VZCZCXRO2086
RR RUEHIK RUEHPOD RUEHYG
DE RUEHHE #0601/01 2180843
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 060843Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY HELSINKI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3640
INFO RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RUEHBW/AMEMBASSY BELGRADE 0035
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 4800
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 0053
RUEHPS/USOFFICE PRISTINA 0035

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HELSINKI 000601 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR EUN NATO FI
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH STATE SECRETARY TIILIKAINEN 
 
REF: HELSINKI 530 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Ambassador Ware and PolChief met with Teija 
Tiilikainen, State Secretary at the Finnish MFA, for a tour 
d'horizon of multilateral and bilateral issues.  Topics included 
potential increases to Finland's NATO/ISAF commitments in 
Afghanistan; Kosovo; Russia; and Finland's 2008 OSCE Presidency. 
End Summary. 
 
NATO/ISAF 
--------- 
¶2. (SBU) Tiilikainen offered an update on internal government 
deliberations regarding Finland's commitments to ISAF.  At the 
initiative of Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva and Defense Minister 
Jyri Hakamies, the GOF is currently preparing a detailed report for 
Prime Minister Vanhanen to present to Parliament examining all 
aspects of Finland's activities in Afghanistan, including 
peacekeeping, crisis management and reconstruction assistance (see 
reftel).  None of the report's details are yet available, but the FM 
and the MOD tell us they are leaning toward recommending significant 
increases in both troops and reconstruction assistance.  Tiilikainen 
noted, however, that convincing key Parliamentarians -- including 
Center Party politicians from within the governing coalition -- that 
increased commitments to ISAF are in Finland's interest will be a 
major challenge.  The "summer news drought" has attracted unhelpful 
media attention to the issue, she said, and there are also public 
opinion hurdles to be overcome in the wake of a Finnish soldier's 
death in Meymenah last spring.  Still, Tiilikainen noted that 
winning over -- or at least satisfying -- skeptical MPs was an 
integral "part of Finland's political culture" and she expressed 
confidence that the forthcoming report would win the cabinet's 
approval and ultimately allow Finland to take a greater role.  The 
Ambassador strongly reinforced the idea that doing more in 
Afghanistan is in Finland's interest, noting the high priority 
Secretary Rice placed on it during her June meeting with FM Kanerva. 
 
SIPDIS 
 She also welcomed the GOF's forthcoming report and its effort to 
win political and public opinion support for ISAF. 
 
Kosovo and Russia 
----------------- 
¶3. (SBU) Turning to Kosovo, the Ambassador emphasized the importance 
of the US and the EU presenting a united front in support of 
Ahtisaari's recommendations regarding final status.  Tiilikainen 
noted that Finland is "among those EU countries" that remain fully 
supportive of full independence for Kosovo.  Although hesitant to 
say at this point whether or not Finland would recognize a 
unilateral Kosovar declaration of independence, she concurred with 
the Ambassador's view that it would be crucial for us to act in 
concert should the US and the EU ultimately face this eventuality. 
Tiilikainen also said the EU must find a way to convince Serbia that 
its interests lie in Europe, and that intransigence on Kosovo 
damaged those prospects.  The Ambassador lamented the fact that the 
Serb leadership appears too weak to hear this message, but noted 
that nonetheless the EU and US must continue to work together to 
emphasize this point to Belgrade.  Tiilikainen also agreed that the 
US and the EU needed to find ways to send unified messages to Russia 
on a range of issues -- including Kosovo, missile defense, WTO 
membership and energy issues -- just as they did to good effect 
during the Estonia Bronze Soldier crises.  Regarding missile 
defense, the Ambassador assured Tiilikainen that the US has had 
substantial dialogue with Russia over the years. 
 
Finland's OSCE Presidency 
------------------------- 
¶4. (U) Tiilikainen noted that Finland will face a range of 
challenges during its 2008 OSCE Presidency, including relations with 
Russia and human rights and democracy issues in the Caucuses.  The 
Ambassador also highlighted our shared interest in ensuring that the 
OSCE maintain the high quality and integrity of its election 
monitoring. 
 
Biographic Notes 
---------------- 
¶5. (SBU) Although Teija Tiilikainen, 43, is not formally affiliated 
with any political party, FM Kanerva (Conservative Party) named her 
in May to be the first-ever "politically appointed" State Secretary 
at the Foreign Ministry.  [The practice of naming "political" State 
Secretaries is very new in Finland; a law permitting government 
 
SIPDIS 
ministers to exercise the option came into effect in 2004 during the 
first Vanhanen Administration (2003-2007).]  A career academic 
specializing in European foreign and security policy as well as in 
EU integration, she served since 2003 as the director of the network 
for European studies at the University of Helsinki.  In 2002 and 
2003, she represented then-PM Paavo Lipponen (Social Democratic 
Party) at the Convention on the Future of Europe, responsible for 
drafting the EU constitutional treaty.  Tiilikainen is a strong 
advocate of EU-NATO security cooperation, and has publicly called 
for close coordination between the two bodies, particularly in the 
 
HELSINKI 00000601  002 OF 002 
 
 
area of crisis management operations (CMO).  In her academic 
writings, she has argued for a common sense approach to the 
capacities of the EU and NATO in CMO, recognizing that NATO has far 
more resources while at the same time calling on the EU to continue 
to develop its own capacities in coordination with NATO.  She has 
also been a strong advocate of improved civilian crisis management 
within the EU, arguing that this would complement well NATO's 
demonstrated military superiority. 
 
¶6. (SBU) FM Kanerva appointed Tiilikainen largely because of her 
expertise on EU issues.  We understand that she will focus -- and 
often act in Kanerva's stead -- on issues related to the EU's 
formulation of common foreign policy and constitutional treaty 
issues, as well as the democracy and human rights issues that should 
become a focus of Finland's OSCE Presidency.  Tiilikainen's proven 
expertise and interest in these areas are expected to complement the 
emphasis that Kanerva and other senior MFA officials will place on 
NATO and European security initiatives. 
 
WARE