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P 300759Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4936
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 002483 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/28/2019 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PMAR PHUM PINR ECON EFIN RS
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR BEFORE FED COUNCIL: "RESET" WITH 
RUSSIAN PARLIAMENTARIANS 
 
Classified By: CDA Eric Rubin; reasons 1.4(b/d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: On September 21, Ambassador Beyrle addressed 
the Federation Council's International Relations Committee, 
highlighting President Obama's visit to Moscow and the 
importance of developing closer relations between the U.S. 
and Russia.  Questions from committee members focused on how 
to get beyond Jackson-Vanik, anti-Russian (and anti-American) 
attitudes, and how to bring our societies together through 
culture, educational and sports exchanges.  Federation 
Council members participating in the 90-minute session 
expressed appreciation for the U.S. effort to build closer 
links with their chamber of the parliament.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) At the invitation of Federation Council 
International Relations Committee Chairman Mikhail Margelov, 
the Ambassador on September 21 addressed both a session of 
the committee open to the press, and a closed session in 
which he and members had a productive exchange on bilateral 
relations.  The remarks in the presence of media received 
considerable coverage in the Russian press and can be read on 
the Embassy website.  Margelov set the context for the 
discussion by noting the importance of good will in the 
development of relations between two countries as the pretext 
for practical cooperation.  Margelov and the Ambassador spoke 
to Russian and foreign media after the session, stressing the 
frank open dialogue they had had, noting that in spite of 
differences on some matters, they agreed that there is more 
that unites Russia and the U.S. than divides the two 
countries. 
 
Top Issues in Private 
--------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) After press were ushered from the room, Margelov 
continued the session, opening the floor to questions from 
Federation Council members (from the International Relations 
Committee and others, including Defense) and invited outside 
experts, including USA and Canada Institute Director Sergey 
Rogov.  Discussion addressed: 
 
-- Jackson-Vanik: Federation Council member Toshkin asked how 
it was possible that Jackson-Vanik remains in force when more 
than ten percent of Israeli Knesset members are Russian 
emigres.  He followed up by inquiring whether Russia could 
enter the WTO with Jackson-Vanik still in force.  Ambassador 
reminded members that President Obama had referred to J-V as 
an "anachronism" during his July visit to Moscow.  He 
encouraged Federation Council members to continue to raise 
the matter with Members of Congress, but at the same time to 
ensure that protectionist steps taken in Russia, such as the 
instituting of barriers to the importation of U.S. meat and 
other products were not allowed to take root and thereby 
complicate the situation. 
 
-- Anti-Russian sentiment in the U.S.: Responding to a 
question from Aleksandr Dzasokhov, Chairman of the Federation 
Council Committee on Culture about how to address 
anti-Russian sentiments in the U.S., the Ambassador observed 
that anti-Russian views in the U.S. - and anti-American views 
in Russia - are the result of 50 years of Cold War 
confrontation, and that the positive benefits of good 
bilateral relations will take time to alter public attitudes. 
 He observed that good will for the development of closer 
ties exists at the top levels of both governments, and that 
as relations produce concrete results, public sentiment will 
change in both countries.  Ambassador reinforced the 
importance of cultural exchanges between both countries, and 
in particular educational exchanges for young students.  He 
reminded members that the chairmen of the Civil Society 
Working Group under the Bilateral Presidential Commission 
(BPC), Mike McFaul and Vladislav Surkov, would tackle these 
issues, among others, in the coming months. 
 
-- Inter-parliamentary exchanges: Nikolay Tulayev, chair of 
the parliamentary activities committee, argued that the 
promise of inter-parliamentary exchanges, especially through 
the OSCE, as a means of improving relations among countries 
had faded. 
 
-- Arms Control: Tulayev lamented the loss of connections 
between elected officials of different countries, since those 
ties contributed to cooperation on arms control and other 
areas throughout the 1990's.  Ambassador agreed that these 
contacts had been useful, but noted that the U.S. did not see 
the need to create a new organization to promote such 
 
MOSCOW 00002483  002 OF 002 
 
 
interaction.  Rather, we were counseling that countries 
should make use of existing organizational structures. 
 
-- Sports and Culture: Chair of the Federation Council 
Committee on Sports, Hockey Hall of Famer Vyacheslav Fetisov, 
put in a plug for including sports exchange in the work of 
the BPC. 
 
-- Promoting Greater U.S. Trade with and Investment in 
Russia: Ambassador reported that senior executives from major 
American companies, including Microsoft, Walmart and Pepsico 
had all participated in the recent Sochi Economic Forum, 
interested in investment and bolstering trade. 
 
¶4. (C) Sergey Rogov, Director of the USA-Canada Institute 
prefaced his questions with a detailed assessment of 
U.S.-Russian relations over the past year, covering the 
difficulties encountered in trying to deal with fallout from 
the Georgia war, missile defense and concerns over possible 
NATO membership for Ukraine and/or Georgia.  But, with the 
decision to reconfigure how the U.S. (and Allies) address 
Iranian missile threats, including canceling the construction 
of missile defense facilities in Poland and the Czech 
Republic, the U.S. was actually taking into account Russian 
concerns. In spite of progress on other issues, including 
cooperation on Afghanistan, as well as the good personal 
relationship between Presidents Obama and Medvedev, Rogov 
nonetheless worried that the START follow-on agreement might 
get hung up in the U.S. Senate.  He asked what Russia should 
do to maintain the good will momentum.  Ambassador argued 
that Russia, together with the other P-5, projecting a united 
front against Iranian threats and joining in tough, 
coordinated action that imposes costs (sanctions) on Tehran 
for flaunting the UNSC would also show Russia's willingness 
to confront Iran, and create an atmosphere more conducive to 
easy ratification of START. 
 
Don't Leave Before Addressing Georgia and CFE 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) Taking a few last questions at the end of over 90 
minutes of presentation and discussion, Ambassador was asked 
about U.S. military support for Georgia.  Ambassador noted 
that we support Georgian sovereignty and the Georgian people 
in their ongoing efforts to build a prosperous, democratic 
future for their country.  Georgia is contributing forces to 
the military campaign in Afghanistan, and has requested and 
received assistance from the U.S. to prepare those forces for 
that assignment.  The Ambassador urged that Federation 
Council members consider the full context of the 
Afghanistan-specific assistance for Georgia.  And finally, on 
CFE, the Ambassador said he regretted Russia's decision not 
to live up to its obligations under the CFE Treaty.  CFE 
remains a cornerstone of European security, requiring Russia 
and other parties to the treaty to consider ways to revive 
and strengthen it. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶6. (C) The session was remarkably friendly and has already 
opened doors.  Federation Council Chairman Mironov, who has 
refused to meet us for over a year, phoned the Embassy the 
day after the International Relations Committee session (and 
after extensive media coverage) to propose a date for a 
meeting with the Ambassador.  Given access restrictions to 
Duma officials, not to mention the Duma building itself, this 
outreach opportunity will hopefully open more doors for us. 
Rubin