VZCZCXYZ0012
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHVI #0755/01 1740933
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 230933Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2785
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA 0510
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0307
INFO RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L VIENNA 000755 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/23/2024 
TAGS: USUN PREL AU
SUBJECT: UN AMBASSADOR RICE MEETING WITH ASUTRIAN 
PRESIDENT, FOREIGN MINISTER 
 
REF: VIENNA 691 
 
Classified By: CDA John Ordway.  Reasons: 1.4(b) and (d). 
 
 
¶1. (C) Summary.  UN Ambassador Susan Rice met separately with 
Austrian President Fischer and Foreign Minister Spindelegger 
on June 15.  Charge accompanied Amb. Rice to both meetings. 
Fischer and Spindelegger were both joined by aides, as well 
as Austrian Ambassador to the UN Mayr-Harting. 
 
Both meetings were largely keyed to UNSC business and 
reviewed a range of key international issues.  End Summary. 
¶2. (C) The Austrian side noted that they were preparing for 
their presidency of the UNSC in November.   Rice said she 
appreciated the positive role Austria and Mayr-Harting were 
playing on the Council, especially in providing consistent 
leadership on human rights issues.  Spindelegger noted that 
Austria was being stretched by its UNSC membership into 
areas, such as Africa, where it had little previous 
experience.  This was good, he added, and expanding 
Austria,s engagement with the broader world was one of their 
goals in seeking the seat.  He also said that Austria hoped 
to maintain this engagement, in part by offering Vienna as a 
venue for quiet peacemaking and difficult negotiations, 
including those that needed a low public profile.  Amb. Rice 
raised with both Fischer and Spindelegger the U.S. request 
for Austrian police participation in Afghanistan training 
mission; neither the President nor the Foreign Minister 
directly responded. 
 
¶3. (C) Spindelegger, pointedly noting his scheduled trip to 
Moscow in early fall, asked about the prospects for a meeting 
with Secretary Clinton.   A request was pending for a joint 
meeting with Austria,s fellow co-chair of the CTBT Article 
XIV Conference.   Amb. Rice said she would support the 
requested meeting with the Secretary, but suggested that a 
strictly bilateral meeting would offer a better opportunity 
to discuss UNSC priorities as Mayr-Harting and Spindlegger 
said they wanted. 
 
¶4. (C) On substance, there were few points of disagreement in 
either meeting.  Both Fischer and Spindelegger, however, 
provided a negative evaluation of Israeli Prime Minister 
Netanyahu,s June 14 speech seeing little new or positive. 
Amb. Rice said the U.S. saw his remarks as at least a step 
forward, particularly in accepting a two-state solution 
involving a sovereign, albeit demilitarized, Palestine.  . 
Her Austrian interlocutors acknowledged Netanyanhu,s new 
line on a Palestinian state.  Fischer, however, noted that 
Netanyanhu was very difficult to pin down and may not follow 
through on this commitment.  Spindelegger, based on an EU 
Council meeting earlier in the day, said that they EU had 
&expected more8 and that the Netanyahu speech was seen as 
insufficient. 
 
¶5. (C) Fischer asked about North Korea, which Amb. Rice said 
was a very grave concern.  With a strong UNSCR adopted, the 
focus would now shift to implementation.  She noted that 
China was frustrated and concerned by the DPRK fearful of how 
the regime would react to a too-tough course, but equally 
fearful of ROK or Japanese reactions to a weak response. 
Either could destabilize the situation in ways that would 
damage China,s interests.  Rice added it was not entirely 
clear what is motivating the DPRK.  If it were solely 
internal calculations, such as succession planning, the 
regime might be impervious to external pressures. 
 
¶6. (C) Fischer asked Amb. Rice if the change to the Obama 
Administrations had Made it easier for Washington  to do 
business with the EU.  She responded &so far, so good but 
warned that difficult issues still lay ahead.  Iran is one 
such issue, she said, where it is important for the U.S. and 
the EU to stay together.  Spindelegger also mentioned Iran, 
saying that there was great concern within the EU about the 
issue.  He noted reports of street violence earlier in the 
day, but said they had heard nothing yet from their Embassy 
in Tehran.  Amb. Rice said that we would appreciate Austrian 
perspectives given the presence of their embassy.  Charge 
noted that the role their Embassy plays in moving religious 
minorities to Vienna for refugee processing, and Amb. Rice 
added that we were very grateful for this. 
 
¶7. (C) There was also discussion of: 
-- The Balkans, where Fischer saw continuing, albeit slow 
progress. 
-- Non-proliferation and disarmament, where both Fischer and 
Spindelegger noted the importance of U.S. accession to the 
CTBT and Spindelegger asked for Secretary Clinton to 
participate in the CTBT Article XIV Conference in New York in 
September.  --    Georgia, where the Foreign Minister said 
Austria wants to play a fuller role in the Friends of Georgia. 
-- Africa, where IGAD is lobbying for sanctions on Eritrea 
and blocking arms flows to Somalia.  Amb. Rice noted the 
Africans are not unified  -- Libya is opposed -- and 
inconsistent, making the opposite case on Sudan.  Asked about 
recent contacts with Uganda, Mayr-Harting said that they 
agreed on Eritrea and Somalia but also pointed to Libya,s 
contrarian position. 
-- Sanctions, where Mayr-Harting said Austria wants to build 
on its role as chair of the UNSCR 1267 sanctions committee to 
participate in reform of the listing and de-listing process. 
 
¶8. (U) This cable was cleared by Amb. Rice. 
ORDWAY