tunisia, 
Turkey) and even countries with similar capabilities (Chile) 
in the work of the Center. 
 
EU Enlargement and Balkans 
--------------------------- 
¶20.  (C) Nelli Feroci told Volker that Italy remained 
committed to achieving success in the Balkans and would push 
to use EU enlargement as an effective tool in encouraging 
progress.  In his view, the EU squandered the opportunity to 
use EU enlargement to press forward on the Cyprus issue, and 
that missed opportunity would significantly complicate 
Turkey's accession talks and a final solution to the division 
of Cyprus.  Nelli Feroci warned that the EU was entering into 
a period of enlargement fatigue and Balkan fatigue. 
 
¶21. (C) De Cardona stated that Italy was still in favor of a 
union between Serbia and Montenegro, but was resigned to the 
inevitability of a referendum on independence and was 
following the lead of EU Envoy Lajcak on this issue.   Italy 
wanted the international community to begin focusing on 
Montenegrin security and crime issues now, not after the 
referendum.   De Cardona noted that Fini was pleased the US 
was focused on a relatively quick solution to the Kosovo 
issue and on decentralization, protection of religious sites 
and security of minority populations.  Italy was concerned, 
however, that pressure from the ICTY, the Montenegrin 
independence movement and the Kosovo status talks were 
putting unsustainable pressure on the fragile Belgrade 
leadership that could result in the fall of the government. 
He urged greater coordination in the development of messages 
to the Belgrade leadership. 
 
¶22. (C) Volker told his interlocutors that the US coordinates 
closely with other CG countries and would remain part of a 
NATO-led presence in Kosovo after a decision on status but 
would likely reduce its presence.   After the end of the 
UNMIK mandate, the US would expect that other civilian 
organizations would continue to provide support for 
institutional and civil society development, but that the 
Kosovars would have to be in the lead.  The US supported EU 
and NATO efforts to use Euro-Atlantic integration as a tool 
for achieving progress but reminded the Italians that the US 
was committed to ICTY compliance as a non-negotiable 
obligation.   On CG discussions, Volker said that the US had 
told Russia the resolution of the Kosovo issue would not 
carry any precedent weight in Abkhazia or Chechnya.  Terzi 
agreed. 
 
UN Reform 
--------- 
 
¶23. (C) Volker told Terzi that reform of the UN Human Rights 
Commission was one of the cornerstones of the UN reform plan. 
  Without reform of the UNHRC, the US was not convinced it 
should continue to participate in either New York or Geneva. 
In that vein, last year the EU did not support a UNHRC 
resolution condemning the US detention facility in 
Guantanamo.  The agreement was conditioned on a visit by EU 
representatives to the facility.  The visit failed to 
materialize due to a disagreement on the conditions and 
limitations of the visit.  As a result, the EU has signaled 
that it might not be able to oppose such a resolution this 
year.  Volker said much has changed this year.  The US had 
engaged the EU in discussion about the legal basis for 
detentions and had invited the UN, OSCE, various governments, 
and journalists to visit the facility.   A UNHCR resolution 
condemning the US would damage the credibility of the 
organization and make it difficult for the US to participate 
in its work.  Terzi told Volker that the GOI was trying to 
avoid "a paradoxical situation" where human rights violators 
successfully passed a resolution condemning the US. 
 
¶24. (U) PDAS Volker did not have the opportunity to clear 
this cable before transmission. 
SPOGLI