VZCZCXRO1461
PP RUEHSK RUEHSL
DE RUEHVEN #0195/01 2521215
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 091215Z SEP 09
FM USMISSION USOSCE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6570
INFO RUCNCFE/CONVENTIONAL ARMED FORCES IN EUROPE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEASWA/DTRA ALEX WASHINGTON DC//OSAE
RUESDT/DTRA-OSES DARMSTADT GE
RHMFISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J5-DDPMA-IN/CAC/DDPMA-E//
RUEAHQA/HQ USAF WASHINGTON DC//XONP//

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USOSCE 000195 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR VCI/CCA, EUR/RPM 
NSC FOR NILSSON, HAYDEN 
JCS FOR J5 NORWOOD, 
OSD FOR ISA (KEHL, WALLENDER) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCFE OSCE PARM PREL
SUBJECT: CFE/JCG: 2009 FALL OPENING OF ROUND--RUSSIA MORE 
COMMITTED TO ACFE THAN ALLIES (SBU) 
 
REF: A. STATE 92639 
     ¶B. STATE 92528 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  During the opening session of the Fall 
round of the Joint Consultative Commission (JCG) on September 
8, USDel underscored the U.S. commitment to CFE, noted that 
Russia's "suspension" left an ominous gap in CFE's unique 
transparency and predictability, observed that Russia had 
also given indications of the value it places on the treaty, 
and called for efforts to sustain the core functions of the 
JCG.  In reply, Russia claimed that it was obviously more 
committed to A/CFE than the U.S., as Russia had already 
ratified the adapted treaty.  Germany and the U.S. criticized 
Russia for refusing CFE inspections in August and received 
statements of support from nine countries.  The Chair 
announced the cancellation of the September 22 JCG due to a 
scheduled OSCE workshop on Small Arms and Light Weapons 
(SALW).  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) The Fall session opened under the Chairmanship of 
Belgium (Kenes) with the U.S. (Neighbour) underscoring the 
U.S. commitment to CFE, noting Russia's "suspension" left an 
ominous gap in CFE's unique transparency and predictability, 
observing that Russia had also given indications of the value 
it places on the treaty, and calling for efforts to sustain 
the core functions of the JCG (Ref A).  Intervening in 
support of the U.S. statement, The Netherlands (Kleinjan) 
underscored the great importance it attaches to CFE and said 
it deplores the fact that States Parties (SP) are entering 
the fourth semester in which one party is not implementing 
the Treaty.  Kleinjan also reiterated The Netherlands full 
support for efforts outside the JCG to resolve the crisis. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Russia (Ulyanov) said he was pleased that the U.S. 
and The Netherlands confirmed their support for the CFE, but 
added that he doubted that either party was more committed to 
the treaty than Russia as, unlike Russia, neither party had 
ratified the adapted treaty, which he described 
as "unfulfilled Istanbul Commitments."  Responding to points 
in the U.S. statement, Ulyanov said that Russia's decision to 
enact a moratorium on implementation of the Treaty in 
December 2007 was a difficult one, but one that was forced on 
it by the NATO partners.  The situation has not changed and 
Russia can not return to implementation of the CFE Treaty. 
Ulyanov lamented that most SP declined to assist in working 
towards a solution, leaving the burden of negotiations on 
Russia and the U.S.  Finally, he noted that the list of tasks 
highlighted by the U.S. in its statement was incomplete, and 
that in fact Article 16 of the Treaty envisioned a much more 
active and substantive role for the JCG.  (Comment. Russia 
did not raise the three issues it had left as "homework" for 
delegates at the JCG's last meeting in July. End Comment) 
¶4. (SBU) Belarus (Krayushkin) also noted that it had showed 
its commitment to ACFE by ratifying the Treaty long ago, and 
referred to the lack of ratification of the adapted treaty as 
the 
"biggest unfulfilled Istanbul Commitment." Belarus expressed 
hope that a solution would be found on the basis of the 
Parallel Actions Package. 
¶5. (SBU) As coordinated in the NATO-T, Germany (Schweitzer) 
and the U.S. (Neighbour) criticized Russia for rejecting CFE 
inspections in August.  Eight Allies (France, Turkey, 
Romania, Bulgaria, the UK, Italy, Portugal, and Denmark) as 
well as Georgia intervened in support of these statements. 
Russia remained silent. (Comment.  Bulgaria has typically not 
been a vocal supporter in the JCG of Allied interventions 
criticizing Russia's rejections of Allied inspections. 
Bulgaria (Iliev) informed USDel on the margins that it felt 
compelled to intervene after Russia had commented to Bulgaria 
that it appeared from Bulgaria's silence in previous JCGs 
that Bulgaria did not support the U.S. position.  End 
Comment.) 
 
¶6. (SBU) The Chair (Belgium/Kenes) announced that the JCG 
scheduled for September 22 would be canceled due to the OSCE 
workshop on SALW which is scheduled for 22-23 September. 
Finally, The Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, Turkey, Norway, 
 
USOSCE 00000195  002 OF 002 
 
 
Denmark, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Belgium, and the U.S. 
introduced new members to the JCG. 
 
¶7. (SBU) USDel (Neighbour) presented Ref B readout on A/S 
Gottemoeller's 3 September talks on CFE with Russia (Antonov) 
to Allies at the NATO-T held on 8 September. 
 
¶8. (U)  The next JCG will be held on 15 September under the 
chairmanship of Bulgaria.  The next NATO-T is planned for 14 
September, also under the chairmanship of Bulgaria. 
 
FULLER