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DE RUCNDT #0538/01 1482216
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O 282216Z MAY 09
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6636
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000538 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM UNSC UNOMIG RS GG
SUBJECT: GEORGIA: MAY 27 UNSC CONSULTATIONS 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  Georgia SRSG Johan Verbeke told the 
Security Council on May 27 that a credible security regime, 
adhered to by all sides, needs to be the core of any future 
UN presence in Abkhazia, Georgia. Verbeke said that the 
Council's call in Res. 1866 for paragraph 2(a) of the former 
Moscow Agreement to be adhered to, had not been heeded. 
Instead, events on the ground were contributing to the 
erosion of the UN's effectiveness, to a lack of stability, 
and to safety concerns among local populations.  Russian 
Permrep Vitaly Churkin agreed that the situation in the 
conflict zone was tense and said the recommendations 
contained in the SYG's report of May 18 could serve as the 
basis for terms of reference and a future mandate.  Churkin 
also said the SYG's report incorrectly places responsibility 
on Russian troops for the current instability, which he 
believed was due to actions of the Georgian government and 
Georgia's domestic situation. The U.S., U.K., France, 
Croatia, Austria, Turkey, Mexico, Costa Rica, Japan, Burkina 
Faso and Uganda all supported the SYG's recommended security 
regime and mandate.  China, Vietnam, and Libya acknowledged a 
need for a revised security regime, but stopped short of 
offering support for the recommended mandate, instead 
focusing on progress being made in the context of the Geneva 
talks.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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SRSG's Report 
------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The Special Representative of the Secretary-General 
(SRSG) for the UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG), Johan 
Verbeke, briefed the Security Council in closed consultations 
on May 27 on the situation on the ground in UNOMIG's area of 
operation, and on the SYG's recommendations for a revised 
mandate.  Citing continuous erosion of the security regime 
that had been the basis for UNOMIG's mandate prior to the 
August 2008 conflict, Verbeke said a "credible security 
regime" needed to be the core of any future UN presence.  He 
emphasized that the regime would have to be adhered to "by 
all sides", saying that the call in Resolution 1866 for the 
security regime of the former Moscow Agreement to be adhered 
to "had not been heeded".  Verbeke provided an update on 
events in UNOMIG's area of operation since the report had 
been submitted, including the removal of some Russian troops 
whose presence had been in contradiction to the suggested 
limits placed by Resolution 1866 on troops in the conflict 
zone, and the addition of two companies of Russian Border 
Guards into the conflict zone. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Referring to the SYG's proposed UN mandate, Verbeke 
identified a need to protect vulnerable populations-- 
"particularly, but not exclusively, ethnic Georgian 
populations in the Gali district and beyond."  He also said 
that the UN could assist in the return of refugees and 
internally displaced persons to their homes, and that "a 
strengthened UN police and human rights monitoring capacity 
would be useful."  The SRSG suggested that the Joint Incident 
Prevention and Response Mechanism (JIPRM) could be "expanded 
over time to become a multi-layered mechanism for the conduct 
of confidence building measures and dialogue." (The JIPRM is 
not included in the SYG's recommendations.  The IDP, police 
and human rights suggestions are in the report.) 
 
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RUSSIA 
------ 
¶4. (SBU) Russian Permrep Vitaly Churkin criticized the SYG's 
report for being biased against Russia and for not taking 
into account the "new realities," but he also said the 
proposals for a future UN mandate could "serve as the basis 
for the UN terms of reference and mandate."  Churkin said 
that the report leads the "uninformed reader" to the 
conclusion that the main responsibility for instability in 
the conflict zone lies with the Russian military presence. 
Instead, Churkin said, Georgia was responsible for 
instability in the region, including by attacking South 
Ossetia in August 2008.  Churkin said Russia feared Georgian 
President Saakashvili, whom he called psychologically 
unstable, would seek to divert attention from Georgia's 
domestic situation and "massive opposition protests" by 
launching an attack.  He said Russian forces had since been 
reduced, and that the Border Guards that had been introduced 
to Abkhazia were the result of a bilateral agreement with 
Abkhazia.  He accused Georgia of fomenting tensions in the 
conflict zone by creating new border observation posts and 
introducing new military equipment into the area. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Churkin made a plea to the Council to consider "long 
term objectives" in the region, which he characterized as 
normalizing the long-term conflicts between Georgia, South 
Ossetia and Abkhazia. He said the conflicts would not be 
resolved as long as Saakashvili remained in power in Georgia. 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000538  002 OF 002 
 
 
 He dismissed the calls by several Council members to respect 
Georgia's territorial integrity as not contributing in a 
meaningful way toward the dialogue on the future activities 
of the UN mission.  Churkin also said that a "cease-fire 
line", as had been referred to in the SYG's report, is 
legitimate in a number of cases, in order to facilitate a 
political dialogue.  However, he said, in the case of 
Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the issue had not been 
resolved by political means, but instead by Georgian 
aggression against South Ossetia.  Churkin said that the 
"Sarkozy-Medvedev documents" (August 12 agreement and 
September 8 clarification) were "not a cease-fire situation". 
 Russia, he said, had fully implemented its August 12 
obligations by withdrawing to Abkhazia.  Russia's continued 
military presence in Abkhazia, he said, was grounded in its 
bilateral agreements with Abkhazia. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Ambassador DiCarlo offered U.S. support for the 
SYG's recommended security regime, recalling the SYG's 
numerous citations of Russian non-respect for Resolution 
¶1866.  DiCarlo emphasized that "all forces, including Russian 
forces" needed to be subject to any future security regime. 
Ambassador DiCarlo also supported the recommendations for 
revisions to UNOMIG's mandate, and emphasized that the UN 
needed to be given "unfettered access" to all of the areas 
within its responsibility.  She called for enhanced human 
rights monitoring and for the facilitation of the return of 
internally displaced persons (IDPs), also emphasizing the 
need for unfettered access by humanitarian organizations to 
the separatist regions. DiCarlo emphasized U.S. support for 
Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity. She called 
for continuation of the Geneva process, which she hoped the 
parties would pursue in a good faith effort to implement the 
August 12 cease-fire agreement and implementing measures of 
September 8. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Austria, Burkina Faso, Croatia, France, Costa Rica, 
Japan, Mexico, Turkey and Uganda all offered their support 
for the SYG's recommendations for the security regime and for 
the revised mandate, variously citing the situation on the 
ground.  Austria, Croatia, France, Costa Rica, Japan, Mexico 
and Turkey specifically mentioned their support for Georgia's 
territorial integrity.  All Council members mentioned their 
support for the Geneva process in their interventions, and 
several supported Verbeke's suggestion that the JIPRM could 
be expanded. 
 
¶8. (SBU) China, Libya and Vietnam, agreed that the situation 
on the ground was unstable and that a new security regime 
needed to be put in place.  They also all voiced their 
support for the facilitation of returns.  However, they 
focused their comments on the role of the Geneva meetings in 
resolving security/stability and IDP returns, and suggested 
that the parties needed to work in that forum to develop 
solutions. 
 
RICE