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RUEHSI/AMEMBASSY TBILISI IMMEDIATE 5911
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 USNATO 000575 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/03/2019 
TAGS: OVIP STEINBERG JAMES PREL NATO GG RS
SUBJECT: (U) DEPUTY SECRETARY STEINBERG'S DECEMBER 3, 2009, 
PARTICIPATION IN THE NATO-GEORGIA COMMISSION 
 
¶1.  (U)  Classified by:  Paul Wohlers, Deputy Executive 
Secretary, S/ES, Department of State. Reason 1.4.(d) 
 
¶2.  (U)  December 4, 2009; 5:00 p.m.; Brussels, Belgium. 
 
¶3.  (U) Participants: 
 
U.S. 
Deputy Secretary Steinberg 
Ambassador Ivo Daalder 
Brian Greaney (Notetaker) 
 
Georgia 
Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze 
Ambassador Grigol Mgaloblishvili 
 
NATO 
Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen 
Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola, Chairman of the NATO Military 
Committee 
 
NATO Allies 
Albania: Illir Meta, Foreign Minister 
Belgium: Steven Vanackere, Foreign Minister 
Bulgaria: Todor Churov, Permanent Representative to NATO 
Canada: Yves Brodeur, Assistant Deputy Minister of Foreign 
Affairs 
Croatia: Gordan Jandrokovic, Foreign Minister 
Czech Republic: Jan Kohout, Foreign Minister 
Denmark: Per Stig Moller, Foreign Minister 
Estonia: Urmas Paet, Foreign Minister 
France: Pascale Andreani, Permanent Representative to NATO 
Germany: Ulrich Brandenburg, Permanent Representative to NATO 
Greece: Dimitrios Droutsas, Alternate Foreign Minister 
Hungary: Peter Balazs, Foreign Minister 
Iceland: Thorsteinn Ingolfsson, Permanent Representative to 
NATO 
Italy: Stefano Stefanini, Permanent Representative to NATO 
Latvia: Maris Riekstins, Foreign Minister 
Lithuania: Evaldas Ignatavicius, Vice-Minister of Foreign 
Affairs 
Luxembourg: Jean Asselborn, Foreign Minister 
Netherlands: Maxime Verhagen, Foreign Minister 
Norway: Jonas Gahr Store, Foreign Minister 
Poland: Radoslaw Sikorski, Foreign Minister 
Portugal: Luis Amado, Foreign Minister 
Romania: Sorin Ducaru, Permanent Representative to NATO 
Slovakia: Miroslav Lajcak, Foreign Minister 
Slovenia: Samuel Zbogar, Foreign Minister 
Spain: Miguel Angel Moratinos Cuyaube, Foreign Minister 
Turkey: Ahmet Davutoglu, Foreign Minister 
UK: Stewart Eldon, Permanent Representative to NATO 
 
 
¶4.  (C/NF) SUMMARY:  The December 03 meeting of the 
NATO-Georgia Commission reviewed Georgia,s performance in 
its Annual National Plan to undertake national reforms with a 
view towards eventual NATO membership.  FM Vashadze pledged 
Georgia would continue to work on national reforms, would 
implement a flexible and pragmatic approach to engagement 
with the separatist areas, and would do everything it can to 
engage Russia in peaceful and constructive dialogue, 
especially through the Geneva process.  Allies praised this 
approach. They encouraged strategic patience with the 
separatist areas and Russia, and continued focus on Georgian 
democratic reforms.  Allies also thanked Georgia for making a 
robust pledge of 750 troops for ISAF operations. 
END SUMMARY 
 
------------------------------------ 
GEORGIA: WE ARE COMMITTED TO REFORM 
AND A PEACEFUL APPROACH TO CONFLICT 
RESOLUTION 
------------------------------------ 
 
 
¶5.  (C/NF) At the December 3 NATO-Ukraine Commission Foreign 
Ministerial, Georgian FM Vashadze briefed Allies on 
Georgia,s ongoing commitment to national reforms, and asked 
NATO for its continued support. Among several areas of focus 
Vashadze highlighted Georgia,s ongoing democratic 
development which featured extensive efforts to involve the 
opposition. Vashadze pressed for an agreed timetable of 
NATO-Georgia meetings for 2010 which would allow Georgia the 
time to prepare better to work effectively with NATO in the 
 
USNATO 00000575  002 OF 003 
 
 
coming year. Vashadze also requested progress on opening a 
NATO liaison office in Tbilisi, as had been agreed by Allies 
in December 2008. 
 
¶6.  (C/NF) Turning to defense and security issues, Vashadze 
indicated to Allies that Georgia is undertaking a 
comprehensive reassessment of its strategic security 
documents, in addition to pursuing its defense reforms. He 
promised that the Georgian)pledge of 750 troops for ISAF "Is 
not the end," provided training is available for additional 
contributions. 
 
¶7.  (C/NF) Saying he would &walk to Moscow8 if necessary 
Vashadze underlined that Tbilisi remained committed to 
engaging Russia, particularly through the Geneva process. He 
said his government was developing a state plan on the 
occupied territories with a theme of "inclusion and 
engagement," that would feature educational, cultural and 
economic links with the populations in these areas. Vashadze, 
in measured tones, reminded Allies that Russia remained in 
breach of all of the provisions of the EU-brokered ceasefire 
agreement that ended the August 2008 war. He suggested that 
Russia was testing the international community, a tactic that 
could only be countered by international resolve and a 
determination to keep emphasis on Georgia as a priority in 
international affairs. 
 
--------------------------------- 
U.S.: WE ARE WITH YOU. KEEP GOING 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (C/NF) Deputy Secretary Steinberg commended Georgia for 
its contribution to the vital NATO effort in Afghanistan. He 
congratulated Georgia,s seriousness of purpose in pursuing 
its national reforms and commended them on their use of the 
ANP process. Steinberg encouraged Georgia to continue its 
reforms, especially by doing more to involve the opposition 
and by promoting transparency in government, particularly in 
relation to the Ministry of Interior. Steinberg reiterated 
U.S. support for Georgia,s sovereignty and territorial 
integrity. He noted that the December 2 OSCE Ministerial in 
Athens had reiterated this support, and urged Georgia to 
continue with its constructive approach to negotiating in the 
Geneva process. 
 
¶9.  (C/NF)  Other Allied interventions were largely 
repetitions of the same themes. 
 
------------------------------------ 
PRAISE FOR GEORGIA,S ISAF COMMITMENT 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶10.  (C/NF)  Most speakers praised Georgia for its pledge to 
contribute 750 troops to fight as part of ISAF in Helmand 
province, without caveats (Albania, Canada, Croatia, Czech 
Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, 
Poland, Romania, and the United States). 
 
 
-------------------------------- 
FURTHER REFORM NECESSARY TO MOVE 
TOWARDS MEMBERSHIP 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶11. (C/NF)  Allies reaffirmed NATO's commitment to the 
Bucharest Summit decision that Georgia would one day become a 
member of NATO. However, they stressed that the burden fell 
on Georgia to carry out the reforms necessary to meet NATO's 
performance-based standards. 
 
¶12.  (C/NF)  Almost every speaker commended Georgia on its 
use of the NATO-Georgia Commission and the ANP process in 
2009 to assist with reforms. Allies pledged to maintain their 
support through these mechanisms. While commending the 
progress achieved thus far in the new ANP process, Allies 
sent a consistent message that they expected continued 
commitment to the process.  Some focused on particular types 
of reforms they thought necessary, including: Electoral 
reform (Germany, Greece, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, and 
Slovenia); Press freedom (Canada, Greece, Hungary, Italy and 
Norway); Judicial reform (Hungary, Norway, Slovakia); 
Constitutional reform (Slovakia); and Defense reform 
(Hungary). 
 
¶13.  (C/NF)  Canada, Croatia, Latvia and Poland all insisted 
 
USNATO 00000575  003 OF 003 
 
 
that NATO follow up on its December 2008 decision on a NATO 
Office in Tbilisi by sending a member of the NATO 
International Staff to open and run such an office. 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
Relations with Russia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶14.  (C/NF)  Allies were also united in reaffirming well-worn 
pledges of support for Georgia,s territorial integrity, 
sovereignty, and independence. They encouraged continued 
Georgian patience in dealing with Russia, Abkhazia, and South 
Ossetia. Georgia,s constructive approach to the Geneva 
Process was a particular focus, with all encouraging what 
Slovak FM Lajcak termed "strategic patience" in dealing with 
the separatist entities (Albania, Bulgaria, Canada, Estonia, 
Germany, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Poland,   Portugal, Slovakia, 
Slovenia, Turkey, and the United States) 
DAALDER