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UNCLAS BRUSSELS 001430 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EUN GG KZ OSCE PGOV PREL TU UZ
SUBJECT: NEW EU SPECIAL REP FOR GEORGIA MEETS WITH DAS 
MERKEL 
 
¶1. (SBU) The EU's new Special Representative for the Georgia 
Crisis, Pierre Morel, met with visiting Deputy Assistant 
Secretary David Merkel September 15.  During their lunch, 
Morel got "the call" that his new position had been made 
official at the EU Foreign Ministers GAERC.  Morel told 
Merkel that his role should be seen as an "ad hoc" mission, 
to focus on the crisis in Georgia.  He suggested he would 
only remain in the position for six months, until February 
¶2009.  He said that he wanted to work in tandem with the EU 
Special Representative for South Caucasus Peter Semneby, with 
whom he planned to meet later September 15, partially to 
allay any concern regarding overlap in their respective 
roles.  Morel also said that he planned to keep his current 
role as EU Special Representative for Central Asia.  However, 
he said that the bulk of the French presidency's high profile 
work on Central Asia would take place at the September 18 
EU-Central Asia Security Forum.  He implied that following 
the forum, he would ease his own focus on Central Asia as 
well. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Morel said that he was just reading into his new 
position and that he planned to use the week of UNGA in New 
York as well as two days in Washington September 24-25 to 
consider the "margins of maneuver" on the Georgia crisis and 
to prepare for the international conference in Geneva October 
¶15.  Morel cautioned that in his view, October 15 was too 
soon to expect a full-fledged diplomatic exercise and 
stressed the need to lower expectations.  Morel said he hoped 
to have more clarity about his role and areas of focus by the 
time he traveled to New York and Washington, but said that 
the six point agreement, aid, and refugees would be 
priorities. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Merkel outlined the USG three-pronged strategy 
toward the crisis: support Georgia; respond to Russian 
actions; and bolster regional allies.  On the third point, 
Morel noted that the September 18 EU-Central Asia Security 
Forum in Paris would be a good opportunity to demonstrate to 
Central Asian partners their importance to the EU.  The forum 
would include Foreign Ministers from all 27 EU member states 
and candidate countries (Turkey, Croatia, and Macedonia) as 
well as the five Central Asian countries.  There would also 
be representatives present from international and regional 
organizations and development banks.  The forum would focus 
on drug trafficking, counterterrorism, and energy and 
environmental issues.  Morel said there would be no formal 
reference to Georgia in the outcome document, due to the 
difficulty of getting agreement by all participants, but that 
Georgia would be discussed in a restricted dinner with the EU 
troika September 17 and referenced in various speeches.  He 
noted that the outcome document would contain a veiled 
reference to Iran by referring to "proliferation crises." 
Morel stressed that the important point was that the meeting 
take place and that Central Asian countries be seen as on the 
side of "concerned countries." 
 
¶4. (U) This message has not been cleared by DAS Merkel. 
MURRAY 
.