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Viewing cable 08HELSINKI186, FINLAND: STUBB RAISES GEORGIA AND US MISSILE

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08HELSINKI186 2008-04-30 12:28 2011-04-24 00:00 CONFIDENTIAL Embassy Helsinki
VZCZCXRO1937
PP RUEHBW RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHHE #0186/01 1211228
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 301228Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY HELSINKI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4266
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 0072
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HELSINKI 000186 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/30/2018 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM FI RU
SUBJECT: FINLAND: STUBB RAISES GEORGIA AND US MISSILE 
DEFENSE WITH RUSSIAN FM LAVROV 
 
REF: STATE 40673 
 
Classified By: PolChief Greg Thome, Reasons 1.4 b,d. 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY: Finnish FM Stubb and Russian FM held 
their first official meeting April 25.  Their lengthy 
discussions focused on bilateral issues, the EU-Russia 
relationship, and the OSCE.  Stubb raised UAV incident in 
Georgia and the Russian Presidential Instructions on 
South Ossetia and Abkhazia, urging Moscow to seek a more 
constructive dialogue with Tblisi.  On EU matters, Lavrov 
suggested that Brussels needed to improve its dialogue 
with Russia, including on the CFE and US Missile Defense 
(MD).  Stubb responded by noting that ratification of the 
Lisbon Treaty should -- in general terms -- improve the 
EU's ability to discuss security matters with one voice, 
but he made clear to Lavrov that the EU was not an 
appropriate interlocutor for Russia on MD.  The 
ministers' meeting also focused heavily on economic 
issues, including the proposed Nordstream gas pipeline as 
well as an ongoing dispute over Russian export tariffs on 
timber which have had a devastating impact on the Finnish 
forestry industry.  Both sides were clearly interested in 
keeping the tone productive and amiable.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (C) Newly named Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander 
Stubb traveled to Moscow for his first bilateral with 
Russian FM Sergei Lavrov April 25.  Moscow and Helsinki 
both place great emphasis on maintaining healthy avenues 
of communication; as such, the Finns sent a large 
delegation with Stubb (including two Directors General 
and their Special OSCE Envoy), and the Russians set aside 
nearly three hours for what proved to be warm and wide- 
ranging discussions.  On April 28, MFA Russia Unit Deputy 
Director Antti Vanska and MFA Deskoff for Georgia Paivi 
Pihlajamaki provided Poloffs the following read-out. 
 
Georgia: Finns Raise Concerns about Russian Provocations 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
3. (C) Despite the generally amiable tone of the 
meetings, Vanska and Pihlajamaki noted that Stubb did not 
shy away from raising recent Russian actions toward 
Georgia.  Speaking for his own government and for the 
Finnish OSCE Chairmanship-in-Office (CiO), Stubb 
expressed concern about the shootdown of a Georgian UAV 
and Putin's 'Presidential Instructions' regarding 
Abkhazia and South Ossetia.  Stubb urged Moscow to 
communicate more openly with Tblisi; to do what it could 
to lower the temperature surrounding the UAV in 
particular; and to find ways of playing a constructive 
role in Abkhazia and South Ossetia without threatening 
Georgian sovereignty.  Stubb noted that the OSCE would be 
a proper forum for a broad airing of the UAV shootdown, 
and reassured Lavrov that the Finnish CiO would endeavor 
to 'channel' that discussion in order to ensure that it 
remained productive.  Lavrov offered no substantive 
response regarding either the Presidential Instructions 
or the UAV, aside from suggesting obliquely that the OSCE 
needed to find 'more serious' mechanisms for addressing 
security issues.  He confirmed that President Putin had 
finally taken a call from President Shakasvili, and that 
Moscow did not oppose 'productive' discussions of Georgia 
in the OSCE.  (Comment: At this point, Vanska and 
Pihlajamaki editorialized that, while the OSCE 
discussions on Russia and Georgia are necessary, they are 
unlikely to produce major progress.) Lavrov also noted to 
Stubb that he had discussed Georgia with Secretary Rice. 
 
4. (C) Regarding other OSCE issues, Lavrov offered 
several of the frequently-heard Russian complaints about 
various OSCE institutions, and he alleged that the US is 
'imposing' (no further elaboration) its view of the OSCE 
Charter on other member states.  Lavrov criticized OSCE 
rules governing NGOs' participation, saying that it 
should adopt the UN's model.  He also expressed 'his 
usual concerns' about ODHIR, Vanska said.  Stubb 
responded that the OSCE's 1992 document regarding NGOs 
remains adequate, in Finland's view; that the OSCE's 
institutions need strengthening, not weakening; and that 
the Finns remain fully supportive of ODHIR.  Stubb did 
not respond to Lavrov's vague complaint about the US and 
the OSCE Charter, Vanska added. 
 
An EU Expert on the EU-Russia Relationship 
------------------------------------------ 
5. (C) Given Stubb's deep expertise and experience with 
the EU, the ministers were enthusiastic about exploring 
ways to strengthen the EU-Russia relationship.  Stubb 
noted the EU's internal negotiating framework for a new 
EU-Russia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), 
which has been repeatedly held up by various EU member 
 
HELSINKI 00000186  002 OF 002 
 
 
states for nearly two years.  Lavrov welcomed this 
development, and thanked the Finns for their leadership 
on the PCA, which dates back to their 2006 EU Presidency. 
Lavrov also expressed satisfaction with Finnish 
leadership within the EU's Northern Dimension program and 
praised EU-Russia cooperation under that mechanism. 
Stubb and Lavrov shared concerns about Baltic Sea health, 
and both expected good new regional initiatives to emerge 
next year, given Stockholm's stated interest in making 
the Baltic a focus of its 2009 EU Presidency.  Lavrov 
also raised the issue of EU-Russia crisis management (CM) 
cooperation; he and Stubb agreed that Chad might be a 
good place to begin exploring this possibility, Vanska 
reported. 
 
EU Not/Not the Forum for Missile Defense 
---------------------------------------- 
6. (C) Lavrov referred specifically to the US Missile 
Defense (MD) initiative and the CFE treaty by stating 
that the EU needed to improve its capacity to discuss 
security issues such as these with Russia bilaterally. 
Stubb agreed -- in very general terms -- on the need for 
a more unified EU voice on all foreign and security 
policy issues, holding out the hope that eventual 
ratification of the Lisbon Treaty would make this easier. 
However, Vanska emphasized, Stubb was speaking generally, 
and not about the specific issues of CFE or MD; Stubb 
made clear that MD is not an EU issue, but rather one 
that Russia must handle bilaterally with the US and with 
the two EU member that are directly involved. 
 
Economic Issues 
--------------- 
7. (C) Stubb and Lavrov also discussed several 
outstanding works-in-progress, including Russia's effort 
to slap WTO-inconsistent tariffs on wood exports to 
Finland; the need to facilitate commerce and shipping at 
the borders; and the facilitation of work visas, 
especially for Finns seeking to invest in Russia.  Lavrov 
also raised Nordstream's proposed gas pipeline from 
Russia to Germany, urging the GoF not to allow the matter 
to become 'politicized' in Finland, as he alleged it has 
in Estonia and elsewhere.  Stubb reiterated that the 
GoF's general support for the concept of the pipeline has 
not become a political issue in Finland. 
 
Comment 
------- 
8. (C) No EU country works harder than Finland at 
maintaining a productive and amiable bilateral 
relationship with Russia, and Stubb's first trip to 
Moscow as FM was no exception to that standard practice. 
However, we are pleased that Stubb did not shy away from 
raising potentially divisive issues such as Georgia, and 
that he was clearly willing to push back against the 
usual Russian grumbling about issues such as MD, ODHIR 
and the OSCE's other institutions. 
HYATT