VZCZCXRO5904
PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHBM #1219/01 2121603
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 311603Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY BUCHAREST
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4897
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 2197
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BUCHAREST 001219 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE DEPT FOR EUR/NCE - WILLIAM SILKWORTH 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/28/2016 
TAGS: MARR MASS PREL IS LE RO
SUBJECT: ROMANIAN LIMITS IN PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS, 
THOUGHTS ON LEBANON 
 
REF: SECSTATE 121375 
 
Classified By: ADCM RODGER GARNER FOR REASONS 1.4 B AND D 
 
¶1. (C) Summary.  Despite popular sentiment in Romania that it 
is already stretched thin in contributing to peacekeeping 
operations overseas, decision makers appear cautiously 
optimistic that Romania would contribute to an international 
peace keeping force, should there be an UN mandate to 
stabilize Lebanon.  Upon returning from Washington, President 
Basescu confirmed the cautiousness of this optimism by saying 
he had not yet committed Romania to participate in a military 
buffer force for Southern Lebanon, but would consider it. 
Minister of Defense Atanasiu, who recently advocated for the 
withdrawal of Romanian troops from Iraq, also made press 
statements that Romania would send troops to Lebanon, if 
requested and paid for by the United Nations.  MOD and MFA 
officials promised to reply, albeit slowly, to reftel 
demarche's offer to participate in the Global Peace 
Operations Initiative.  The diminishing MOD budget, not the 
Defense Minister's appeal for withdrawing troops from Iraq, 
appears to be the major constraining force on Romania's 
ability to contribute to peacekeeping operations.  End 
Summary. 
 
Training for Peacekeeping 
------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) PolOff delivered reftel cable on engaging Romania in 
the Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) to MOD Director 
for Strategic Affairs Mihaela Matei and MFA Acting Director 
for UN Affairs Eugen Mihut on July 27.  Neither the MOD nor 
the MFA representatives appeared overly enthusiastic about 
the opportunity for training in peacekeeping operations.  The 
MOD's Matei said she would forward the message to the General 
Staff, but focused her conversation on budgetary constraints 
within the MOD.  She was encouraged to hear that there could 
be U.S. funding available, and said that would help determine 
the degree of Romania's likely positive answer.  She said 
that it would likely take several weeks to formulate a reply. 
 She also mentioned the difficult transition MOD would be 
undergoing as it ends conscription and wondered how that 
would affect Romania's ability to deploy troops for 
peacekeeping operations. 
 
¶3. (C) The MFA's Mihut was much less enthusiastic, saying it 
would take more than a month for Romania to form a reply and 
that Romania is already stretched rather thin in just 
maintaining its current peacekeeping commitments.  He quickly 
cited the MOD's budgetary restraints and limited number of 
people that could be deployed overseas.  Mihut emphasized the 
political debate stemming from the center-right liberal 
party's campaign to remove troops from Iraq, and suggested it 
would be difficult for Romania to become further involved in 
peacekeeping overseas. 
 
Peacekeepers for Lebanon 
------------------------ 
 
¶4. (C) However, concerning the possibility of Romania 
deploying peacekeeping troops to Lebanon, MFA Director 
General for the Middle East and Global Affairs Stelian Stoian 
told polchief that Romania would "probably consider 
something" once it understands the size and type of force 
organized and its mandate. Stoian said the debate spurred by 
the Prime Minister over Romania's Iraq contribution would 
have no bearing on a decision with regard to Lebanon or 
anywhere else.  Overall he seemed somewhat positive.  Stoian 
also asked what kind of contribution the U.S. was planning to 
contribute to such a force. 
 
¶5. (C) MFA Director for the Middle East Laura Mircea told 
poloff that Romania is "extremely concerned with what happens 
in Lebanon and northern Israel." She said Romania "believes 
the international community can do something to bring an end 
to the crisis" and that "an international force would likely 
be necessary." She also mentioned the domestic situation 
regarding requests to withdraw troops from Iraq, but said 
there would be no such retreat.  She said if there was an 
international force -- whether UN, EU, or NATO -- with a 
clear mandate accepted by Lebanon and Israel, Romania would 
consider participating.  She cautioned, however, that the MOD 
"doesn't really have people" and she thought the likely 
contribution would be very low, probably under 200 troops. 
 
¶6. (C) The social democratic opposition party's George Maior, 
President of the Senate's Defense Committee, told poloff that 
"if there was an international force, legitimized by NATO or 
 
BUCHAREST 00001219  002 OF 003 
 
 
the UN, Romania would be an active player."  Maior said that 
PSD party leader Mircea Geoana commented about the 
possibility of President Bush asking President Basescu for a 
contribution of troops in Lebanon so that Basescu "would 
focus on real security issues" and "not be engaged in 
internal political disputes" such as those with the liberal 
party over troops in Iraq or over the resignations of the 
intelligence chiefs.  Maior mentioned the sizeable financial 
problems in terms of the MOD budget.  He said the budget for 
2007-2008 is now at 1.7%, rather than at 2.38% "where it 
should have been" according to pre-NATO accession 
commitments.  He said the MOD budget is "continuously 
decreasing," although he said he heard some discussions that 
would positively adjust it.  In any case, he said, the 
government would allocate an extra amount should there be an 
international force that Romania would join in Lebanon.  He 
estimated Romania could likely send 300-400 people for such 
an effort, and pledged that the opposition party would 
support such a contribution politically.  He also estimated 
that PNL's campaign to withdraw from Iraq was not going well 
for them and that there were discussions within the party 
that the leadership had gone too far on that issue.  He said 
that the Minister of Defense was in a difficult political 
situation and he would therefore not be able to afford 
"another radical stand" against deploying Romanian troops. 
Maior said that "if there is a UN mandate and a NATO 
umbrella, no one would complain" in Romania about 
contributing forces. 
 
¶7. (C) Minister of Defense Teodor Atanasiu declared to the 
press on July 28 that "if the UN makes a request, we will get 
involved in Lebanon."  He said that he would wait to see what 
the mission of such a peace-keeping force would be, and then 
"make an offer accordingly."  On July 31, Atanasiu added in a 
televised interview that if Romania participated according to 
a UN request, "the UN would pay the bill, as Romania does not 
have the necessary resources."  Atanasiu also announced that 
the Finance Ministry's draft 2007-2010 budget "would not be 
enough for the objectives of the Romanian Army, including 
those assumed within NATO." The draft budget gradually 
reduces military expenditures from 1.7% of GDP in 2007 to 
1.3% of GDP in 2010. 
 
¶8. (C) Upon returning from his trip to the U.S., President 
Traian Basescu stated to the press that neither he nor anyone 
else had committed Romania to sending a peacekeeping force 
into Southern Lebanon, but that Romania would consider such 
action, preferably based on a mandate from the UN Security 
Council to enforce resolution 1559.  The text regarding 
Lebanon of President Basescu's speech delivered upon arrival 
at Bucharest's Henry Coanda Airport is below: 
 
¶9. (U) Begin embassy's rough partial translation of President 
Basescu's July 29 speech: 
 
"...Our position is extremely clear: Romania acknowledges 
unequivocally Israel's right to security, a right defended on 
behalf of its citizens.  I have underscored that Romania is 
interested in the evolution of the conflict between Israel 
and Hezbollah, because we have a great number of citizens in 
Israel, plus their families, with Romanian or Israeli 
citizenship. 
 
At this moment, there are discussions at all levels -- inside 
NATO structures, inside the UN, or even in the context of 
bilateral discussions -- on the possibility of introducing a 
military buffer structure in Southern Lebanon. Neither 
myself, the chief of the General Staff, nor any other member 
of our delegation (who visited the U.S.) ever committed 
Romania to participate with troops in such an action.  From 
our point of view, Romania meets its commitments at the level 
established with our foreign partners, be they inside NATO, 
inside the EU, or within the framework of bilateral 
agreements. 
 
We have to wait first for a decision on Lebanon.  We would 
prefer a decision of the UNSC, as the organization with 
responsibilities in implementing its own resolutions, because 
-- as I have underlined in the discussions at all levels in 
the U.S. -- the actual situation is the result of the failure 
to implement the UNSC resolution 1559 from 2004, in its most 
sensitive areas, such as the disarmament of Hezbollah, the 
blocking of arms transfers to Southern Lebanon and securing 
the control of the whole territory of Lebanon by the Lebanese 
government.  We think a UNSC resolution should be implemented 
and not a solution coming from NATO or other international 
structures or organizations. 
 
 
BUCHAREST 00001219  003 OF 003 
 
 
In this context, Romania has not yet made any commitment 
regarding the structure or type of mission, or the 
responsibilities assumed by each country regarding Southern 
Lebanon. 
 
A NATO decision would take at least six to seven months to be 
enforced, given the decision making process inside NATO.  In 
our opinion, the organization that can take quick decisions 
is the UNSC, which in the past made decisions regarding 
Southern Lebanon that have not been implemented, and the 
Lebanese government was not supported to implement the 
decisions related to the security of Southern Lebanon.... 
 
End text of embassy translation. 
 
¶10. (C) Comment: The center-right Liberal Party's recent 
campaign to remove Romanian troops from Iraq appears to have 
introduced a measure of caution into Romanian officials' 
eagerness to commit troops to peacekeeping operations 
overseas.  It does not, however, appear to be a decisive 
factor.  Romanians are cautiously optimistic that they would 
participate in an internationally legitimized military buffer 
force in Southern Lebanon.  The rapidly diminishing MOD 
budget, on the other hand, appears to be a major constraining 
force on Romania's ability to contribute to peacekeeping 
operations.  End comment. 
 
¶11. (U) Amembassy Bucharest's reporting telegrams are 
available on the SIPRNet website: 
www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/bucharest 
Taubman