VZCZCXRO7629
OO RUEHDBU
DE RUEHMO #7047/01 1840956
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 030956Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8427
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 007047 
 
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FOR EUR A/S FRIED, DRL A/S LOWENKRON, AND EUR DAS KRAMER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/30/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM PINR RS
SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS OMBUDSMAN LUKIN SUGGESTS CHANGES TO 
USG PROPOSAL ON U.S-RUSSIAN ROUNDTABLE ON DEMOCRACY AND 
HUMAN RIGHTS 
 
REF: BURNS/KRAMER TELCON 6/30 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William J. Burns, for reasons 1.4 (B & D) 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY.  In a June 30 meeting, Human Rights Ombudsman 
Vladimir Lukin discussed the paper outlining the proposal for 
a U.S.-Russian Roundtable on Democracy and Human Rights with 
the Ambassador.  Lukin was positive about the proposal, but 
based on his consultations with the MFA and Kremlin Foreign 
Policy Advisor Sergey Prikhodko, Lukin noted four GOR 
concerns about the document.  First, the GOR believed an 
announcement at the G8 summit might be too much too soon -- 
though Lukin expressed his personal support for some kind of 
public reference at the summit.  Second, Lukin proposed 
reducing the number of participants from eight to ten experts 
on each side to four to five experts to a side, at least at 
the start.  Third, the GOR opposed a joint report after the 
first session.  Fourth, the GOR wanted a Russian organization 
to share control of the roundtable with the Carnegie 
Endowment for International Peace.  Lukin stressed the need 
to move quickly to address GOR concerns; he suggested making 
changes in the paper to reflect those concerns and then 
sending it back to his office early in the week of July 3. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (C) Human Rights Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin opened a June 30 
meeting with the Ambassador by noting that his recent trip to 
the U.S. had been productive, and he thanked the USG for its 
support.  He said that after his office had received the 
paper on the U.S.-Russian Roundtable Table on Democracy and 
Human Rights, he discussed the proposal with Kremlin Foreign 
Policy Advisor Sergey Prikhodko and the MFA.  Based on his 
review of the document and his discussions with other 
officials, Lukin said the proposal was a good one and that he 
wanted his office to play a role in the roundtable.  However, 
Lukin noted four GOR concerns with the proposal. 
 
¶3. (C) The GOR concerns are listed in the order they appear 
in the text of the paper.  First, a joint presidential 
announcement about the initiative at the G8 summit would be 
too much too soon.  It was important to avoid raising 
expectations too high at the outset.  The roundtable had not 
been sufficiently developed for the presidents to publicly 
commit to it.  While the GOR might be comfortable saying that 
it was exploring new ideas for a forum to discuss human 
rights and democracy, it did not want to get too specific 
about the roundtable.  However, if both sides were completely 
satisfied with the proposal, it might be possible for the 
organizers of the roundtable to make an announcement around 
the time of the summit.  The announcement could then be noted 
by both governments at the summit.  Lukin said he personally 
thought it a good idea to have an announcement be part of the 
summit, but he would need to have a quick response to the 
GOR's other concerns with the roundtable to help him convince 
others in time. 
 
¶4. (C) The second change that Lukin proposed was to reduce 
the number of participants.  Eight to ten experts on each 
side were too many, especially in the beginning.  Having such 
a large number of participants would likely lead to a more 
confrontational style of discussion.  He suggested that four 
to five experts to a side would be better to allow the 
participants to have a more meaningful dialogue.  Once the 
core group of four to five had established a good working 
relationship, it might be possible to expand the group. 
Third, Lukin said the GOR opposed issuance of a joint report 
after the first session.  Too much publicity about 
disagreements between the two sides early on could hurt the 
roundtable before it could gel. 
 
¶5. (C) Fourth, the GOR wanted a Russian organization to work 
in partnership with the Carnegie Endowment for International 
Peace in running the roundtable.  Carnegie would be an 
acceptable U.S. coordinator, but there also needed to be a 
Russian partner.  The two would share control for 
implementing the roundtable, including choosing the 
participants.  He said that his office might be able to play 
a role as a partner to Carnegie, but no final decision on 
that question had been made.  If a Russian counterpart to 
Carnegie could be identified and all the other issues were 
concluded, it would strengthen the chances of an announcement 
at the summit. 
 
¶6. (C) Lukin stressed the need to move quickly to try and 
reach agreement on the four concerns he outlined.  He 
suggested making changes in the paper to reflect those 
concerns and then sending it back to his office early in the 
week of July 3.  Lukin could then discuss the changes with 
 
MOSCOW 00007047  002 OF 002 
 
 
others in the GOR with the goal of reaching agreement in time 
for the summit.  The text of the paper proposing a 
U.S.-Russian Roundtable on Democracy and Human Rights is 
included below. 
 
¶7. (SBU)  Begin paper: 
 
U.S.-RUSSIAN ROUNDTABLE ON DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS 
 
Concept:  Establishing a U.S.-Russia private/public sector 
roundtable on democracy and human rights will create a new 
channel for regular dialogue on these key issues.  The 
roundtable will not obviate the need for other official 
channels, but will complement them with more in-depth 
discussions by and among experts.  A joint announcement of 
the initiative by Presidents Bush and Putin at the G8 Summit 
would give the dialogue a strong initial boost, improve the 
prospects that it will be productive, and demonstrate both 
sides' commitment to engaging in serious discussions in this 
new forum. 
 
The roundtable should focus on the broad range of democracy 
and human rights issues, including rule of law, media 
freedom, and civil society independence.  It would include 
about eight to ten experts on each side.  Representatives of 
civil society, as well as independent experts, would 
constitute the bulk of each side's delegation, with some 
government officials also taking part.  Sessions would be 
held alternately in Russia and the U.S., and would take place 
at regular intervals to foster real dialogue.  The sessions, 
each lasting 1-2 days, would lead to a joint report 
highlighting areas of agreement and varying perspectives on 
issues.  Between sessions, participants would be encouraged 
to communicate informally. 
 
Procedures:  The dialogue will be organized and run by the 
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, with its Moscow 
Center.  Carnegie will have full control of implementing the 
initiative, including organizing and setting dates for each 
session, establishing an agenda and choosing participants. 
Costs of the initiative would be modest.  To make the 
dialogue a real government-private effort, funding should 
come from both governments and other non-governmental sources 
such as grants, as needed. 
 
Key Elements of a Joint Statement:  The U.S. and Russia 
announce the establishment of the U.S.-Russia Roundtable on 
Democracy and Human Rights.  The Roundtable would bring 
together civil society activists, analysts and government 
officials from both countries to discuss the whole range of 
issues involving democratic societies, including rule of law, 
independent media and a vibrant civil society. 
 
End paper. 
 
 
 
 
BURNS