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RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 0134
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 USOSCE 000025 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/26/2019 
TAGS: MARR OSCE PGOV PREL RS KZ UK SP LH AL AF
UP, KG, ZK 
SUBJECT: OSCE WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS: JANUARY 18 - 22, 2010 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Carol Fuller for Reasons 1.4(B)&(D) 
 
Lithuania Leaning Toward Energy Security for 2011 EEF Theme 
 
¶1. (SBU) In a January 14 meeting, Vytautas Nauduzas, a 
Lithuanian ambassador-at-large and the personal 
representative of the Chairman-in-Office for transport, told 
PolOff that Lithuania is leaning very strongly toward 
choosing energy security as the theme of the Economic and 
Environmental Forum (EEF) to be held under Lithuania's 2011 
OSCE Chairmanship.  Whether this is feasible, since the EEF 
requires a consensus Permanent Council decision, will be 
determined by the outcomes of the conference and SG report 
mandated by the 
Athens Ministerial Decision on energy security.  Regarding 
his role as the personal representative, Nauduzas said delays 
and corruption at border crossings are serious problems in 
parts of the OSCE region, especially Central Asia, and 
aspects of EU external policy (the energy supply early 
warning mechanism with Russia, for example) could be used as 
models to develop early warning or crisis management 
mechanisms in the transport sector to prevent long queues and 
other dysfunction.  He also said Lithuania's history and 
shared experience as a former Soviet republic gives it a 
distinct advantage in working with the Central Asian 
countries on issues such as this. 
 
Head of Presence in Albania Warns on Political Deadlock 
 
¶2. (SBU) The head of the OSCE Presence in Albania, Robert 
Bosch, told CDA Fuller January 15 that the political 
situation in Albania was increasingly problematic.  He 
pointed to Berisha's very personal attacks on Rama and 
pressure on independent media and said that in particular the 
GoA's use of selectively enforced building regulations to go 
after SP supporters was out of hand and dangerous.  He said 
the OSCE mandate on early warning indicated a need for more 
active engagement at higher levels, but the Greek 
Chairmanship had missed its opportunity, despite his urging. 
Aside from having little sway in the Balkans, the Kazakhstani 
Chairmanship will not be able to speak from the high ground 
on issues of democracy, leaving the United States and the EU 
as the key entities with enough influence to intervene. 
Bosch criticized ODIHR for pulling out its monitoring mission 
too early and for omitting mention of the incorrect Electoral 
College ruling on the SP request to re-open ballot boxes, 
saying that ODIHR had "given in" on this so as to not worsen 
its problems with the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. 
 
FM Saudabayev Pleased with Discussion on Summit, Informal 
Ministerial 
 
¶3. (C) At a meeting January 19, Kazakhstani PermRep 
Abdrakhmanov informed us that FM Saudabayev was very pleased 
with the discussion at the January 14 Permanent Council 
meeting of a possible summit and informal Ministerial in 
¶2010.  Although noting that it was too early to predict 
future developments, Abdrakhmanov asked whether June or July 
would be more convenient from our point of view for an 
informal Ministerial in Almaty.  Abdrakhmanov also explained 
that the Chairmanship would be looking for strong U.S. 
support for the June conference on tolerance and 
non-discrimination. Kazakhstan plans to invite all OSCE 
foreign ministers, as well as representatives of relevant 
organizations, to attend the conference. 
 
USOSCE 00000025  002 OF 004 
 
 
 
Saudabayev Disappointed Over Limited London Role 
 
¶4. (C) Ambassador Abdrakhmanov also told us that FM 
Saudabayev was "puzzled" that his invitation to the January 
28 London conference on Afghanistan was in his national 
capacity, not as OSCE Chairman-in-Office, and that he was not 
offered the opportunity to speak.  Abdrakhmanov insisted that 
Kazakhstan had done much to help allied efforts in Kazakhstan 
and had both national and multilateral assistance to "put on 
the plate."  Moreover, he said, Kazakhstan has pledged $50 
million in scholarship for Afghan students to study in 
Kazakhstan's educational institutions.  Abdrakhmanov hinted 
that Saudabayev was possibly reconsidering his attendance at 
the London conference.  Separately, UK Ambassador Cliff told 
us that he had also been asked to obtain a speaking role for 
Saudabayev and had passed this request to London. 
 
Possible Donor Conference on the Aral Sea? 
 
¶5. (U) Later, Abdrakhmanov mentioned that his government had 
begun early planning for a potential international donors' 
conference under OSCE auspices to deal with the environmental 
degradation of the Aral Sea, possibly in May.  Kazakhstan has 
already created an Aral Sea Fund and sees this initiative as 
a major way to bring Central Asians together on a joint 
effort. 
 
FM Moratinos Highlights Spanish EU Presidency Priorities 
 
¶6. (SBU) Spanish FM Moratinos presented a rather lengthy list 
of Spain's priorities for its EU Presidency at a special 
Permanent Council meeting January 19.  The main points 
include implementation of the Lisbon Treaty, creation of a 
sustainable economic system, and progress in the accessions 
process.  He spoke out in favor of granting EU membership to 
those countries that fulfill the criteria and are in a 
relevant "geographical position."  He noted that the western 
Balkans are now very close to achieving the "happy end" of 
full integration into the EU.  As for Kosovo, the Spanish 
Presidency will be "exceedingly constructive and neutral" and 
intends to invite all parties to a meeting planned for 
Sarajevo.  Within the human dimension, Spain will focus on 
the death penalty, gender, trafficking in persons, and the 
Alliance of Civilizations initiative.  Moratinos spoke out 
strongly in favor of an OSCE summit in 2010, stating that it 
is necessary to "put order in this debate on security and its 
structure."  The inability to agree on a political statement 
at the annual Ministerial will only change, according to 
Moratinos, upon impetus of the Heads of State and Government. 
 
Responses to Moratinos Focus on EU Expansion and Visa Regime 
 
¶7. (SBU) Most responses to FM Moratinos' presentation focused 
on the need for progress in the accessions process and swift 
revision of the visa regime, which Belarus called 
"humiliating" and "disproportionately costly" for citizens of 
former Soviet states.  Russia urged the EU to rethink new 
commitments in the area of freedom of movement, which could 
help renew relations between the EU and Russia. Russia also 
praised Moratinos' statement on the need for collective 
measures to prevent conflict and address threats to security, 
tying this in to Russia's EST and conflict prevention 
proposals. 
 
 
USOSCE 00000025  003 OF 004 
 
 
Kazakhstan Opens a New Season for the Corfu Process 
 
¶8. (U) At the January 19 inaugural session of the new round 
of Corfu Process discussions on European security, chaired by 
Kazakhstan, delegations stressed the need for concrete 
progress on key issues, especially in view of Astana's desire 
to hold an OSCE summit later this year.  Kazakhstani PermRep 
Abdrakhmanov in his opening remarks viewed the upcoming 
sessions as developing new and enhanced ways to tackle 
threats to comprehensive security.  Speaking in part for the 
EU, Spain urged the operationalization of the discussions by 
seeking to resolve "low-hanging fruit" while not shying away 
from confronting the most intractable and persistent issues. 
Russia appreciated the "business-like" approach of the 
Chairmanship and welcomed the goal of involving subsidiary 
Permanent Council and Forum for Security Cooperation (FSC) 
bodies, which could filter proposals ahead of any Corfu 
Process discussions (note: a singular Russian 
interpretation).  Most other delegations agreed with the need 
to ramp up the discussions, involve outside experts, and aim 
for tangible results.  Several delegations praised the U.S. 
statement, which listed key areas for further deliberation 
and promised further development of ideas on mechanisms for 
conflict prevention. 
 
Russia Executes a Pre-Emptive Strike on Conflict Resolution 
 
¶9. (U) In the January 19 session of the FSC, Russian 
Ambassador Ulyanov tabled a draft decision on conflict 
resolution, which essentially reinforces the requirement for 
consensus of the 56 participating States for any response to 
a crisis, and requested that it be negotiated at the next 
Working Group B session of the FSC.  (Note: USOSCE has since 
incorporated elements of the Russian proposal into our 
proposed draft decision based on the mechanism we launched 
last fall during the Corfu Process discussions -- one of the 
few concrete proposals to emerge from those discussions.)  At 
the January 21 Permanent Council meeting, Russian PermRep 
Azimov formally requested that the Russian draft be 
considered simultaneously in the FSC and the Permanent 
Council.  CDA 
Fuller took the floor in response to note that conflict 
prevention and resolution has been one of the most important 
items discussed throughout the Corfu Process and to thank 
Russia for its contribution to this/this process.  She made 
clear that the U.S. delegation had specifically held off 
introducing any formal decision on the mechanism proposed 
last fall in order for all to benefit from the February 23 
Corfu Process discussion and expert seminar (which the United 
States is helping to organize), but would be glad to work 
with Russia on elements of its contribution.  Various 
delegations later commented to CDA Fuller that this was a 
typical Soviet-style tactic -- to introduce a noxious paper 
early on promoting their viewpoint and to try to force 
delegations to negotiate on the basis of their document.  The 
move was a clear attempt to pre-empt Corfu Process 
discussions of the U.S. proposal.  USOSCE has been consulting 
with many allies and with the Conflict Prevention Center on 
the way forward.  Allies have urged us to share with them our 
revised text. 
 
Ukrainian Elections Meet OSCE Standards... 
 
¶10. (SBU) Ukraine,s January 17 presidential election largely 
met OSCE commitments, according to observers.  Most 
 
USOSCE 00000025  004 OF 004 
 
 
international observers reported that the voting and counting 
processes were orderly and transparent and that voters were 
permitted a free choice among the 18 candidates.  The most 
significant problems involved the addition of a significant 
number of voters up to election day and the lack of clarity 
in Ukraine's election law and regulations governing the 
process for late registration.  In some polling stations, the 
precinct election commissioners decided the question of 
permitting late registration, with the required 
identification, by consensus.  Other polling stations called 
upon the district election commission to make the 
determination, and some voters attempting to register on 
election day were directed to the court for resolution. 
 
...But ODIHR-PA Relations Go South 
 
¶11. (C) While international observers praised Ukraine's 
progress toward meeting OSCE commitments, the obvious 
deterioration between the two OSCE institutions charged with 
monitoring elections is cause for alarm.  ODIHR and the 
Parliamentary Assembly (PA) continued to disagree on the 
process by which the post-election statement would be 
developed, as well as on the content of the statement, until 
the post-election press conference.  The geographic distance 
between Long-Term Head of Mission Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini 
and PA President Joao Soares at the table at which they were 
seated during the press conference served to highlight the 
growing distance and declining cooperation between them. 
That Ambassador Tagliavini was relegated to speaking last 
after PACE, NATO, and the COE spoke volumes.  The situation 
was further exacerbated by President Soares' public agreement 
with the CiS PA's statement on the election.  Serious 
concerns now exist as to the state of cooperation between 
ODIHR and the PA for the second round of the election, 
scheduled for February 7. 
 
 
U.S. Praises First Round of Ukrainian Presidential Election 
 
¶12. (U) At the January 21 Permanent Council meeting, the 
United States was the only delegation to comment on and 
congratulate Ukraine on the conduct of the January 17 
presidential election.  The U.S. statement implored the other 
46 participating States that provided short-term observers 
for the first round of the election to continue to support 
the observation mission during the second round.  Other 
delegations, including the EU, have indicated their intent to 
wait until after the second round to comment on the elections 
and their conduct.  In reply, the Ukrainian delegation 
thanked the United States for its statement and said the MFA 
would continue to provide support for the observation mission 
during the second round. 
 
Kyrgyzstan: Pavlyuk's Murder under Investigation 
 
¶13. (U) In response to EU and U.S. statements at the January 
21 Permanent Council meeting calling for a thorough 
investigation of the December 16 murder of Kyrgyz journalist 
Gennadi Pavlyuk in Almaty, Kyrgyzstan assured participating 
States that the Kyrgyz General Prosecutor's Office was 
working on the case and had set up a joint investigative 
commission and special task force with the Kyrgyz Ministry of 
Interior.  Kyrgyzstan also noted that Kyrgyz and Kazakhstani 
officials were cooperating in the investigation. 
FULLER