VZCZCXRO2109
OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHSI #0821 1191434
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 291434Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY TBILISI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1477
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 0212
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE PRIORITY 2267
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 4828
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS TBILISI 000821 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL OSCE GR RS GG
SUBJECT: GEORGIA: GREEK AMBASSADOR SEEKS HELP ON OSCE 
AGENDA ITEM 
 
REF: 4/28/09 OSCE DAILY DIGEST 
 
¶1. (U) This is an action message.  Please see paragraph 4. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Greek Ambassador Georgios Chatzimichelakis, as a 
representative of the sitting OSCE Chairman-in-Office, came 
to see the Ambassador April 29 to relay a request for 
assistance.  He explained that the Greek government is in the 
process of finalizing the agenda for the OSCE's Annual 
Security Review Conference (ASRC) in June, and after 
considerable negotiations, all OSCE member states but one, 
Georgia, have agreed to language for one potentially 
contentious agenda item on the August 2008 war.  The Greek 
government asked for U.S. assistance to convince the Georgian 
side to accept the compromise language.  According to 
Chatzimichelakis, the Georgians agree that there is not a 
great deal of substantive difference between their favored 
language and the Greek-proposed compromise text, and that in 
fact the latter would allow a discussion of the war to take 
place.  Nevertheless, he said, the Georgians are concerned 
that omitting a specific reference to the war could set a 
precedent for sessions of the ASRC in 2010 and beyond and 
give Russia sufficient ambiguity to block discussion of the 
war in the future. 
 
¶3. (SBU)  At first the Georgians proposed a text that 
includes something along the lines of "the conflict that took 
place last August between Georgia and Russia," or at least 
"the conflict in the Caucasus," both of which 
Chatzimichelakis described as non-starters for the Russians. 
The compromise language the Greeks have most recently 
proposed, and that he claimed 55 of 56 OSCE members have 
accepted, is as follows: "It will review the OSCE activities 
related to past and recent conflicts in the OSCE area with 
special focus on serious developments that led to the 
deterioration of the security situation since the 2008 ASRC." 
 In response, the Georgians proposed, ". . . with special 
focus . . . on the one conflict that led to the deterioration 
. . ."  It is this last formulation that Chatzimichelakis 
described as having virtually no substantive difference with 
the Greek text, but still being too controversial to achieve 
full consensus. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Action Request.  The Ambassador is prepared to 
informally raise this issue with the Georgians at the next 
opportunity, but Post seeks Department guidance in responding 
to the Greek Ambassador and before formally approaching the 
Georgians.  Please advise whether the U.S. Mission to the 
OSCE in Vienna will also coordinate directly with the Greek 
Mission there. 
TEFFT