VZCZCXRO0868
OO RUEHAG RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR
DE RUEHTH #1605/01 3091729
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O R 051729Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY ATHENS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0973
INFO EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 0017
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 ATHENS 001605 
 
SIPDIS 
AMEMBASSY ANKARA PASS TO AMCONSUL ADANA 
AMEMBASSY ASTANA PASS TO USOFFICE ALMATY 
AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF 
AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL LEIPZIG 
AMEMBASSY BELGRADE PASS TO AMEMBASSY PODGORICA 
AMEMBASSY HELSINKI PASS TO AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG 
AMEMBASSY ATHENS PASS TO AMCONSUL THESSALONIKI 
AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PASS TO AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 
AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PASS TO AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/11/05 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR MASS GR AF TU
SUBJECT: MOD VENIZELOS: POSITIVE SIGNS, BUT SOME TOUGH ISSUES 
 
REF: ATHENS 1563 
 
ATHENS 00001605  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Daniel V. Speckhard, Ambassador; REASON: 1.4(B), (D) 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY: New Minister of Defense Evangelos Venizelos 
expressed his commitment to a strong bilateral defense relationship 
in the Ambassador's first one-on-one meeting with him November 4. 
Well-briefed on Afghanistan, he said Greece would keep its medical 
teams (there for the elections support mission) in-country, would 
participate with funding for NATO's helicopter initiative, and 
would contribute 3-4 million euros to the ANA Trust Fund,  but that 
Greece was now leaning toward keeping its engineering battalion in 
Kabul vice moving it to Herat as had been pledged.  Venizelos is 
closely watching internal USG deliberations on Afghanistan for 
signals.  On Turkey, he stated the government seeks to promote a 
new climate, but that it was not easy; he reiterated that Greece 
has problems with NATO plans to rotate a Greek then a Turk annually 
as commander of a NATO air center in Larisa.  He was opaque on 
plans to reform Greek procurement, in contrast to his bold 
statements before Parliament on October 18.  The Ambassador urged 
Venizelos to follow through on Greek commitments to move its Kabul 
forces to RC-West; welcomed the other positive steps toward ISAF; 
pressed him to be proactive and not reactive in reaching out to 
Turkey in the Aegean; commended him on his intentions to bring more transparency to Greek defense procurement; asked Venizelos to work personally to break the impasse that would enable the U.S. to begin construction of an important infrastructure project at Naval 
Support Activity Souda Bay; and encouraged him to remove remaining obstacles to freeing up a Navy site for a mosque in Athens.  END SUMMARY 
 
¶2.  (C) In a warm and positive initial meeting with the Ambassador, 
MOD Venizelos stressed his commitment to fostering a strong 
relationship with the United States.  He expressed his appreciation 
for meeting Secretary Gates at the NATO Ministerial in Bratislava 
in late October, commending his professionalism and record as 
SecDef.  He noted his recent meeting with ASD Vershbow at the 
recent Southeastern Europe Defense Ministers meeting in Sofia, and 
predicted good working relationships with both. Venizelos stated 
that he intended to demonstrate firm civilian control over the 
Greek military, and was ready to make decisions on tough issues.  
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
Afghanistan:  Some Good, Some Bad 
--------------------------------------------- --- 

¶3.  (C) Ambassador Speckhard noted U.S. hopes that Greece deploy 
its pledged OMLT and move its engineering battalion from Kabul to 
Herat in western Afghanistan as quickly as possible, and asked 
Venizelos for the status, given recent worrying signs that Greece 
lacked the proper equipment to enable its troops to fulfill this 
commitment.  Venizelos stated that the presence of Afghan refugees 
in Greece constituted indirect but "substantial" support for ISAF. 
The Ambassador focused him on the fact that increased Greek support to the mission in Afghanistan and success there would directly affect refugee flows that have caused so many social problems in Greece.  Venizelos agreed, but noted that the government has a hard time selling that point to the Greek public, which sees only Turkey to blame for allowing the transit of illegal immigrants and 
refugees through to Greece.  He stated that he and the Greek 
government are closely watching the ongoing U.S. debate on 
Afghanistan, and are also concerned about the legitimacy of the 
Karzai government and its possible impact on the future political 
situation there.  The Ambassador cautioned him not to read too much 
from the tea leaves found in the media.  Our engagement in 
Afghanistan is solid; our debate is about the size, composition, 
and direction of our effort, not about whether or when to get out. 
 
ATHENS 00001605  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
¶4.  (C) Venizelos proceeded to tick off positive Greek 
contributions to ISAF, which could be done within the existing MOD 
budget.  Greece is ready to take over security at Kabul airport 
during the second half of 2010.  Greece will keep the two medical 
teams that it had deployed for elections support earlier this 
autumn in Afghanistan.  Greece will make a contribution to the 
Anglo-French NATO helicopter initiative aimed at addressing NATO's 
crucial helicopter shortfall in Afghanistan.  The Greek monetary 
contributions to Hungary's PRT in Baglan will continue, and Greece 
intends to donate 3-4 million euros to the Afghan National Army 
Trust Fund. 
 
¶5.  (C) On the negative side, Venizelos indicated that budgetary 
pressures have placed Greek plans to deploy an OMLT and to move its engineering battalion from Kabul to Herat in jeopardy.  Given force 
protection requirements recently identified by Greek planners, 
namely MRAP-type vehicles, anti-IED countermeasures, and armored 
road maintenance equipment, Greece needed $65 million it simply did not have in order to equip and maintain the Kabul-to-Herat 
redeployment.  He also said that he was not sure if COMISAF still 
wanted the Greek engineers to go to Herat.  The Ambassador urged 
Venizelos to follow through on this long-standing Greek commitment, 
and made the case that investing in the equipment necessary to 
accomplish this deployment would also pay dividends in increasing 
the future capability and deployability of the Greek armed forces 
beyond Afghanistan.  Venizelos demurred, noting he had not received 
the full brief on the technical requirements of the proposed 
MRAP-type vehicles, and that in any case, Greek efforts would need 
to be coordinated with other European countries. 

--------------------------------------------- ---------------------- ---------------------- 
 Turkey:  Support Old CBMs, but Still Want to Go Back on CAOC Deal 
--------------------------------------------- ---------------------- ---------------------- 

¶6.  (C) Ambassador Speckhard asked Venizelos to comment on what he 
perceived were the threats to Greece, and how the MOD intended to 
balance severe budgetary constraints with the need to face those 
threats through means including procurement.  Looking at Turkey, 
Venizelos confirmed that the Papandreou government is seeking to 
promote a new climate, although it was "not easy," he said, 
pointing to the dramatic increase in Turkish overflights of Greek 
Aegean islands over the summer compared to past years.  The 
Ambassador urged him to be proactive in suggesting confidence 
building measures to his Turkish counterparts, to allow his 
generals to talk freely with their interlocutors, and to stop 
labeling unannounced Turkish military flights in the Athens FIR as 
"hostile," a small, technical move that could go over well in 
Ankara. 
 
¶7.  (C) Venizelos commented favorably on CBMs in general, but noted 
the problem was implementation.  He supported reinstituting past 
measures such as the suspension of overflights during the summer, 
and on religious holidays.  In response to the Ambassador's 
suggestion to stop labeling Turkish flights as hostile, he stated 
he would only do that in connection with resolution of the "CAOC 
problem," and asked for U.S. help.  (Comment:  In May 2009, NATO 
Allies - including Greece - agreed on a plan to close one of NATOs 
 
ATHENS 00001605  003.2 OF 004 
 
Combined Air Operations Centers, located in Eskisehir, Turkey, and 
to implement an annual rotational command of NATO's CAOC in 
Larissa, Greece between a Greek and a Turkish general, with 
alternating deputies, as well, from the nation not presently in 
command.  The U.S. will maintain command of NATO's Component 
Command Air HQ (CC Air) in Izmir, Turkey, while the CC Air deputy 
will rotate between a Greek and a Turk, and the Chief of Staff will 
rotate between a Turk and an Italian.  In Greek eyes, this leads to 
a periodic, temporary imbalance of "flags," when no Greek will be 
in a top position at CC Air.  End comment.)  The Ambassador noted 
he would pass the message back, but that it was his understanding 
that Greece had already agreed to the future manning structure of 
the CAOC in the NATO framework. 

---------------- 
Procurement 
---------------- 
 
¶8.  (C) Despite Venizelos' bold comments before Parliament on 
October 18, to include a call for abolishing offsets contracts when 
buying foreign (to include U.S.) military equipment, he had no 
proposals to offer, though he expressed a commitment to 
transparency, and to establishing firm Parliamentary oversight over 
procurement processes.  He told the Ambassador that the offsets 
issue needed to be "fixed," and that he intended to come up with a 
plan over the coming month.  Venizelos stated that the F-16 
purchase program was going well, but complained about a problem 
with the defensive systems on the Peace Xenia III F-16s, and stated 
that U.S. companies need to take more responsibility.  (Comment: 
The ASPIS II defensive systems suite was programmed through direct 
commercial sale to go on the 60 Peace Xenia III aircraft.  Due to 
stalled negotiations between the Greek MOD and Raytheon, none of 
the 60 PX-III aircraft have defensive systems installed.  End 
comment.) 

¶9.  (C) Ambassador Speckhard commended Venizelos for his commitment 
to transparency, and his plans to increase Parliamentary oversight. 
He expressed confidence in the ability of U.S. firms to compete in 
a transparent environment, noting that such a situation would be 
good both for Greece and the U.S.  While empathetic to Venizelos' 
desire to change an offsets system in their defense procurement 
that had not resulted in the desired outcomes, he encouraged him 
not to unfairly penalize U.S. companies who had been unable to 
deliver on contractual terms due to GoG policies and practices. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Souda Bay Jet Fuel Pipeline 
----------------------------------- 

¶10.  (C) Ambassador Speckhard asked Venizelos to cut through the 
red tape and to provide the U.S. with written authorization to 
proceed with the construction of a JP-5 jet fuel pipeline and fuel 
storage tanks that would maintain high-capacity refueling 
capabilities and protect the environment at and around our Naval 
Support Activity at Souda Bay, Crete.  (Comment: permission to 
execute the project has been stuck in the Greek bureaucracy for 
nearly seven years, and the MOD at present is not certain whether 
or not it needs approval from cautious MFA lawyers to grant this 
authorization.)  Venizelos assured the Ambassador he was "ready to 
 
ATHENS 00001605  004.2 OF 004 
 
solve" this problem. 
 
-------------------- 
Athens Mosque 
-------------------- 

¶11. (C) At the close of the meeting, the Ambassador pointed out to 
Venizelos our understanding that the construction of a mosque in 
Athens (a city that has no official mosque), which was approved by 
the Greek Parliament in 2000, is held up in part by the refusal of 
the Hellenic Navy to vacate the designated land, and asked him for 
his views.  Venizelos, pointing to his background as a professor of 
constitutional law and proclaiming human rights to be a passionate 
interest, stated that he was unaware of the issue, but assured the 
Ambassador he would look into it and he was ready to contribute if 
that was a way his Ministry could help. 
Speckhard