VZCZCXRO3550
OO RUEHAG RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR
DE RUEHTH #1693/01 3451107
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O R 111107Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY ATHENS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1213
INFO EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0059
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 001693 
 
SIPDIS 
AMEMBASSY ANKARA PASS TO AMCONSUL ADANA 
AMEMBASSY ASTANA PASS TO AMCONSUL 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: 2019/12/11 
TAGS: PHSA KPIR PREL PGOV GR
SUBJECT: PIRACY: GREECE WANTS CGPCS CHAIR, WILL CONSIDER NY 
DECLARATION CAVEAT 
 
REF: A.) 12/7/09 COCKRELL-MAGGI EMAIL, B.) ATHENS 1611, C.) ATHENS 
1655, D.) ATHENS 1599 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Deborah A. McCarthy, Deputy Chief of Mission; REASON: 
1.4(B), (D) 
 
¶1.  (U) This cable contains an action request, please see paragraph 
¶6. 
 
 
 
¶2.  (C) SUMMARY. The MFA formally requests to chair a future 
Plenary of the Contact Group for Piracy off the Coast of Somalia 
(CGPCS), MFA D1 Directorate Head Franciscos Verros and Counselor 
Dimitris Papandreou told PolCouns and Pol-Mil Chief during a 
meeting at the MFA's request December 10.  The Greeks wish to chair 
the sixth or the seventh CGPCS Plenary following the fifth Plenary 
that will be chaired by Norway on January 28, and asked to know 
which other nations are have expressed interest or are being 
considered.  Verros also stated that no recent staffing had been 
done in the MFA on signing the New York Declaration on best 
practices for merchant vessel self protection, and that Greece 
wasn't ready to sign now, but that he would look into it. 
Encouragingly, he asked whether the U.S. might prefer reopening the 
text, or accepting a Greek signature with a caveat, as the UK has 
done.  In closing, Verros conveyed his understanding that the Greek 
owners of the recently pirated, Greek-flagged Maran Centaurus had 
not yet commenced negotiations with the pirates. END SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------------- 
 
Greece Wants to Chair a Contact Group Plenary 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------------- 
 
 
 
¶3.  (C) MFA D1 Director (IO/UNP Office Director equivalent) Verros 
conveyed to us a formal request that Greece serve as Chair for a 
future meeting of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of 
Somalia, and asked that we pass the request to Washington for a 
response.  He also asked if we had information we could share on 
which countries are being considered as future chairs, so that the 
Greeks could coordinate appropriately, and ensure that the Contact 
Group ran as smoothly as possible.  Verros underlined Greece's 
enthusiastic support of the Contact Group, and other international 
efforts to combat piracy; he was pleased to inform us that Greece 
had been elected to the Board of the International Trust Fund 
Supporting 
Initiatives of the CGPCS for 2010 along with the United States, and 
that Greece would donate to it, as well, although the amount was 
not presently decided.  He stated that Greece believed the 
international community's response to increasingly sophisticated 
pirate attacks needed to become more sophisticated, as well, and 
said he and his team were working on ideas to present at the 
January 28 CGPCS plenary.  (Comment: the recent spate of incidents 
has gotten the Greeks' attention; one Greek-flagged vessel and 
three other Greek-owned vessels are currently held by pirates. 
Economy Minister Katselis also met December 1 with the Union of 
Greek Shipowners to discuss the problem.)  We told him we would 
convey that request, and would pass him a reaction from Washington. 
Per prior informal guidance from the PM bureau in November (ref A), 
we also steered them towards Norway, the Chair for the upcoming 
CGPCS meeting in January, who will play a prominent role in 
arranging the next chair. 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
A Caveated Declaration Signature? 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
ATHENS 00001693  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶4.  (C) We also raised the issue of Greece signing the New York 
Declaration at the January CGPCS Plenary, first raised by A/S 
Shapiro in October (ref D) and recently reinforced by the 
Ambassador with Alt/FM Droutsas (ref C).  Highlighting the fact 
that Washington felt Greece's absence from the Declaration keenly 
due to Greece's prominence as a shipping power, we also noted the 
attention the issue had received bilaterally, as evidenced by A/S 
Shapiro's and the Ambassador's interest.  Verros stated that no 
staffing had been done in the MFA on the issue for some time, and 
that Greece was not ready to sign at the moment, but that he would 
look into it.  Encouragingly, he asked whether the U.S. might 
prefer reopening the text for renegotiation (the preferred Greek 
route, as detailed in ref B), or accepting a Greek signature with a 
caveat, as the UK has done.  We stated that while we did not have 
guidance, we believed that a caveat was preferable. 
 
 
 
----------------------- 
 
Maran Centaurus 
 
----------------------- 
 
 
 
¶5.  (C) We also asked what Greece was doing about the recently 
pirated Greek-flagged Maran Centaurus, an oil tanker seized 
November 30 carrying an estimated two million barrels of oil to New 
Orleans.  Its crew of 28 also includes nine Greeks.  Verros said 
the crew was safe, and that the Greek government would not 
negotiate, as the shipping company had the primary responsibility. 
He noted that negotiations between the company and pirates had not 
yet started. 
 
 
 
-------------------- 
 
Action Request 
 
-------------------- 
 
 
 
¶6.  (C) Post requests Washington guidance on Greece's request to 
Chair the sixth Plenary of the Contact Group, or the seventh should 
the sixth already be assigned.  We would appreciate being able to 
share the names of other nations whom we understand are prospective 
candidates, if that information is releasable.  We also request 
guidance on Washington's views toward Greece signing the New York 
Declaration with an explanatory caveat, as we understand the United 
Kingdom has done.  If Washington is amenable to this idea, we can 
begin a conversation to help shape the Greek language, and push for 
a positive announcement at the fifth CGPCS Plenary on January 28. 
Speckhard