VZCZCXRO7189
PP RUEHAST RUEHBW RUEHFL RUEHLA RUEHMRE RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHVEN #0111/01 1151552
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 241552Z APR 08
FM USMISSION USOSCE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5682
INFO RUCNOSC/ORG FOR SECURITY CO OP IN EUR COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0491
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA 1050
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0993
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHMFIUU/HQ USAFE RAMSTEIN AB GE//POLAD/XPXC//
RHMFISS/CDRUSAREUR HEIDELBERG GE
RHMFISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE//ECJ5-T/ECPLAD/ECCS//
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEASWA/DTRA ALEX WASHINGTON DC//OSAE
RUESDT/DTRA-OSES DARMSTADT GE
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J5-DDPMA-E/DDPMA-IN/CAC//
RUEADWD/DA WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 USOSCE 000111 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR VCI/CCA, VCI/NRRC, EUR/RPM, EUR/PRA, SCA/CEN, 
SCA/RA, PM/WRA 
JCS FOR J5 
OSD FOR ISA (PERENYI) 
NSC FOR DOWLEY 
USUN FOR LEGAL, POL 
CENTCOM FOR CCJ5-C, POLAD 
UNVIE FOR AC 
GENEVA FOR CD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PARM PREL OSCE KCFE XG
SUBJECT: FSC APRIL 23: RUSSIANS BRANDISH "BLACKLIST" OF 
VD99 VIOLATORS, UK AND OTHERS ASK FOR WIDER INVESTIGATION 
 
REF: STATE 39501 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Russia protested it did not want to be a 
mentor to participating States who may have violated the 
Vienna Document timelines for requesting inspections or 
evaluations, but other delegations asked the CPC to broaden 
the scope of the inquiry into violations.  Several states 
have confessed they are on Russia's list, including the UK, 
which then countered by asking for a wider inquiry going back 
a year or two.  Russia also blasted pS who failed to make 
timely request for transit visas for Vienna Document 
inspections or who provide erroneous applications.  Serbia, 
Russia, and the U.S. again rehearsed their positions on 
possible U.S. defense cooperation with Kosovo. 
 
¶2. (SBU) The draft decision to amend the OSCE MANPADS export 
control principles is only one country, Belarus, away from 
consensus.  Germany intends to issue a revision of its Vienna 
document "quota race" proposal, but is not expecting rapid 
adoption of any decision.  The latest and now condensed 
version of the Small Arms and Light Weapons Points of Contact 
decision gained wide support.  The chair intends to leave the 
survey of suggestions from the 2008 Annual Implementation 
Assessment Meeting on the working group agenda, although she 
gave the usual caveat that it was the exclusive prerogative 
of pS to turn the suggestions into proposals for the Forum's 
adoption.  Russia applauded her decision.  End Summary. 
 
Kosovo Defense Cooperation: Round Three 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Serbia (Zaric) announced it too could not accept the 
U.S. decision that Kosovo was eligible for defense 
cooperation as Kosovo was not an independent state but still 
a province of Serbia (FSC.DEL/79/08).  Zaric added that the 
Ahtisaari plan, referenced in the U.S. intervention at the 
April 16 FSC, was not accepted by the UN Security Council. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The U.S. (Neighbour) replied by referring 
delegations to its April 16 FSC statement (FSC.JOUR/548 
Annex) and April 3 Permanent Council statement 
(PC.DEL/245/08).  The statements, Neighbour said, are still 
valid and did not need to be repeated. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Russia (Ulyanov) reported it had sent the April 16 
U.S. intervention to Moscow and studied it carefully. 
Ulyanov charged the U.S. remarks failed to address the 
Russian points on the UN Security Council resolutions or the 
OSCE norms, instead dealing only in generalizations.  Ulyanov 
repeated his earlier claim that UNSCR 1367 contained 
provisions that still limit military assistance to Kosovo. 
 
Russia Foments Public Confessions 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Russia circulated a proposal for a chair's statement 
on violations of the timelines for requesting Vienna Document 
inspections or evaluations (paras 85 and 112) after 
describing at the April 16 FSC a list of 31 violators of the 
timelines in the last three months (FSC.DEL/75/08).  Several 
states--Turkey, Germany, and the UK--admitted they were on 
what some half-seriously called the "blacklist" and agreed 
that more effort should be made to comply with the timelines. 
 The UK (Gare), however, then asserted that a wider survey, 
perhaps going back a year or two, would help the Forum 
 
USOSCE 00000111  002 OF 004 
 
 
determine if the recent spate of violations was just that or 
part of a longer trend.  Gare has separately told the U.S. 
that her research indicates Russia is a conspicuous violator 
of the timelines.  (Comment: These Russian violations 
presumably occurred over the longer time frame Gare 
references.  End comment.)  Gare also noted that most of the 
31 violations were "quite close" to the timelines, only a few 
hours or a day out, the more egregious offenders forming a 
"much smaller group."  While Turkey and Ukraine reported they 
were consulting with capitals, Slovakia, Germany, and the 
U.S. (Silberberg) opposed a chair's statement as unnecessary, 
while supporting continued discussion of the matter at the 
FSC. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Russia (Ulyanov) replied that his draft chair's 
statement need not be adopted.  It was intended to draw 
attention to the problem; perhaps assurances from pS that 
they will comply with the timelines will have the same 
effect.  However, he asserted, it was time "to end this 
irregularity."  Even a day, referring to Gare's observation 
that most of the violators were just a day outside the 
timelines, makes a difference, he scolded.  He asked the 
chair to request the Conflict Prevention Center (CPC) to 
compile a list of violations during 2007. 
 
¶8. (SBU) The CPC (Martyniuk and Kytomaki) is willing to 
compile the data, although it noted it is already available 
in the CPC annual and quarterly reports, albeit without the 
names of violating pS.  The CPC could produce a survey of 
violations from 2002 without much difficulty.  While most 
delegations said they would support an extended study with or 
without names of violators, Luxembourg and France argued 
against a "name and blame" exercise.  Canada questioned why 
names of the countries should be hidden. The chair (Kaldas) 
announced she would refrain from tasking the CPC until 
delegations could continue the discussion at the next working 
group on April 30. 
 
Russia Wants Timely and Correct Transit Visa Requests 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Russia (Uskov) complained under Any Other Business 
about late requests for transit visas from pS seeking to 
transit Russia en route to another pS to be inspected under 
the Vienna Document.  Uskov said the visa must be requested 
no later than ten days before the date of entry into Russia. 
Applications are to be made through Russian embassies or with 
the assistance of the Russian verification center.  Russia 
reports a problem, too, with erroneous data on visa 
applications.  Finland then thanked Russia for honoring its 
late request for transit visas to perform a Vienna Document 
inspection in Tajikistan. 
 
AIAM Survey of Suggestions 
-------------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) In a reprise of previous chairs' efforts to 
stimulate discussion in the working group, the chair (Kaldas, 
Estonia) invited comment on the survey of suggestions from 
the 2008 Annual Implementation Assessment Meeting 
(FSC.AIAM/25/08/Corr.1).  She warned that it remained the 
responsibility of delegations to turn the suggestions into 
Food-for-Thought papers and draft decisions.  Russia 
(Ulyanov), supporting the chair's announcement that the list 
will remain on the working group agenda indefinitely, 
 
USOSCE 00000111  003 OF 004 
 
 
recalled it had last year proposed a line-by-line assessment 
of the AIAM survey to whittle out the worthwhile ideas. 
(Comment: There was at the time little enthusiasm for the 
Russian approach.  End comment.) 
 
Vienna Document Quota Race 
-------------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) Belarus noted that the German proposal for 
meliorating the effect of the Vienna Document "quota race" 
(FSC.DEL/51.08) would curtail the passive quota of pS.  The 
proposal would also reduce the element of surprise in the 
announcement of inspections and evaluations.  Pavlov was 
skeptical that the proposal would actually resolve the 
problem of the quota race, and recommended further discussion 
of bilateral agreements and voluntary measures.  Germany 
(Schweizer) welcomed further comment and will prepare a 
revision shortly.  Referring to the chair's decision to keep 
the AIAM survey on the working group agenda, Schweizer noted 
the quota race proposal began as a suggestion at the AIAM. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Separately, Schweizer told the U.S. (Silberberg) 
that the proposal was meant to stimulate discussion of the 
problem but probably would not reach consensus in its present 
version.  Schweizer said the paper reflected Germany's belief 
that Russian demands for consideration of new measures in the 
Forum had to be met with something other than mere refusal. 
He acknowledged that the paper would not eliminate the quota 
race.  The U.S. is discussing with Schweizer its concerns 
over the proposal per reftel. 
 
MANPADS 
------- 
 
¶13. (SBU) The draft decision amending the OSCE MANPADS export 
control principles to include recent changes to the Wassenaar 
Arrangement elements apparently lacks only agreement from 
Belarus, awaiting instructions, before it can be referred to 
the plenary (FSC.DD/5/08). 
 
Illicit Air Trafficking of SALW 
------------------------------- 
 
¶14. (SBU) France (Fournier) announced it and co-sponsor 
Belgium would wait until May 7 for additional comments before 
it prepared a revision of the draft decision calling for a 
questionnaire and Best Practice Guide on national regulation 
of air transport of SALW (FSC.DEL/62/08). 
 
SALW Points of Contact 
---------------------- 
 
¶15. (SBU) Denmark revised the draft decision for SALW Points 
of Contact in light of German and others' comments on an 
earlier version.  The latest version describes a "directory" 
vice a "network" or "system" and includes a simplified 
"annex" of provisions in place of the earlier "terms of 
reference."  There is wide support for the latest version 
(FSC.DD/2/08/Rev.1).  USDEL intends to join consensus at the 
next working group on April 30 unless otherwise instructed. 
 
Working Group B's 300th 
----------------------- 
 
¶16. (SBU) The chair (Kaldas) announced that Working Group B 
 
USOSCE 00000111  004 OF 004 
 
 
was meeting for the 300th time.  In response to her question, 
retired Italian Air Force Brigadier Pierpaolo Tempesta, now 
representing the Holy See, admitted he had also attended the 
first meeting of the group. 
 
Next Meeting 
------------ 
 
¶17. (U) The FSC will meet again on April 30. 
SCOTT