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S E C R E T PARTO 041409 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/30/2019 
TAGS: OVIPPREL MNUC KNNP AF RU IR
SUBJECT: Secretary Clinton's March 31, 2009 conversation 
with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov 
 
Classified by: Paul Wohlers, Deputy Executive Secretary, 
S/ES, Department of State. Reason 1.4.(b,d) 
 
¶1. (U) March 31, 2009; 3:30 pm; The Hague, Netherlands. 
 
¶2. (U) Participants: 
 
U.S. 
The Secretary 
SRAP Holbrooke 
A/S Fried 
Michael McFaul, Senior Director for Russia and Eurasia, 
NSC 
Howard Solomon, Office of Russian Affairs 
Rebecca Callaway (Embassy Notetaker) 
 
Russia 
FM Sergei Lavrov 
D/FM Alexander Borodavkin 
Igor Neverov, Head of North America Department, MFA 
Evgeniy Ivanov, Head of Foreign Minister's Office 
Vladislav Maslennikov, Minister-Counselor, Russian 
Embassy 
 
¶3. (C) SUMMARY. On the margins of the March 31 Dutch- 
Afghan-U.N. Conference on Afghanistan in The Hague, the 
Secretary and Russian FM Lavrov discussed the upcoming 
meeting between President Obama and Russian President 
Medvedev, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Middle 
East Peace Process and the North Caucasus. The 
Secretary and Lavrov finalized the text of the joint 
presidential statement and agreed to a meeting in 
Washington in May, with a possible follow-up "2 plus 2" 
meeting in June before the Presidential Summit in Moscow 
in July. Lavrov was concerned that the joint statement 
might contain language that the Iranians perceive as a 
threat or accusation. On Afghanistan, Lavrov reiterated 
that the Government of Russia (GOR) would consider 
delisting former Taliban if there was a strong 
evidentiary package and expressed support for an OSCE 
election support mission in Afghanistan. Lavrov 
highlighted the need to harmonize U.S. and Russian 
actions towards Pakistan and pushed for a Moscow 
Conference on the Middle East Peace Process in July. END 
SUMMARY. 
 
----------------------- 
U.S.-Russia Cooperation 
----------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) The two leaders met on the margins of the March 
31 Dutch-Afghan-U.N. conference on Afghanistan in The 
Hague ("International Conference on Afghanistan: A 
Comprehensive Strategy in a Regional Context"). The 
tone of the meeting was friendly. The Secretary and 
Lavrov expressed satisfaction with the joint 
presidential statement and the statement on post-START 
negotiations. (Note: Both statements were released the 
following day during Presidents Obama and Medvedev's 
April 1 meeting. End Note.) Lavrov suggested that they 
work to finalize the U.S.-Russia Action Plan with the 
goal of announcing it during Lavrov's May 7 visit to 
Washington. They considered the possibility of a 
follow-on "2 plus 2" meeting in June before President 
Obama's visit to Moscow in July for a Presidential 
Summit. Lavrov mentioned that although there would be 
logistical difficulties (i.e. the state flights issue) 
if President Obama wanted to come to Moscow, those could 
be resolved. 
 
---- 
Iran 
---- 
 
¶5. (S) Turning to the joint statement, the Secretary 
and Lavrov discussed how to express a shared concern 
 
 
over the possibility of an Iranian nuclear weapons 
program without sending a signal to Iran that would 
either condone such a program or be perceived by the 
Iranians as a threat. Lavrov stressed that Russia does 
not want the statement to contradict the International 
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has not found 
evidence of an Iranian nuclear weapons program. Lavrov 
also indicated the need to be very particular about the 
text because it might be later adopted by either the 
U.N. Security Council or in a bi- or multi-lateral 
agreement. The Secretary and Lavrov agreed on language 
that recognizes Iran's right to a civilian nuclear 
program but underscores the concerns of the U.S. and 
Russia about an Iranian nuclear weapons program. 
 
¶6. (S) In terms of the U.S.-Iranian relationship, 
Lavrov said that he "can welcome President Obama's 
message to the Iranian People." He said that he thinks 
there is a chance to "reset the U.S.-Iranian track," and 
that full U.S.-Iranian engagement may be possible. The 
opportunity is fragile, and if the April 1 joint 
presidential statement contains language that the 
Iranians perceive as a threat or accusation, the process 
could derail. 
 
-------------------- 
Afghanistan-Pakistan 
-------------------- 
 
¶7. (C) On the Afghanistan conference, the Secretary and 
Lavrov both expressed appreciation for the other 
country's ideas and interventions. Lavrov added that he 
welcomed U.S. participation in the Shanghai Cooperation 
Organization's (SCO) special conference on Afghanistan, 
held March 27 in Moscow. Secretary Clinton said that 
the United States would especially appreciate Russian 
help with the U.N. 1267 committee and establishing a 
framework for delisting former Taliban members. Lavrov 
expressed support for delisting, but cautioned that 
specific procedures would need to be set out and that 
the person to be delisted must clearly show that he is 
no longer engaged in terrorist violence. Lavrov gave an 
example of a governor in Afghanistan whom the Dutch had 
asked Russia to delist. In that case, Russia was firm 
that the governor would not be delisted simply for 
political reasons -- there needed to be evidence that 
the governor was no longer an active member of the 
Taliban. 
 
¶8. (C) Lavrov also raised the possibility of the OSCE 
doing an "assessment mission" in relation to the 
upcoming Afghan elections. The election support in 2004 
by the OSCE had been outside its mandate, said Lavrov, 
as Afghanistan is not an OSCE member. Russia feels that 
a 2009 OSCE election support mission is enough, but an 
OSCE assessment would be problematic. 
 
¶9. (C) On Pakistan, Lavrov mentioned that he had met 
with Pakistan's FM Qureshi. Russia and Pakistan are in 
close consultations and are interested in setting up 
bilateral or group meetings. Lavrov also highlighted 
the need to harmonize U.S. and Russian actions towards 
Pakistan. Secretary Clinton agreed that the U.S and 
Russia should hold meetings on Pakistan, but that the 
U.S. Department of Defense may need to get involved if 
the meetings discussed the military. Lavrov indicated 
that the Russian Defense Ministry would not need to be 
involved, as there are no Russian troops on the ground, 
but said "let's be inventive." 
 
¶10. (C) SRAP Holbrooke suggested changing text in the 
draft joint presidential statement to note that 
terrorist groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan are a 
common threat to the U.S. and Russia, and that the two 
countries agree to work together and support a 
coordinated response to that threat, with the U.N. 
 
 
playing a key role. Lavrov agreed to the proposal, 
saying "We do have problems in our territory from those 
(groups)." 
 
----------- 
Israel/MEPP 
----------- 
 
¶11. (C) Lavrov raised the Russian proposal to hold a 
Moscow Conference as a follow-on to the Annapolis 
Conference, noting that "the Arabs are pushing" for a 
conference. He added that the GOR is considering a July 
timeframe, and perhaps President Obama could be there to 
open the conference with President Medvedev. He claimed 
that the GOR has been talking to Israeli Foreign 
Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who has reportedly said that 
he will come to Moscow for the conference. Lavrov 
thinks this is worth doing, but that the U.S. and Russia 
should be careful not to raise expectations too high. 
Russia wants to "let the steam out" and make the 
negotiations continue from where they stopped. The 
Secretary said that the idea was intriguing, but that 
the United States has not talked with either Israeli 
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or Lieberman yet. She 
said that she would bring up the idea informally with 
President Obama in London. 
 
--------------------- 
USAID in the Caucasus 
--------------------- 
 
¶12. (C) Following up on their meeting in Geneva, 
Lavrov told the Secretary he had heard back from the 
"relevant agencies" on USAID's activities in the North 
Caucasus. He appreciates that USAID was working with 
the MFA to clarify its programs in the North Caucasus. 
He added that a joint U.S.-Russian visit to the region 
was planned, and said he welcomed a USAID presentation 
of its programs there. Secretary Clinton thought that 
this may be the best way to "avoid the thorny issues." 
 
---------------------------- 
Airport Delay/Adoption/Visas 
---------------------------- 
 
¶13. (C) Lavrov acknowledged receiving the message from 
the American Embassy in Moscow about delays (of Russian 
NGO head Migranyan) at JFK airport. The Secretary 
assured him that this was not a deliberate act. When 
Lavrov raised the compensation offered (to Aleksandr 
Kashin) in Vladivostok, the Secretary agreed to discuss 
the matter at the June consular consultations. Lavrov 
asserted that the $100K was insufficient, and the 
Secretary repeated that the U.S. intends to address the 
issue. 
 
¶14. (C) Lavrov responded that Russia also would want to 
discuss the adoption issue in June. There is a Russian 
law that provides for Russian law to be used to protect 
Russian citizens abroad that has never been applied. If 
the U.S. applied it (in the Miles Harrison case), that 
would go a long way toward gaining support for the U.S. 
among the Russian population. Lavrov also repeated 
Russia's interest in a bilateral agreement on adoption. 
 
¶15. (C) Lavrov brought up the matter of two visa 
applications by Russian citizens that the U.S. had 
denied. Lavrov said that the two persons who were 
denied visas have hired American lawyers and intend to 
try again. Lavrov acknowledged that a country has the 
right to deny a visa to any person without giving an 
explanation, but that the American lawyers claim 
American procedure had been violated in these cases. He 
said he simply wanted to flag this issue for the 
Secretary. 
CLINTON