VZCZCXRO4727
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHLE #0162/01 1231633
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 031633Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY LUXEMBOURG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5869
INFO RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 0078
RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS 0015
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0088
RUEHSL/AMEMBASSY BRATISLAVA 0079
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RUEHCP/AMEMBASSY COPENHAGEN 1107
RUEHDL/AMEMBASSY DUBLIN 0026
RUEHHE/AMEMBASSY HELSINKI 0278
RUEHLI/AMEMBASSY LISBON 0051
RUEHLJ/AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA 0079
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0144
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 0466
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 0398
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RUEHSF/AMEMBASSY SOFIA 0261
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RUEHTL/AMEMBASSY TALLINN 0060
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 2399
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RUEHVI/AMEMBASSY VIENNA 0061
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RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
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RUEHROV/AMEMBASSY VATICAN 0005
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LUXEMBOURG 000162 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/25/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PREL LU
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR WAGNER'S MEETING WITH FM ASSELBORN 
APRIL 28 
 
REF: A. STATE 55201 
     ¶B. LUXEMBOURG 0152 
 
Classified By: AMB ANN L. WAGNER, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary:  Ambassador Wagner met privately with 
Foreign Minister Asselborn April 28 to press home the U.S. 
government's deep concerns about the unhelpful remarks he has 
made about missile defense.  Asselborn defended his comments 
by stating that he was merely saying "what other people were 
thinking."  The FM said his talks with Russian FM Lavrov 
suggested that the Russians would seriously consider missile 
defense negotiations with the U.S.  Asselborn requested a 
meeting with Secretary Rice following his visit to 
Afghanistan in June.  (Note:  Embassy is not ready to 
recommend a meeting with the Secretary at this time.  End 
note.)  Despite the USG's and the Government of Luxembourg's 
own best efforts to rein him in, FM Asselborn will remain the 
GOL's problem child - as well as a popular politician.  End 
summary. 
 
¶2.  (C) Ambassador Wagner told FM Asselborn April 28 that his 
cumulative remarks has caused a "setback" in Luxembourg-U.S. 
relations that would take care and time to repair.  The 
Ambassador noted that Russian objections to the missile 
defense plan were baseless and illogical, to which Asselborn 
grudgingly agreed.  She strongly encouraged the FM to vent 
any future concerns about U.S. foreign policy issues directly 
with her and not in the media and reinforced the fact that 
words carry great weight and his were not helpful.  The FM 
opined that he was only voicing aloud "what other people were 
thinking" and that he believed what he was saying ("I must be 
true to myself").  He did agree to a more "open and direct 
dialogue" with the Ambassador in the future.  He also noted 
that his Ministry staff had taken a keen interest in his 
public comments since engaging with Mission staff on the 
issue of missile defense. 
 
¶3.  (C) FM Asselborn said that the missile defense debate "is 
just beginning" and that the issue is more political than 
military.  He said that NATO was the right forum for missile 
defense discussions, but added that it should also be 
discussed by the European Union because it had broad 
implications for Europe as a whole.  The FM said that Russian 
FM Lavrov had told him that Russia was "not closing the door" 
to missile defense negotiations and that the Russian 
government considered missile sites in Western Europe, for 
example in Italy or the United Kingdom, preferable to Poland 
and the Czech Republic.  Asselborn closed the discussion 
about Russia by reminding Ambassador Wagner that "I am not 
the guy who invited Putin to Luxembourg."  (Note: Press 
reports credit Prime Minister Juncker with the invitation; 
President Putin is scheduled to visit Luxembourg in May.  End 
note.) 
 
 
LUXEMBOURG 00000162  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶4.  (C) Asselborn said that he was visiting Afghanistan June 
11 and would like to meet with Secretary Rice when he 
returned to give her a read-out.  He proposed the meeting to 
the Secretary on the margins of the April 26-27 Oslo meeting. 
 He said the Secretary's response was that any meeting would 
"depend on Ambassador Wagner." 
 
¶5.  (C) Comment:  Any Mission recommendation for a meeting 
with the Secretary will depend on Asselborn's future public 
comments.  His promise of an open and direct dialogue in the 
future acknowledges that he got the message, however he 
showed no remorse for the harm his remarks caused and we 
cannot guarantee that he will remain silent on missile 
defense.  He seems unwilling or unable to censor himself, and 
senior officials at the MFA have had only limited success 
getting their boss to stick to his talking points.  Prime 
Minister Juncker has publicly clarified Luxembourg's official 
position (missile defense should be discussed in NATO and in 
the NATO-Russia Council and Luxembourg recognizes the right 
of its NATO partners to conclude bilateral agreements), but 
Asselborn is likely to continue to be the GOL's problem 
child.  We will continue to monitor his public statements 
very carefully. 
 
¶6.  (C) Comment continued:  FM Asselborn enjoys solid - and 
growing - popularity in Luxembourg, further enhancing his 
position as PM Juncker's key coalition partner.  An April 
17-23 public opinion poll showed Juncker maintaining his huge 
popularity among Luxembourgers with an 81 percent approval 
rating.  FM Asselborn, however, got the second highest 
approval rating, knocking very pro-American Justice Minister 
Luc Frieden to third place.  Although there may be no 
relationship between Asselborn's enhanced popularity and his 
comments on missile defense, Embassy believes that a serious 
public debate in Luxembourg on missile defense could easily 
solidify opposition to our plans. 
WAGNER