VZCZCXRO9206
PP RUEHAG RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ
RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHVI #0778 0741048
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 151048Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2740
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS VIENNA 000778 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR, EUR/ERA, EUR/UMB AND EUR/AGS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL UP BO EUN AU
SUBJECT: EU INFORMAL MINISTERIAL IN SALZBURG: 
FERRERO-WALDNER ON UKRAINE, BELARUS 
 
REF: A) VIENNA 758 B) VIENNA 761 C) USEU BRUSSELS 886 
 
This is a joint Vienna - USEU cable. 
 
BELARUS 
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¶1. Speaking at the informal "Gymnich" meeting of the EU 
foreign ministers in Salzburg on March 10-11, European 
External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner 
commented that  Belarus was a country "at a crossroads," with 
the elections a crucial test for democracy.  If the elections 
are free and fair, she said, then the EU could offer Belarus 
significant benefits in the framework of the European 
Neighborhood Policy.  However, reports from Belarus of 
arrests of opposition politicians during the campaign were 
deeply disturbing.   Ferrero-Waldner called for their 
immediate release, and for the government of Belarus to 
respect all international democratic standards.  Should the 
Belarus elections not be free and fair, the EU would say so. 
The EU was then prepared to take targeted restrictive 
measures against the people who rigged the election. 
Ferrero-Waldner said that the EU had not yet composed a list 
of Belarusian leaders who might become subject to such 
sanctions, however. 
 
 
UKRAINE 
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¶2.  On Ukraine, Ferrero-Waldner lauded the progress it had 
made on the EU's Action Plan and said maintaining momentum 
was key.  She noted that the current election campaign was 
fiercely contested, but appeared so far to be free and fair. 
Ferrero-Waldner said the EU stood ready to work with any 
Ukrainian coalition that emerges from free and fair 
elections, and held out the prospect of an EU-Ukraine free 
trade agreement.  French Foreign Minister Douste-Blazy, in a 
separate appearance, supported Ferrero-Waldner's comments. 
He added that the EU must work with the new Ukrainian 
government to resolve the problem of Transnistria. 
McCaw