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C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000048 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/16/2019 
TAGS: PHUM PREL UNGA AL AM AJ BO BK BU HR CY EN
GG, GR, KV, LG, LH, MK, MD, MW, RO, RS, SI, YI, TU, UP 
SUBJECT: EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES AND THE 64TH GENERAL 
ASSEMBLY 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR ROSEMARY DICARLO FOR REASONS 1.4 (B & D) 
 
1.(U) SUMMARY: During the fall session of the 64th General 
Assembly (GA64), the majority in the Eastern European 
grouping was very pleased with increased U.S. engagement with 
the UN. As in previous years, most were ready to work 
together on issues of importance to us and them, such as the 
annual human rights resolution on Iran. EE states held 
various chairmanships, in particular of the vital Third 
Committee, and promoted their own issues, such as trafficking 
in persons, cybersecurity and the Alliance of Civilizations. 
 
2.(U) Several of the EE countries also had specific issues or 
disputes, often long-standing ones, that sometimes affected 
what they did and how they voted during the GA. Kosovo, for 
example, is the principal issue for both Serbia and Albania. 
While quieter this year, because the matter was under World 
Court consideration, the Kosovo matter was active on the 
margins.  Georgia-Russia, Nagorno-Karabakh, the Macedonia 
name issue and others continued to roil the waters among the 
EE grouping. 
 
3.(C)  We recommend that there be enhanced contact in 
capitals on GA issues of importance to the U.S. before GA65, 
and particularly with Georgia and Armenia on the Iran human 
rights vote.  Instructions to shift votes will need to come 
from high levels of the EE grouping governments. End Summary. 
 
 
EASTERN EUROPE PLUS 
 
4.(U) The Eastern European grouping assigned to the Senior 
Advisor for Europe is an interesting mix that goes well 
beyond what one would think of as Eastern Europe:  Albania, 
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, 
Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, 
Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, the Russian Federation, 
Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey and Ukraine. Also included in this 
USUN grouping is non-UN member Kosovo. Except for Russia, 
most are not large powers or major players in the UN. The 
grouping includes the smallest (Baltic States); NATO and EU 
members and wannabes; long-standing rivals (e.g., 
Greece/Turkey and Armenia/Azerbaijan). Many have one 
overriding issue, often territorial and long-standing, 
through which other questions often are seen. 
 
5.(U)  Countries in this grouping generally divided into a 
Western-leaning group (the majority) and a small Russia 
-aligned group, with a couple of states on the cusp. As in 
prior years, the majority of countries in USUN's Eastern 
European (EE) grouping supported U.S. priorities during the 
autumn session of the 64th UNGA, including country-specific 
human rights resolutions on Iran, Burma and the DPRK. They 
continued to vote against us (along with the entire EU) on 
such issues as the Cuba embargo, where we remain isolated. On 
other issues, including the annual Palestinian resolutions, 
some EE grouping states voted in favor, while many abstained 
or did not vote. Whatever their positions on specific votes, 
most of this grouping was very pleased with the new U.S. 
attitude towards the UN and our enhanced interest in 
coordinating and negotiating on issues and resolutions. On 
many occasions, the permanent representatives from the 
Western-leaning states expressed their pleasure to the Area 
Advisor at how the new U.S. administration approached the UN 
this fall. 
 
 
6.(U)  Some longstanding issues are specific to one or two 
states, such as Kosovo/Serbia; Nagorno-Karabakh 
(Armenia/Azerbaijan); Cyprus (Cyprus/Greece/Turkey); and the 
Macedonia name dispute (Macedonia/Greece). These issues 
sometimes influenced their responses to larger UNGA issues. 
Much of the GA action for USUN's Area Advisors was in the 
Third Committee (especially the human rights resolutions), 
but EE grouping countries were active in the other five 
committees. Russia, for example, ran a First Committee 
resolution on cybersecurity. 
 
7.(SBU)  The European Union (EU) continued, as in prior 
years, to exert a large influence on much of the grouping. 
The EU members of the grouping voted with that organization, 
while EU candidate-members and hopefuls sided with the EU 
much of the time. Religion, as expressed through the 
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) or on 
Palestinian issues, can affect members' positions, even when 
the state (Turkey) is a NATO member or seeks to join the EU 
(Albania). 
 
GENERAL DEBATE 
 
8.(U)  Every fall, the new GA starts with a General Debate at 
which heads of state and other leaders set the tone on issues 
on which their delegations will focus during the GA. 
Sometimes, these speakers stoke the fire with other 
countries.  This leads to numerous subsequent "rights of 
reply." All of the countries in the EE grouping spoke, with 
the exception of UN non-member Kosovo. Below are key points 
from several interventions: 
 
Albania:  Prime Minister Berisha urged the international 
community to recognize Kosovo and called Iran and the DPRK 
"two countries that threaten the world with their dangerous 
programs." 
 
Armenia:  Foreign Minister Nalbandian called on the UN to 
"prevent genocide, war crimes (and) ethnic cleansing(" He 
accused Azerbaijan of "open aggression" and of employing 
"mercenaries, closely linked to terrorist organizations,(who) 
ultimately claimed the lives of tens of thousands of 
civilians." 
 
Azerbaijan:  Predictably, Foreign Minister Mammadyarov had a 
different take on N-K, which he called a "major threat to 
international and regional peace and security."  Armenian 
"aggression (has) ethnically cleansed" nearly one million 
people and has destroyed " thousands of Azerbaijani 
historical-cultural heritage" sites. 
 
Cyprus:  President Christofias decried the 1974 "crimes" of 
Turkey and called on Ankara to cease pushing for a confederal 
state. He expressed his "readiness to initiate a dialogue 
with the Turkish leadership(" 
 
Estonia:  President Ilves called on UN members to avoid the 
use of force against the "territorial integrity or political 
independence" of other states. Lest anyone miss his meaning, 
he stated Estonia's "firm support for the 
security(sovereignty and territorial integrity" of Georgia. 
He also expressed concern about increasing numbers of cyber 
threats on his country. 
 
Georgia:  President Saakashvili decried the "deep wound" that 
runs through Georgia and warned that "Europe is today being 
 
 
divided by a new wall, built by an outside force(whose ideas 
were collectively and decisively defeated and rejected just 
20 years ago." Georgia had suffered "ethnic cleansing, mass 
violations of human rights, and illegal occupation" by people 
who will "do it again, unless they are stopped." He also 
cited "one of my personal heroes from Russia, Anna 
Politkovskaya, so brutally silenced." 
 
Greece:  Ambassador Mitsialis accused Macedonia of seeking 
"exclusive rights to the name" and called Cyprus an "open 
wound at the very heart of Europe," where "unspeakable 
atrocities of the past come to light(" He lamented that the 
"Turkish Parliament maintains a threat of war against my 
country." 
 
Macedonia:  President Ivanov accused Greece of a "flagrant 
violation of (its) international obligations," when it 
blocked Skopje's NATO membership. 
 
Moldova:  Ambassador Cujba stated that "Moldova faces the 
secessionist phenomenon in the eastern regions of the 
country." He continued that the new Moldovan Government 
sought an "increased U.S. and EU role (in order to) revive 
its efforts towards withdrawing foreign troops" from 
Transnistria. He accused the "so-called Transnistrian 
authorities(of gravely violating the right(s) of Moldovan 
citizens(" 
 
Russia:  President Medvedev rejected the use of force in 
regional conflicts and called Georgia "reckless."  He 
promoted Moscow's proposal for a new European security 
organization and expressed "hope that the Cold War has been 
left behind." 
 
Serbia:  President Tadic focused on Kosovo, calling it "one 
of the most dangerous challenges to the(international system 
since the founding" of the UN. He declared that Serbia will 
never, under any circumstances(recognize" Kosovo's UDI. 
 
Turkey:  Prime Minister Erdogan praised the Alliance of 
Civilizations and issued what sounded like an ultimatum on 
Cyprus: "If a solution cannot be found due to Greek Cypriot 
intransigence, as was the case in 2004, the normalization of 
the status of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will 
become a necessity that can no longer be delayed." He also 
denounced Israeli "aggression against Gaza," as documented in 
the Goldstone Report. 
 
Ukraine:  President Yushchenko stressed that Ukraine will 
"not accept any forms of interference into internal affairs 
of sovereign states (or) any pressure on them(" He warned 
against "imperial ambitions" and lamented "very disconcerting 
reemerged signals from the past." He called on "all UN member 
states and especially the permanent members of the Security 
Council (to be) exemplary in abiding by the principles of 
international law(" 
 
WHERE THEY STOOD ON GENERAL ASSEMBLY ISSUES 
 
9.(C)  The majority of the resolutions that mattered most to 
us were repeats. On those, most of the EE grouping was with 
us much of the time, especially the EU/NATO members and 
aspirants.  Those included the sensitive and much-negotiated 
"Combating Defamation of Religions," pushed by the 
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). In the third 
committee Bosnia-Herzegovina voted with Russia and Turkey 
 
 
against the U.S., EU and most of the EE grouping but reversed 
itself in Plenary and abstained. Most again were with us on 
the DPRK, Myanmar and Iran rights resolutions. The Iran 
resolution, our top priority, was adopted by a wider margin 
than in recent years, although Georgia continued to abstain 
on Iran, concerned that Iran might accord diplomatic 
recognition to Abkhazia. 
 
10.(U)  Similarly, the EE grouping generally maintained its 
voting patterns of previous years on the numerous annual 
Palestinian-related issues, siding with the vast majority on 
some where we were nearly isolated and abstaining 
(Western-leaning) or voting in favor (Turkey, Russia and 
Russia-leaning) on votes that were closer, such as the 
resolution on the "Work of the Special Committee to 
Investigate Israeli Practices." The one EE grouping state 
that most varied its vote on these resolutions was OIC member 
Albania, which voted in favor of ones on which the rest 
abstained and abstained on others. 
 
11.(U)  Global economic issues figured more prominently in 
the EE grouping's calculations, particularly during the 
General Debate, than they did last year. The global financial 
meltdown was not a particular focus for most of the grouping 
in GA63, although it already was high on the agenda for the 
Western Europeans. This year, however, almost all of the EE 
heads of state and government gave considerable focus to it 
and related crises of food, energy, poverty and climate 
during their General Debate interventions.  Those matters, 
along with women's issues and UN systemic questions, figured 
somewhat more prominently in the Area Advisor's discussions 
with the EE permanent representatives, although not as 
frequently as they did with his colleague who covered the 
Western European countries. 
 
12.(U)  Also on the economic front were Second Committee 
issues of importance to the U.S. The EE grouping states 
generally were supportive of the resolutions. For example: 
 
--  The U.S. cybersecurity resolution that focused on 
infrastructure protection. Half of the EE grouping states 
co-sponsored this U.S. resolution. 
 
--  Another resolution that we strongly backed, "Legal 
Empowerment of the Poor," was strongly opposed by Russia and 
others from outside the EE grouping but received support from 
most of the EE countries. 
 
--  The Israeli resolution, "Agricultural Technology for 
Development," was politicized this year by the Arab group. 
Nonetheless, more the half of the EE grouping were 
co-sponsors.  Interestingly, Azerbaijan did not remove itself 
as a co-sponsor but was absent for the vote. 
 
13.(U)  Most of the EE grouping members had some issue or 
chairmanship that was of importance to them during GA64. 
Those included: 
 
Albania was active in the OIC and played a role in moderating 
language proposed by some of the more extreme OIC members. 
 
Armenia became chair of the Commission on the Status of Women. 
 
Azerbaijan sponsored a resolution on the 
Transnational-Eurasian Information Superhighway, which we 
co-sponsored, and proposed international recognition of the 
 
 
Novruz religious holiday. They also publicized the November 
agreement establishing the Cooperation Council of 
Turkic-speaking States. 
 
Belarus was the driving delegation on trafficking in persons 
and was active on renewable energy and climate change. 
 
Bosnia was a bit shaky on its voting this fall, siding with 
Cuba, for example, on its resolution on equitable geographic 
distribution in the membership of human rights treaty bodies. 
The brand-new Permanent Representative told us that the vote 
had been a "technical mistake" and would be corrected. 
Similarly, on the OIC's "Defamation of Religions," B-H voted 
yes in committee but shifted back to abstention in the 
plenary. 
 
Bulgaria assumed the chair of the Black Sea Economic 
Cooperation Organization (BESC), but the Permanent 
Representative noted that there actually is not much 
cooperation with the UN. The BSEC is focused primarily on the 
EU. 
 
Croatia is ending its two-year term on the Security Council 
and likely will be more active in GA matters during the 
remainder of the 64th session. 
 
Estonia chairs the Board of the UN Women's Development Fund 
(UNIFEM) and is beginning service as co-facilitator of the 
System-Wide Coherence effort to streamline the UN. 
 
Greece ran a resolution calling for the "Return or 
Restitution of Cultural Property to the Countries of Origin." 
The coordinator of the Sixth Committee negotiations on the 
Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism was the 
Greek MFA Legal Advisor. 
 
Kosovo is not a UN member but provided some fireworks on the 
margins (see below). They established a consulate general in 
New York during this period and will attempt to become more 
active in and around the UN. 
 
Latvia very ably chaired the fractious Third Committee. 
 
Lithuania assumed the chairmanship of the Community of 
Democracies and hopes that the U.S. will become active in the 
organization. They also publicized and chaired an event to 
publicize the danger of sea-dumped chemical munitions, 
bringing their ambassador form Geneva to give the keynote 
address. 
 
Macedonia was one of only two EE grouping countries to vote 
no on the Goldstone resolution. 
 
Moldova promoted a resolution on young people and publicly 
supported the work of the UN Department of Public Information. 
 
Montenegro had a quiet fall but did announce its wish to 
become a member of the Human Rights Council and the UNESCO 
Executive Board. 
 
Russia was active primarily in the Security Council but did 
run a First Committee resolution on "Information and 
Telecommunications in the Context of International Security" 
on which we joined consensus. They also put forward their 
annual resolution decrying racism and xenophobia, which is 
aimed against the Baltic states and Ukraine, and caused their 
 
 
usual difficulties over the yearly resolution on combating 
desertification. In addition, the Russian delegation tried to 
secure a GA resolution to bring to a head their inexplicable 
ten-year effort to have the GA direct the Security Council to 
establish guidelines for SC imposition of sanctions under 
Chapter Seven. 
 
Serbia made the most important vote switch of GA64, moving 
from a vote for Iran last year to being absent for this 
year's Iran human rights resolution. Serbia served as a 
vice-chair of the Second Committee. 
 
Slovenia was quiet during the fall, working behind the scenes 
to promote its campaign for the Security Council. They 
supplied the most surprising vote of the fall, voting for the 
Goldstone resolution on which most Europeans abstained or 
voted no. 
 
Turkey focused heavily on its Security Council duties but was 
active on various GA issues, including the Alliance of 
Civilizations (co-sponsor with Spain), climate change, water 
issues and disarmament matters, expressing concern about the 
"well-documented link" between the illegal arms trade and 
terrorism. They voted for the Goldstone resolution, with the 
Permanent Representative calling on the UN to "combat 
impunity (and) uphold accountability(" 
 
Ukraine served as a vice-chair of the First Committee and was 
one of only two EE grouping countries to vote no with us on 
Goldstone. They were active on climate change because of the 
long-term damage from Chernobyl and put themselves forward 
for the Security Council in 2016.  They argued that they were 
well-qualified to serve on the Council, having given up 
nuclear weapons, having been a significant troop-contributing 
country and having served with distinction on the HRC. 
 
SENSITIVE EE GROUPING ISSUES IN AND AROUND THE GA 
 
14.(C)  Several states in the EE grouping have a dispute with 
a neighbor or other vital issue that affects what they do at 
the GA, even if the issue was not front-and-center that 
particular year. They include: 
 
Kosovo:  This is both Serbia's and Albania's overriding issue 
and is of high interest to Russia. Because Kosovo's UDI was 
under consideration at the ICJ this fall, the issue was quiet 
in terms of resolutions.  The absence of a resolution enabled 
Serbia to move back toward us on Iran. The Albanian 
Ambassador told us that he had made a pro-OIC vote 
specifically in order to gain leverage on his quest to get 
additional Arab countries to recognize Kosovo. 
 
On the margins, however, the Kosovo issue was anything but 
quiet. Russia caused a flap over Albania's alleged assistance 
to Kosovo's President to access the GA floor during the 
General Debate. The Russians called for Security Council 
consultations, during which they demanded of the UN 
Secretariat to know how the Kosovars got into the GA hall. 
The Russian Permanent Representative expressed concern that 
unauthorized persons had gained access to a place where 
President Medvedev and other heads of state were. The 
Secretariat replied that "for the past 65 years," member 
states have invited individuals in their personal capacity to 
attend the General Debate while their leader was speaking. 
Russia then demanded that a UN "watcher" accompany Kosovars 
at all bilateral meetings. Meanwhile, Albania sent a note 
 
expressing "deep concern" over "Serbian backstage 
interference" during PM Berisha's General Debate 
intervention, calling it an "unacceptable effort to disrupt 
and create confusion" in the GA hall. 
 
Georgia/Russia:  A year after the Russian invasion, this 
rivalry had settled into something like a cold war at the UN. 
Just prior to the start of GA64, however, the Georgians 
introduced a successful resolution on the "Status of 
Internally Displaced Persons" from Abkhazia and South 
Ossetia. This was followed closely by President Saakashvili's 
pointed accusations in his General Debate remarks and the 
Tagliavini Report, which both Georgia and Russia read as 
supporting their points on who was responsible for the war. 
The Georgian report on the eighth round of Geneva Talks, 
circulated here as a UN document, listed numerous 
transgressions by the "Russian occupational forces and the 
proxy authorities." In December, Georgia complained that 
Moscow had even introduced Russian telephone codes into the 
occupied territories in an effort to undermine Georgian 
sovereignty. 
 
Macedonia Name Issue:  GA64 started off with some sharp 
remarks and rights of reply on both sides.  However, on 
balance, this issue was quieter than in GA63. It remains 
issue number one when we speak with the Macedonian 
Ambassador, but even he is more optimistic this year because 
of the new Greek government. 
 
Ukraine Famine:  Having suffered successive defeats in GA62 
and GA63 in trying to place an item on the GA agenda 
recognizing the 75th anniversary of the Stalin-created Great 
Famine (Holodomor), the Ukrainians wisely did not make 
another attempt this fall. Instead, they organized a series 
of panels and events that they could control, both at the UN 
and outside, culminating in a somber commemoration service in 
St. Patrick's Cathedral at which Senator Schumer spoke. 
 
Moldova/Transnistria:  This issue stayed well under the GA 
radar, except for the Permanent Representative's General 
Debate remarks. 
 
Nagorno-Karabakh (N-K):   As noted above,Armenia and 
Azerbaijan focused on a few other issues during GA64, but N-K 
always re-surfaced.  Azerbaijan started out on the first day 
of GA64 with a complaint about Armenia's "open defiance" of 
the UN, and the exchanges continued through the General 
Debate and rights of reply to the widely circulated Azeri 
report on the "Armed Aggression of the Republic of Armenia 
against the Republic of Azerbaijan: Root Causes and 
Consequences." More recently, Azerbaijan has presented the 
Contact Group missions a re-written draft resolution on the 
"Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan." 
 
Cyprus:  This issue continued to be dealt with primarily in 
the Security Council, but it did rear its head in the GA, 
from time to time. For example, the Cypriot Permanent 
Representative felt compelled to reply to PM Erdogan's 
General Debate remarks. He called the Turkish Cypriot "state" 
in the north an "illegal entity that has been universally 
condemned" and criticized the Turkish occupation of part of 
Cyprus. 
 
COMMENT 
 
15.(C) COMMENT On balance, the EE grouping states are a 
 
positive for the U.S. in the UNGA.  Some, such as the EU and 
NATO members, supply steady and reliable support for our 
issues, except for some Middle Eastern issues where we always 
are isolated. Others, especially Russia and Belarus, very 
often are on the other side on GA issues. Armenia and 
Azerbaijan frequently vote with Russia but sometimes abstain 
with the EU. We do not predict major shifts in GA65, although 
we are hopeful that Serbia will continue to find its way back 
to the Western-leaning camp and that its GA63 votes for Iran 
will have been an aberration. Turkey bears watching, as it 
now nearly always votes for the various Middle Eastern 
resolutions, even when the EU abstains. 
 
16.(C)  We would welcome our posts' enhancing interaction on 
GA issues of importance to the U.S. with any and all of the 
EE grouping states during the non-peak UNGA period 
(January-August). In particular, however, posts' excellent 
efforts should continue in Tbilisi and Yerevan to convince 
both Georgia and Armenia to shift on the Iran human rights 
vote.  Armenia, in particular, will lose an important excuse 
re Iran when the border with Turkey is open. We recommend 
concerted action in capitals because, in contrast to some 
delegations of smaller states in other regions, the EE 
permanent representatives in New York do not appear to have 
much latitude to decide how to vote. They can and do make 
recommendations, but issues that are important to us are 
important enough to be decided at high levels in capitals. 
END COMMENT 
RICE