VZCZCXRO2892
RR RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHVL #0442/01 1321219
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 121219Z MAY 06 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY VILNIUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0150
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 1531

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 VILNIUS 000442 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/09/2016 
TAGS: PREL NATO LT LG EN PL GG BO AM AJ UP RO
BU, RS, HT8, HT12, HT17 
SUBJECT: VILNIUS CDC SUMMIT: DEMOCRACY IS EUROPE'S DESTINY 
 
Classified By: Pol/Econ officer Traver Gudie for reasons 1.4 (b,d) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (U) Heads of state from the Baltic, Black Sea and Caucasus 
regions gathered with EU and U.S. high-level officials May 4 
for a regional conference, "Common Vision for a Common 
Neighborhood," which Lithuania and Poland co-hosted.  This 
second Community of Democratic Choice (CDC) summit enabled 
former Soviet republics and Warsaw Pact countries to make 
their own case for integration with the West.  Vice President 
Cheney,s keynote address on the state of democracy in the 
region and Russia,s refusal to participate (and subsequent 
intemperate reaction to the Vice President,s speech) stole 
the show.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
VP,s Speech Dominates Conference and Headlines 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶2.  (U)  Vice President Cheney launched the conference with a 
keynote address that lauded the regional move to democracy 
and called on nearby governments that were resisting the 
trend, notably Belarus and Russia, to join it.  The speech at 
the CDC conference set the tone for the entire day, and 
attracted favorable comment from several other delegations 
and much of the Lithuanian political class, from President 
Adamkus down.  The address attracted more media attention 
than any foreign policy speech delivered in Lithuania since 
President Bush's 2002 visit, with outlets across the world 
providing extensive coverage (e.g., front-page, 
above-the-fold stories in the Financial Times on May 5 and 
May 8).  Lithuanian and international media gave wide 
coverage to remarks about Russia, including what they viewed 
as Vice President Cheney's firm stand against Russian 
interference in new democracies. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
Conference: A Bolder Neighborhood Policy 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) Bringing together states at different stages of 
integration with NATO and the EU, CDC summit participants who 
followed the Vice President articulated the tenets of a 
bolder neighborhood policy: 
 
-- push European structures and NATO to encourage democratic 
progress East and South of the EU's borders by advocating 
engagement on the basis of an open door policy; 
-- criticize Russian pressure on emerging democracies in the 
region; and 
-- shine a spotlight on non-reforming states, notably 
Belarus. 
 
As co-hosts, the GOL carefully managed the heroes of the Rose 
and Orange Revolutions, Baltic integration success-stories, 
the conspicuous absence of Russia, the presence of Belarusian 
activists, and even public bickering between Armenia and 
Azerbaijan to make the case for a bolder neighborhood policy 
and present the CDC as a bold institution of shared European 
values.  President Adamkus called on the assembled leaders to 
make a new class of commitments, using the hoary bicycle 
analogy to illustrate the need to maintain momentum in 
democracy,s expansion in Europe.  Polish President Kaczynski 
called on new EU members to support EU expansion and open 
doors, noting that even though Poland may lose some EU 
benefits as new members join, a democratic and free Eastern 
neighborhood better serves its long-term interest.  Poland 
and Lithuania issued a joint statement calling on NATO and, 
in particular, the EU to develop and realize the full 
potential of the European Neighborhood Policy "to create a 
Europe whole, free, and at peace." 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
New EU Members and Aspirants Endorse Open Doors Policy 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶4. (U) During their speeches, the presidents of Lithuania, 
Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania all explicitly 
endorsed "open-door" membership policies for EU and NATO. 
Latvian President Vike-Freiberga called for "enhanced 
cooperation between NATO and Ukraine, Georgia, and 
Moldova...conceivably to include a membership action plan 
with regards to Ukraine and intensified dialogue with 
Georgia."  In turn, the presidents of Ukraine, Moldova, and 
Georgia linked the prospects of EU and NATO membership to 
their ability to consolidate democracy, resolve frozen 
conflicts, and cement a western orientation in their 
 
VILNIUS 00000442  002 OF 003 
 
 
countries.  "We hope we will receive a clear signal from the 
EU," said Yushchenko, "that the philosophy of our relations 
will be based on the principle of open doors.  Ukraine cannot 
stay where it is now, in the uncertain zone between East and 
West." 
 
-------------------------------- 
Solana: "Success Begins At Home" 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U) EU High Representative Javier Solana's message was 
that Europe's new democracies cannot count on the promise of 
EU or NATO membership in order to win domestic support for 
reform.  He counseled them to move the domestic reform agenda 
ahead for its own sake; doing so will shape these countries' 
relations with the EU.  "The quality of relations between the 
EU and the new democracies depends on the quality of the 
reforms and democracy within these countries," said Solana. 
"Success begins at home." 
 
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Western European Ministers More Cautious 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) Representatives from Western Europe (who, unlike the 
CDC members, sent ministers or, in France's case, a civil 
servant rather than heads of state to the conference) echoed 
Solana's reticence to endorse EU membership prospects for 
Ukraine and Georgia prematurely.  Nor can the EU accept all 
aspirants at one time, added Belgian Foreign Minister Karel 
De Gucht.  German Minister of State for Europe Gunter Gloser 
outlined the action plans for Ukraine and the Caucasus and 
said that the first step is to move forward on those. 
Austrian delegate Anna Haselbach, Vice President of the 
Bundesrat, raised the possibility of offering something less 
than full membership, suggesting a "third option," "something 
like a European Economic Area." Haselbach and others focused 
on providing assistance to the EU's neighbors.  She noted 
that "through existing structures, the EU has given 
sufficient assistance to democracy and human rights in CIS 
countries."  Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos 
suggested a "more global approach to neighborhood policy." 
He advocated considering together Eastern Europe 
neighborhoods and those of the South Mediterranean in 
discussions of EU neighbors, distinguishing neighborhood 
policy from EU accession.  "Our southern neighbors need 
reform too," he said. 
 
------------------------------------- 
EU's Role Resolving Frozen Conflicts 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U) Romanian President Basescu, Moldovan President 
Voronin and Georgian President Saakashvili argued that the 
prospect of European integration is an important motivation 
for settling frozen conflicts.  Voronin said that "choosing 
European integration as a national strategy" is key to 
finding a "settlement through democracy."  EU HR Solana 
offered help to facilitate settlement of frozen conflicts, 
but said, "The mantra is always the same: success starts at 
home.  The lead must come from new democracies." 
 
¶8. (U) As if to show how difficult that would be, Azeri Prime 
Minister Rasizadeh next spoke perfunctorily about "profound 
changes" in Azerbaijan "instituting democratic processes, 
promoting rule-of-law, establishing freedom of speech and 
human rights."  He then turned to the Azeri-Armenian dispute 
over Nagorno-Karabakh (N-K).  He denounced "Armenia's 
aggression against Azerbaijan," labeling "occupied and 
uncontrolled territories" a "fertile ground for terrorist, 
criminal groups."  Armenian FM Vartan Oskanian described 
Armenia's democratic second path, "evolution, not 
revolution," and struck back on N-K issues, to the visible 
frustration of Solana. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
"A Conference without Russia" but about Russia 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶9. (C) "This is not an anti-Russia conference," Lithuanian 
President Adamkus concluded.  "This is a conference without 
Russia."  (Note: The Conference's organizer, MFA Special 
Ambassador to Eastern Europe Edminas Bagdonas, told us that 
Putin declined to participate in the conference, offering 
instead to send an intelligence official resident at 
Russia,s Embassy here, whom the Lithuanians refused to seat 
at the table.)  Russia,s absence did not spare it from 
comment; several speakers followed Vice President Cheney,s 
lead in discussing the Kremlin,s behavior.  "Democracy is 
under threat" from "political forces in Moscow," Georgian 
 
VILNIUS 00000442  003 OF 003 
 
 
President Saakashvili declared, criticizing what he called 
other countries' "appeasement" of Moscow.  He warned of 
pressures to roll back the democratic advances that new 
democracies have made.  "The changes we once thought were 
universal and irreversible in Tbilisi and Kyiv, here in the 
Baltics, as also in Russia, are now confronted by very 
serious forces intent on promoting very different outcomes," 
he said.  Putin's former advisor, Andrei Illarionov, echoed 
this theme in a panel discussion with heads of state, 
speaking strongly against "contracting freedom and retreating 
democracy" in Russia. 
 
-------------------- 
Spotlight on Belarus 
-------------------- 
 
¶10. (U) HR Solana, Lithuanian President Adamkus, Polish 
President Kaczynski, British Minister of State Douglas 
Alexander, and Austrian Vice-President of the Bundesrat 
Haselbach criticized recent elections in Belarus as 
"fundamentally flawed" and called on Lukashenko to release 
jailed opposition members.  Solana echoed the comments of 
many delegations:  "The people of Belarus showed bravery in 
asserting their fundamental democratic rights.  The EU has 
taken tough measures against those individuals responsible. 
But the EU also sent a clear message of engagement to the 
population and long-term support for civil society." 
 
¶11. (U) Representatives of the Belarusian opposition 
participated in high-level meetings and high-profile events. 
The wives of jailed opposition members Alexander Kozulin and 
Alexander Milinkevich (whom Belarusian authorities detained 
just days before the conference) and opposition Number Two 
Anatoly Lebedko spoke at the lunch for heads of state and 
their delegations.  In addition, the Lithuanian MFA hosted 
ten Belarusian student activists in the scarce NGO seats in 
the conference room. 
 
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Media Response 
-------------- 
 
¶12. (U) While the Vice President,s speech dominated 
international press coverage, local press covered several 
other aspects of the gathering as well.  Covering President 
Adamkus's assertion that the conference was not 
"anti-Russian," one article called the event pro-Russian, 
because it promoted values to which Russian citizens, too, 
should aspire.  Lithuanian press accounts quoted U.S. and EU 
criticism of Lukashenko's regime in Belarus and statements of 
jailed opposition leader Kozulin's wife.  Citing Adamkus and 
Yushchenko, the press compared the CDC to the Vilnius Ten, 
which in 2000 pooled efforts of ten European democracies to 
join the EU and NATO.  These ten countries today strongly 
advocate for regional cooperation and an open door to the 
institutions they already joined. 
 
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Comment 
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¶13. (C) Now a two-year veteran member of the European Union 
and NATO, Lithuania, like its Baltic neighbors and Polish 
co-host, sees itself as a natural promoter of democracy east 
of Europe's borders.  Bringing newly admitted EU and NATO 
member states together with aspirant states that are the 
target of neighborhood policy, the CDC raised high-level 
awareness of the intensity with which much of Europe,s 
eastern flank wishes to join the West. 
KELLY