VZCZCXRO6471
RR RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHVL #0686/01 2011338
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 201338Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY VILNIUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0411
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 VILNIUS 000686 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/19/2016 
TAGS: OSCE PBTS PREL LH MD
SUBJECT: LITHUANIA SUPPORTS MOLDOVA IN CONFLICT RESOLUTION, 
EURO-INTEGRATION 
 
REF: SECSTATE 115371 
 
Classified By: Pol/Econ officer Traver Gudie for reason 1.4 b,d 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (C) Lithuania strongly supports the U.S. position on the 
Transnistrian referendum and will continue to raise 
Transnistria in its dialogue with Russian on frozen conflicts 
(reftel).  Lithuania considers Moldova one of the primary 
focuses of its neighborhood policy, and has recently engaged 
both EU structures and Russian Foreign Ministry officials 
about the Transnistrian conflict.  Lithuania also strongly 
advocates for deeper EU and NATO integration of Moldova, and 
has recently stepped up its assistance programs to push 
Moldova along the road to euro-integration.  Lithuania has 
leveraged funding from western European partners, especially 
the UK, to provide technical assistance to Moldova aimed at 
the Euro-integration process, and is co-hosting a conference 
on Moldovan euro-integration and conflict settlement in 
September.  End Summary. 
 
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LITHUANIA ENGAGES RUSSIA, EU ON TRANSNISTRIA CONFLICT 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶2. (C) In response to reftel points, Acting Head of the MFA's 
Russia and Eastern Europe Department Arunas Vinciunas told us 
that Lithuania agrees with our points completely.  Lithuania 
supports a negotiated and democratic settlement to the 
conflict, referring specifically to Ukrainian President 
Yushchenko's seven-point plan.  "There can be no democratic 
settlement," said Vinciunas, "as long as Russia maintains 
troops in Transnistria."  Vinciunas told us that Lithuanian 
Undersecretary Albinas Januska made this same point to 
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Karasin during the latter's 
visit to Vilnius in May, and called on Russia to live up to 
its Istanbul commitments to withdraw troops from 
Transnistria.  Vinciunas said that Karasin tried to "argue 
away" the Istanbul Commitments with respect to Transnistria. 
Vinciunas said that Lithuania continues to promote "frank 
conversation" about the frozen conflicts in its bilateral 
relations with Russia. 
 
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LITHUANIA HELPING MOLDOVA TOWARDS DEEPER EU INTEGRATION 
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¶3.  (SBU) As with Ukraine and Georgia, Lithuania views its 
primary assistance to Moldova to be political advocacy for 
Moldova's euro-integration process and support for 
"open-doors" accession policies in NATO and EU structures. 
Lithuania consistently advocates before the EU's General 
Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) and other 
European structures for greater euro-integration of Moldova. 
Vinciunas told us that Moldova readily accepts Lithuania's 
advice on euro-integration, and since May 2006 the Lithuanian 
MFA has posted an advisor on euro-integration in the Moldovan 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  The Lithuanian MFA is 
co-hosting with the Moldovan MFA a conference in Chisinau, 
September 8-9, to bring European and American policy makers 
together with Moldovan officials and civil society leaders to 
discuss resolution of the conflict in Transnistria, 
euro-integration and regional cooperation between Moldova, 
Ukraine, and Romania. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Lithuania is currently pressing European structures 
to extend discounts to Moldovan citizens on Schengen visas. 
Lithuania is asking that Moldovan citizens pay 35  rather 
than 60 euros for the visas.  Echoing Lithuania's similar 
call for citizens of Belarus, Vinciunas outlined the 
importance of person-to-person contact in the 
euro-integration process. 
 
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LITHUANIA STEPPING UP ASSISTANCE TO MOLDOVA 
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¶5. (SBU) Lithuania has begun an assistance program, in part 
financed by the United Kingdom, to help Moldova implement its 
EU Action Plan.  As part of the program, a Lithuanian MFA 
official will sit in the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
and help the Ministry implement different reforms aimed at 
deeper ties between the EU and Moldova.  Moldovan desk 
officer Arturas Valionas told us that the Moldovan Foreign 
Minister seated the advisor next to his office as a 
significant sign of Moldovan buy-in to the project.  Another 
ongoing project pays for Moldovan Ministry of Defense 
officials to study at the Baltic Defense College, and in a 
two-week course on NATO integration held in Vilnius. 
 
VILNIUS 00000686  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Valionas told us that Lithuania plans to increase 
its assistance, from four technical advisors to eight, to 
Moldova's Border Assistance Mission.  The eight advisors from 
the Lithuanian security service focus on technical assistance 
to combat corruption and smuggling.  According to Valionas, 
the assistance does little to address smuggling, as the 
Moldovan border guards do not control the problem areas along 
the Transnistria border.  Nevertheless, the Lithuanian border 
guards have helped gather information about smuggling and 
brought transparency to the problem.  Valionas told a story 
about how the border guards recently applied the normal entry 
procedures to Transnistrian leader Igor Smirnov, who, 
according to Valionas, had been accustomed to crossing the 
border without inspection. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Lithuania is considering another assistance project 
to send sanitary experts to help Moldova attain international 
standards in its production of food products for export. 
Valionas conceded that this program was aimed directly at 
Russia's recent ban on Moldovan wines on sanitary grounds. 
He added that an international technical advisor could add 
transparency to the merits behind Russia's claims that 
Moldovan wine didn't meet Russia sanitary standards. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶8. (C) Lithuania can be counted on to support U.S. positions 
on the Transnistria conflict.  Its keen interest in 
neighborhood policy and demonstrated willingness to engage 
Russia and European structures on European integration and 
frozen conflicts make Lithuania a valuable, willing 
interlocutor on these topics. 
KELLY