VZCZCXRO0613
OO RUEHSK RUEHSL
DE RUEHVEN #0258/01 3211611
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 171611Z NOV 09
FM USMISSION USOSCE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6714
INFO RUCNCFE/CONVENTIONAL ARMED FORCES IN EUROPE PRIORITY
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO PRIORITY 1772
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUESDT/DTRA-OSES DARMSTADT GE PRIORITY
RHMFISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J5-DDPMA-IN/CAC/DDPMA-E// PRIORITY
RUEAHQA/HQ USAF WASHINGTON DC//XONP// PRIORITY
RUEADWD/DA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEASWA/DTRA ALEX WASHINGTON DC//OSAE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 USOSCE 000258 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR VCI/CCA, EUR/RPM 
NSC FOR FRIEDT, NILSSON, HAYDEN 
JCS FOR J5 NORWOOD, COL SMITH 
OSD FOR ISA (KEHL, WALLENDER) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCFE OSCE PARM PREL
SUBJECT: CFE/JCG:  NOVEMBER 17:  COMMEMORATING ISTANBUL; 
PREPARING FOR ATHENS 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary.  At the November 17 Joint Consultative 
Group (JCG) plenary, Greece supported by 14 other 
delegations, including the U.S., raised the Russian 
Federation's refusal to its recent CFE inspection request. 
The French Chair commemorated the tenth anniversary of the 
Istanbul Summit 1999.  The Chair also sought comments on the 
draft JCG Chairman's letter to the Ministerial Council and 
the draft JCG contribution for the ministerial declaration. 
In light of the reinforced PC on November 24, the date and 
time of the next JCG plenary is to be determined.   End 
summary. 
 
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Commemorating Istanbul 1999 
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¶2.  (SBU)  The November 17 JCG was chaired by French 
Ambassador Alabrune, who opened the meeting with brief 
remarks commemorating the tenth anniversary of the OSCE 
Summit in Istanbul (November 17-19, 1999) when all States 
Parties signed the adapted CFE Treaty.  Russian Head of 
Military Security and Arms Control delegation Mikhail Ulyanov 
said in the last ten years the JCG had made a stark departure 
from the cooperative spirit that marked Istanbul.  He said 
the JCG was in a "virtual stalemate" with a "strict ban on 
real exchange" among JCG members.  He wondered whether we had 
"reached the point of no return."  He cautioned that if we 
did not initiate negotiations in early 2010 to save CFE, we 
might have to acknowledge it was dead. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Ulyanov observed that NATO currently was preparing 
its traditional yearly communique on a wide range of 
subjects, including CFE.  He noted the previous two 
communiques had urged the Russian Federation toward 
constructive engagement.  In Ulyanov's opinion, however, NATO 
had assumed a "passive stance" and was the one who needed to 
constructively engage.  He hoped the NATO communique would 
include "better wording" this year.  Lastly, Ulyanov asked 
when the Alliance would provide feedback to the Russian 
Aide-Memoire, "Restoring the Viability of the CFE Treaty: A 
Way Forward." circulated on May 5 in the JCG. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  The U.S. (Ellis) underscored its commitment to 
full implementation of the CFE Treaty.  Ellis noted that the 
U.S. was ready to engage in discussions in a positive, 
constructive manner, and that it regretted Russia's 
dissatisfaction with progress made to date as expressed by 
the Russian rep. today, adding the lines of communication 
from the U.S. perspective were still open. 
 
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Fifteen States Concerned over Russian Refusal 
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¶5.  (SBU)  Greece (Kalpadakis) raised Russia's refusal last 
week for a CFE inspection.  Fourteen other delegations, 
including the U.S., registered support for the Greek 
statement and reaffirmed their commitment to full CFE 
implementation.  The U.S. (Ellis) noted if the Russian 
Federation wants to engage constructively and positively in 
strengthening the European security architecture it should 
end its "suspension" of CFE Treaty implementation.  Ulyanov 
replied the Russian Federation had imposed a "moratorium" on 
CFE "after eight years of patiently waiting for NATO to 
comply with its own Istanbul Commitments for the expeditious 
ratification of adapted CFE."  This led the Russian 
Federation to realize entry into force of a/CFE "was scanty." 
 Ulyanov also said "the last drop" was Georgia's request that 
"military pensioners and children" leave Gudauta.  According 
to Russia, NATO's silence on this matter implied its 
approval. Ulyanov said the "Russian-American package" needed 
to be approved to overcome the CFE impasse.  (COMMENT: 
Ulyanov has referred to the parallel actions package on 
several occasions as the Russian-American package.  End 
comment.) 
 
USOSCE 00000258  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Georgia (Giorgadze) in reply to Ulyanov's earlier 
comment that the JCG had done nothing since 2000 noted 
post-Yeltsin leadership did not engage in democratic 
negotiations on European security, including CFE.  Giorgadze 
indicated that Georgia, too, waited "eight long years" for 
the withdrawal of Russian troops but all it got was "five 
more military bases and 20 percent more of its country 
occupied" by Russian forces.  Giorgadze believed the 
detainment of four Georgian teenagers by Russian forces in 
South Ossetia one week ago was not indicative of Russia's 
willingness to move forward.  Russia (Ulyanov) accused the 
Georgian rep of poor "diplomatic etiquette" (for singling out 
Putin's administration) and requested him to adhere to the 
ways of "civilized conduct that characterized international 
diplomacy." 
 
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Chair's Letter and Ministerial Paragraph 
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¶7.  (SBU)  The French Chair observed the draft JCG Chairman's 
letter (JCG.DEL/3/09) circulated November 16 and the draft 
JCG ministerial contribution (JCG.DEL/2/09) circulated 
October 23 were open for comment. The Chair noted it had 
received some informal comments which pointed to 
discrepancies.  (COMMENT:  In previous NATO-T and Quad 
meetings France was pessimistic that a Chairman's letter 
would be agreed, but indicated its duty as Chair was to make 
good faith efforts on both texts.  It was somewhat surprising 
that France did not incorporate comments received by Romania 
and the U.S., or from any other delegation, into the draft 
letter circulated on November 16.  End comment.)  Greece 
(Kalpadakis) believed both drafts were "a good start." 
Germany (Genrich) did not want unsuccessful attempts in 
previous years to dash our hopes for a letter and ministerial 
declaration paragraph for Athens.  The German rep supported 
both drafts with minor editorial suggestions, and recalled 
that a joint declaration was adopted this year in Berlin 
"without reference to different views and without wishing to 
belittle those differences."  Russia expressed willingness to 
work with both texts "concentrating on matters that bring us 
together," facts, and way ahead.   Ulyanov said the 
Chairman's letter should reflect there is no common view on 
the role of the JCG, that substantive matters are discussed 
elsewhere.  Belarus (Krayushkin) endorsed the Russian 
comments. 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  Romania (Matei) generally commented that both 
texts needed further improvement to reflect accurately the 
current situation.  The U.S. (Ellis) agreed with some of what 
Ulyanov had said and underscored the importance that any JCG 
contribution to a possible ministerial declaration be factual 
and relevant.  Ellis noted U.S. proposed amendments to the 
Chairman's letter, previously shared with the letter's 
authors (France/Spain/Denmark), would be shared with all. 
 
¶9.  (SBU)  Spain (Sabadell), as previous JCG chair, noted 
differing views persisted when France, Spain, and Denmark 
began drafting.  That was why, Sabadell said, the authors had 
tried to be "as factual and objective" as possible.  He 
believed neither of the two texts "attempted to hide 
discrepancies."  The French Chair said it would pursue 
informal consultations in order to arrive at revised versions 
of the texts. 
 
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Next JCG Meetings 
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¶10.  (SBU)  Turkey (Begec) inquired whether the French Chair 
intended to hold a JCG meeting at Athens.  Ambassador 
Alabrune did not commit to a meeting, instead suggesting to 
see how informal consultations turned out.  Georgia 
(Giorgadze) clarified that a JCG meeting in Athens would be 
 
USOSCE 00000258  003 OF 003 
 
 
chaired by Georgia; although Georgia was not planning to hold 
such a meeting, it realized the situation might change. 
 
¶11.  (SBU)  In light of a reinforced PC on November 24, the 
date and time of the next JCG plenary (to be chaired by 
France) is to be determined.  At this week's NATO-T, the 
Croatian chair asked whether delegations felt the need to 
hold a T next week.  The U.S. (Ellis) signaled we should be 
driven by substance and the need for coordination. 
FULLER