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C O N F I D E N T I A L HELSINKI 000848 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/22/2017 
TAGS: OSCE PREL PGOV PHUM FI
SUBJECT: FINLAND: OSCE MADRID MINISTERIAL 
 
REF: STATE 157672 
 
Classified By: Polchief Greg Thome for reasons 1.4 (b) & (d) 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: With its chairmanship only five weeks away, 
the GOF is realistic about the fact that few if any miracles 
will emerge from the Madrid Ministerial, and that Finland 
will be left to manage a range of divisive issues.  Finland 
is in "complete agreement" with our emphasis on maintaining 
an OSCE presence on Kosovo.  The GOF has set aside funds for 
an OSCE Central Asia border mission, but feels that other EU 
countries are not stepping up.  The GOF agrees with the US 
that the OSCE should do more in Afghanistan, but reaching 
consensus at the Madrid Ministerial will be difficult. 
Finland sees agreement on a "package" approach to the 
2009-2010-2011 OSCE chairs at Madrid as urgent, because 
"deal-making will only get harder" after that.  Despite 
Russia,s pressure, Finland will seek to keep the door open 
to NGO participation, in accordance with the OSCE's 1992 
Guidelines on NGO Partnership.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU) PolChief delivered subject demarche to Aleksi 
Harkonen, Director of the Finnish MFA's OSCE Chairmanship 
Task Force, Nov. 23.  With its OSCE Chairmanship only five 
weeks away, Finland hopes that several of the thorniest 
issues currently facing the Organization can be resolved -- 
or at least significantly advanced -- at the Madrid 
Ministerial.  However, Harkonen expressed no naivety in this 
regard, fully recognizing that Finland will be in the tough 
position of managing several of the most divisive issues 
facing the OSCE when the GOF assumes the chairmanship on Jan. 
¶1. 
 
Balkans 
------- 
¶3. (C) The GOF "completely agrees" with the US views that the 
OSCE must maintain a robust presence in Kosovo and that there 
is no organization prepared to adequately replace OmiK. 
Finland has engaged in bilateral consultations at the 
Director General level with Russia and Serbia, expressing to 
both the fact that it is in everyone's interest -- and 
particularly the ethnic Serbs in Kosovo -- that the OSCE 
remain, Harkonen reported.  Neither the Russians nor the 
Serbs appeared prepared to accept that argument, and Russian 
FM Lavrov went so far as to suggest to Finnish FM Ilkka 
Kanerva during a bilateral Nov. 16 that the OSCE would have 
to withdraw if Kosovo declared unilateral independence, 
Harkonen said.  The GOF believes that the OSCE mission could 
be reduced once the EU mission in Kosovo begins to stand up 
(a point it has NOT raised with Moscow or Belgrade). 
Harkonen opined that ultimately the Russians may not take too 
hard a line on the OSCE in Kosovo -- Lavrov's tough talk 
notwithstanding -- given that they much prefer an OSCE 
presence to an EU presence. 
 
¶4. (SBU) On Croatia, Harkonen said Finland supported drawing 
down the OSCE presence with an eye toward ending the mission 
in the second half of 2008. 
 
Afghanistan / Central Asia 
-------------------------- 
¶5. (C) Finland strongly supports an OSCE border-strengthening 
mission in Central Asia and warmly welcomed the emphasis our 
points placed on it.  Harkonen said that Finland is so 
enthusiastic that it has set aside "half a million Euros" for 
the project and designated administrators and law enforcement 
trainers for the job.  However, he added, "we feel a little 
lonely," given that very few OSCE member states -- 
particularly those who are also EU members -- have stepped up 
with offers of funds or personnel.  Harkonen was also 
open-minded about an OSCE mission inside Afghanistan, but 
noted that there is "likely to be no consensus on activities 
inside Afghanistan."  Russia remains adamant that the OSCE 
should do nothing outside OSCE territory.  And despite the 
fact that OSCE activity in Afghanistan would make a lot of 
sense, the Russian view "finds a lot of sympathy," including 
throughout the EU. 
 
OSCE Chairmanship Questions 
--------------------------- 
¶6. (C) Spain's latest "Package Approach" to post-Finland OSCE 
Chairmanships is now:  Greece in 2009; Kazakhstan in 2010; 
Lithuania in 2011.  This is not an ideal approach, Harkonen 
said, especially if the Package is put forward without any 
caveats on Kazakhstan's behavior or reforms before 2010. 
Nevertheless, Finland, for its part, sees the adoption of 
some sort of Package at Madrid as urgent, given that "deal 
making will only get harder" the longer the issue remains 
unresolved.  In addition, the longer the Kazak question is 
left open, the longer Russia will use the Chairmanship 
question as an excuse to keep other, unrelated issues open, 
Harkonen added.  For these reasons, Finland is likely to 
support whatever "package" emerges in Madrid.  (EMBASSY 
COMMENT: We also know that the GOF absolutely does not want 
to find itself in a position of having to pass judgment on 
Kazakhstan's reform efforts during its presidency -- yet 
another reason the GOF will likely support whatever package 
emerges.  END COMMENT.) 
 
NGOs 
---- 
¶7. (C) The GOF was pleased with the emphasis the US places on 
keeping the door open to NGOs, and FM Kanerva has expressed a 
personal commitment to ensuring maximum NGO participation in 
the OSCE, Harkonen said.  Kanerva raised the issue in his 
recent meeting with Lavrov, assuring the Russian that the GoF 
would be strictly guided by the OSCE's 1992 Guidelines on NGO 
Participation, but also emphasizing that the Guidelines were 
designed to include NGOs, not exclude them.  This has become 
a particularly delicate issue for the GOF because the 
Russian-Chechnyan Friendship Society -- banned in Russia -- 
has now registered itself as a Finnish NGO, and the GOF fully 
supports its participation in appropriate OSCE events. 
WARE