VZCZCXRO1995
RR RUEHLN RUEHPOD RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHMO #1809 1761402
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 241402Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 0828
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8753
INFO RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS MOSCOW 001809 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PREL MCAP PGOV MASS ETRD EPET EINV
 
SUBJECT: COLOMBIAN VICE PRESIDENT SANTOS'S HISTORICAL VISIT TO 
RUSSIA 
 
¶1. (U) Summary.  Moscow officials and experts viewed Colombian Vice 
President Francisco Santos's visit to Russia as a turning point in 
the bilateral relationship.  Santos used the visit to strengthen 
economic ties and to explore the possibility of increasing Russian 
arms sales to Colombia. He met with President Medvedev, Foreign 
Minister Lavrov, Defense Minister Serdyukov and Patriarch Alexey II 
and attended the 12th International Economic Forum in St. 
Petersburg. End summary. 
 
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Russia-Colombia Economic Relations 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) VP Santos' June 1-9 trip to Russia stressed economic 
cooperation.  Denis Davydov, MFA Latin America Desk, told us June 11 
that VP Santos's visit with Russia's leaders was unofficial in its 
nature, and stemmed from Minister of Economic Trade and Development 
Nabiullina's invitation to the 12th International Economic Forum in 
St. Petersburg. In St. Petersburg, Santos met with Foreign Minister 
Sergey Lavrov where both sides reaffirmed the need to deepen 
political dialogue that would lead to more intensive economic and 
investment cooperation. He also sought to strengthen ties between 
the Russian and Colombian business communities.  In Moscow, VP 
Santos took part in an investment forum called "Colombia, A Mine of 
Opportunity."  This forum included executives from Russia's leading 
energy companies such as LUKOIL, Rosneft, and Gazprom.  Since 2002 
LUKOIL Overseas has been exploring the Llanos Basin, Colombia's 
largest oil and gas basin, with Colombian company Ecopetrol.  The 
Russians have expressed interest in engaging in ground and 
underground drilling to extract oil from unexplored regions of 
Colombia. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Referring to Colombia's "competent administration, abundant 
natural resources, and economic potential," Davydov told us that 
Latin America is "coming out of the shadows" and is proving to be a 
prospective place for development. While Colombia is not at the top 
of Russia's priority list as evidenced by the lack of media coverage 
of VP Santos' visit, Russia is steadily seeking to deepen ties with 
the region, including recently opening embassies in Guatemala and 
Paraguay.  The Russian government in general and the business 
community in particular would like to gain a more reciprocal trade 
relationship with Latin American countries since Russia exports less 
to Latin America than Latin America does to Russia. 
 
--------------------------------- 
Military Hardware Diversification 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) Santos expressed interest in signing weapons contracts that 
would allow Colombia to maintain a balance of power in the region. 
Russian arms sales to Colombia have been insignificant in comparison 
to Venezuela, consisting of a few Mi-17 helicopters.  According to 
press reports, Russia is looking to places such as Latin America for 
arms exports because long-time markets in China and India are 
"oversaturated with hardware" and are shifting toward high 
technologies. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Davydov countered a report in news daily Kommersant that 
Santos would urge the GOR to curb arms exports to Venezuela in order 
to avoid an arms race in the region.  Davydov said that the sale of 
arms to either Colombia or Venezuela would not result in a regional 
arms race and that Russia would continue military-technical 
cooperation with both countries.  He noted that Russia sold military 
helicopters to Colombia as early as 1996-1997.  Moreover, he 
characterized Russia-Colombia relations as strong since there were 
no conflicts or disputes among the two sides in their respective 
backyards.  In addition, both countries supported each other in 
international fora such as the UN and cooperated on anti-terrorism 
and drug-trafficking.  Furthermore, he posited that while Russia did 
not support the FARC or ALN, it had stopped short of designating 
them as terrorist organizations, as the EU had done.  Davydov said 
Colombian drugs were present on the local Russian market and the GOR 
sought ways to cooperate with Colombia to address this issue. 
 
¶6. (SBU) A mid-level Colombian embassy official told us Santos's 
visit had focused on economic relations and trade, and he had not 
discussed Venezuelan arms sales. 
 
RUSSELL