VZCZCXRO4095
RR RUEHDBU RUEHIK RUEHLN RUEHPOD RUEHSK RUEHSL RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHMO #1781/01 1911039
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 101039Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4208
INFO RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MOSCOW 001781 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV SNAR ECON RS
 
SUBJECT: U.S. HOUSE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE MEETS WITH DUMA 
COUNTERPARTS 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: U.S. Representatives of the House Foreign Affairs 
Committee met with Duma deputies June 29 to discuss an array of 
issues affecting U.S.-Russia relations.  Economic topics included 
Russia's WTO membership aspirations, IPR, corruption, and energy, 
while the discussion of internal issues covered Russian legislation 
on NGOs and political parties.  In addition to discussing adoption 
and visa questions, Duma members drew attention to a 1998 vehicular 
accident in Vladivostok involving a former U.S. Consul General.  On 
international issues, the sides discussed the NPT, START, missile 
defense, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and North Korea.  End 
Summary. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
Duma & House Foreign Affairs Committees Meet 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) In welcoming remarks for Chairman of the House Foreign 
Affairs Committee Howard Berman (D-CA), Representatives Howard Coble 
(R-NC), Bill Delahunt (D-MA), Brad Miller (D-NC), Dana Rohrabacher 
(R-CA), David Scott (D-GA), and Albio Sires (D-NJ), Duma Speaker 
Boris Gryzlov (United Russia) and Chairman of the Duma Committee on 
International Affairs Konstantin Kosachev (United Russia) noted the 
value of the Duma-HFAC meetings, now in their fourth round, as one 
of the few venues for the U.S. and Russian lower houses to 
communicate.  Kosachev welcomed Chairman Berman's suggestion to host 
the next round of meetings outside of the capital area, while 
maintaining the current format of the talks. 
 
---------------------- 
U.S.-Russian Relations 
---------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) In the first session of the June 29 talks, Kosachev 
characterized U.S.-Russian relations as in a third phase since the 
collapse of the Soviet Union.  After initial "romantic relations" 
under President Yeltsin in the 90's, the post-9/11 era was one of 
goodwill, but no follow-up, Kosachev posited, leading to a growing 
disappointment in Russia with the U.S.  Now, in the third phase of 
relations in the wake of the August 2008 Russia-Georgia war, the 
U.S. and Russia needed to find a way to coexist and cooperate, 
moving away from an "our-theirs" world view to one of solving global 
problems such as the economic crisis or Afghanistan.  In this 
regard, Kosachev argued against moralizing politics in favor of 
moving toward a pragmatic approach in U.S.-Russian relations, as the 
U.S. was already doing with China.  Committee member Valeriy 
Bogomolov (United Russia) asserted that all countries leveraged 
their advantages, saying, "We act like you do.  In foreign policy 
there are no friends, only interests." 
 
¶5. (SBU) First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on International 
Affairs Leonid Slutsky (Liberal Democratic Party) listed permanent 
normal trade relations, graduation from Jackson-Vanik, the 123 
Agreement, and disarmament as major issues in U.S.-Russia relations. 
 While Committee member Semyon Bagdasarov (Fair Russia) noted 
differences in opinion on issues such as Manas, the Baltics, Iran, 
Syria, Georgia, and Afghanistan, Committee member Mikhail Terentiev 
urged both sides to find uniting, not dividing subjects, with 
support from First Deputy Chairman of the Duma Committee on Economic 
Policy and Enterprises Vladimir Golovnyov (United Russia), who asked 
the U.S. to aid Russia in creating a high-tech economy.  In 
response, Chairman Berman stated that the U.S. would revise its 
technology export controls regarding Russia but that the U.S. was 
concerned with the re-export of sensitive technology (e.g., 
Russian-Iranian cooperation). 
 
¶4. (SBU) In his opening remarks, Representative Delahunt suggested 
people-to-people exchanges as one way to rebuild U.S.-Russian 
relations.  Noting the presence of Olympic gold medalists in the 
Duma, he proposed creating a sports-based exchange program for young 
people.  Terentiev and others welcomed Rep. Delahunt's proposal. 
 
--------- 
Economics 
--------- 
 
WTO 
--- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Russian parliamentarians were optimistic about the chances 
for the trilateral customs union between Belarus, Russia and 
Kazakhstan to join the WTO, claiming that the unprecedented 
membership process did not contravene WTO rules.  Noting the 
"discriminating terms" upon which Russia's neighbors (e.g., Ukraine, 
Georgia, and Moldova) were admitted to the WTO, Kosachev stated that 
there was a lack of consensus among Russia's political-business 
establishment regarding the advantages of joining the WTO. 
 
IPR 
 
MOSCOW 00001781  002 OF 003 
 
 
--- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Russian Duma members stated that intellectual property 
protection had improved in Russia in recent years, with   Slutskiy 
suggesting that the problem of piracy was now no worse in Russia 
than in the U.S. 
 
Corruption 
---------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) In response to Rep Delahunt's statement that corruption 
hindered foreign investment in Russia, Kosachev asserted that the 
issue of corruption was an internal Russian problem, which the GOR 
was committed to tackling. 
 
Energy 
------ 
 
¶9. (SBU) Bagdasarov suggested that there were two categories of 
energy states among former Soviet republics: 1) rich energy states 
such as those in Central Asia, and 2) transit countries such as 
Ukraine and Georgia.  Along with Slutskiy, he claimed that Ukraine 
exploited its role as an energy transit state for political ends, 
whereas Russia never used its energy supply to pressure neighboring 
states.  Noting that Russian gas still flowed to Georgia during the 
August 2008 conflict, Kosachev stated that Russia would trade gas 
with Ukraine regardless of its political regime.  Kosachev said that 
Russia had been charging neighboring states lower than average 
prices for gas to elicit support from their regimes, and claimed 
that energy discords with these states were a product of Russia's 
raising gas prices to market levels. 
 
--------- 
Adoptions 
--------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) Chairman of the Committee on Family, Women and Children 
Elena Mizulina (Fair Russia) argued that while there had been 
relatively few deaths of adopted Russian children in the U.S. (16), 
these cases had reverberated throughout Russia.  Therefore some Duma 
deputies were considering prohibiting the adoption of Russian 
children by U.S. citizens.  To ward that off, Mizulina proposed an 
information-sharing agreement on adopted children, which would help 
dispel the "myths" that existed within Russia on Russian children 
adopted by Americans.   Congressman Delahunt rejected Mizulina's 
criticism that the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption was 
mainly designed to protect the interests of adopting parents, and 
urged Russia to ratify the Convention. 
 
----- 
Visas 
----- 
 
¶11. (SBU) Calling the U.S. and Russian visa regimes a "stumbling 
block" in U.S.-Russian relations, Member of the Committee on Family, 
Women, and Children and Olympic Gold Medal winner Svetlana Zhurova 
lamented the continual problems for Russian citizens in obtaining 
U.S. tourist visas, including denials for prominent, well-to-do 
Russian businessmen, sportsmen and politicians. 
 
---------------- 
Alexander Kashin 
---------------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) During the business lunch, Parliamentarian Maksim Mishenko 
(United Russia) drew attention to a 1998 case in which former U.S. 
Consul General in Vladivostok Douglas Kent was involved in a car 
accident with Russian citizen Alexander Kashin, which left Kashin 
partially paralyzed.  Mishenko stated that providing adequate 
compensation to Kashin would help strengthen bilateral ties, as many 
Russians considered the case a test of U.S.-Russian relations.  In 
what appeared to be a pre-planned move, Chairman Kosachev presented 
a document to Chairman Berman outlining the Russian position on the 
accident and requesting adequate compensation to Mr. Kashin. 
Following the lunch, Chairman Berman was met outside the Duma dining 
room by the press, who photographed and filmed him with the 
document.  Subsequently, during the closing press conference between 
the two foreign affairs committees, Parliamentarian Mishenko brought 
in the wheelchair-bound Kashin to be photographed and filmed with 
the Congressmen. 
 
-------------------- 
NGOs & Press Freedom 
-------------------- 
 
¶13. (SBU) Speaking to concerns shared by Congressmen on the status 
of NGOs within Russia, Chairman Kosachev announced that in Fall, the 
Duma would introduce changes to Russian legislation that regulated 
 
MOSCOW 00001781  003 OF 003 
 
 
NGOs with the aim of reducing its "restrictive nature."  Turning to 
the spike in killings of Russian journalists in recent years, 
Chairman Kosachev admitted that the assassinations had been a blow 
to Russia's reputation and stated that all killings would be 
thoroughly investigated.  On press freedom, Chairman Kosachev said 
that Russia's "pluralistic press" included many which were critical 
of the GOR.  Noting that equal access to TV among political parties 
remained a problem, Kosachev stated that the Duma was working on a 
bill to assure equal press access to all Russian political parties. 
 
--- 
WMD 
--- 
 
¶14. (SBU) Chairman of the State Duma Defense Committee and former 
Russian Ambassador to NATO, General Victor Zavarzin (United Russia), 
said that Russia favored strengthening and universalizing the 
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and improving international 
inspection and verification regimes such as the IAEA.  Although he 
claimed that Iran was far from developing a reliable nuclear weapon, 
he advocated tying Iran into the NPT framework.  Russia agreed with 
the U.S. that recent North Korean missile tests violated UN 
resolutions, and that it was necessary to continue Six-Party talks 
with North Korea.  While it was important to conclude a follow-up 
START Treaty that addressed all forms of nuclear weapon delivery 
systems, Zavarzin charged that the proposed U.S. missile defense 
(MD) system hindered U.S.-Russia cooperation on complex issues. 
Chairman Berman responded that the threat of a nuclear Iran was the 
reason for the MD system, adding that the Obama administration was 
reviewing the U.S. policy on MD. 
 
¶15. (SBU) Bagdasarov cited North Korea and Pakistan as countries of 
great concern to Russia.  Arguing that it was "normal" to desire to 
obtain nukes, he said the real question was not whether Iran would 
develop nuclear weapons, but whether the governing regime was a 
friend or foe of the U.S.  Congressman Delahunt stated that a 
nuclear-armed Iran could turn on Russia, causing Kosachev to call 
for greater U.S.-Russian intelligence cooperation, claiming that 
Russia was not privy to the intelligence that proved an Iranian 
missile threat. 
 
¶16. (SBU) Chairman Berman rejected Committee on International 
Affairs member and Communist Party member Yuliy Kvisinkiy's claim 
that the U.S. was behind recent post-election unrest in Iran and 
sought regime change there as it had in Kosovo, Georgia, and 
Ukraine.  Kvisinkiy argued that Iran would hardly attack the U.S., 
knowing it could be annihilated by a U.S. nuclear response. 
Alleging a nuclear Iran would not change the regional balance of 
power, Kvisinkiy said the U.S. was using the Iranian missile threat 
so as to justify its MD plans.  Representative Rohrabacher responded 
that Russia had nothing to fear from the U.S. MD system. 
 
----------- 
Afghanistan 
----------- 
 
¶17. (SBU) Bogomolov said that the narcotics problem in Afghanistan 
was destabilizing Central Asia and an important source of terrorist 
funding.  In response, Congressman Rohrabacher stated that the U.S. 
possessed a fungus that could destroy Afghanistan's poppies within 
one week, which it had not used yet out of concern that the fungus 
could be considered a biological weapon by some. 
 
BEYRLE