Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Licence needed for work use Learn More

Search

 

Cablegate: Fm Calmy-Rey Says Dialogue and "Diplomatic

VZCZCXRO4059
OO RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHSW #0443/01 2411509
ZNY CCCCC ZZH ZDK
O 281509Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY BERN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5286
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 0575
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 0049
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA PRIORITY 1226
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO PRIORITY 0112
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA PRIORITY 0014
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV PRIORITY 1136

167757 2008-08-28 15:09:00 167757 2008-08-28 15:09:00 08BERN443 Embassy Bern CONFIDENTIAL VZCZCXRO4059\
OO RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR\
DE RUEHSW #0443/01 2411509\
ZNY CCCCC ZZH ZDK\
O 281509Z AUG 08\
FM AMEMBASSY BERN\
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5286\
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY\
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 0575\
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 0049\
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA PRIORITY 1226\
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO PRIORITY 0112\
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA PRIORITY 0014\
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV PRIORITY 1136 C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BERN 000443 \
\
SIPDIS \
\
DEPT FOR P (R.RANGASWAMY), EUR/CE (Y.SAINT-ANDRE), EB, AND \
NEA/IR (H.WOOSTER) \
\
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/27/2018 \
TAGS: PREL PGOV KNNP PTER SZ
SUBJECT: FM CALMY-REY SAYS DIALOGUE AND "DIPLOMATIC \
ENGINEERING" ARE CHIEF SWISS FOREIGN POLICY INSTRUMENTS \
\
BERN 00000443 001.2 OF 003 \
\
\
Classified By: POL/E Counselor Richard A. Rorvig; reason 1.4(d). \
\
1. (C) Summary: In an August 25 address to senior Swiss \
diplomats, FM Calmy-Rey extolled dialogue and facilitation as \
chief Swiss foreign policy instruments. She used the term \
"diplomatic engineering" in describing her vision of \
Switzerland facilitating dialogue on difficult subjects. A \
rhetorical question Calmy-Rey posed in the course of her \
speech was incorrectly spun in some international and Swiss \
press as allegedly advocating dialogue with Usama bin Laden. \
In response to these reports, the Department of Foreign \
Affairs (DFA) released a press statement emphasizing that \
Calmy-Rey did not propose or support such a dialogue. At \
several points in her August 25 speech, Calmy-Rey sought to \
justify the approach she has taken to the Iran nuclear \
problem. She claimed that the "freeze for freeze" concept \
was a suggestion made by Switzerland to "find a way to get \
the blocked talks between Iran and the (P5 1) back in gear \
and into substantive political negotiations." She once again \
argued that the EGL gas deal is in Switzerland's national \
interest and said that it "hardly would have been possible" \
without the diplomatic contacts the DFA had developed with \
Iran in the course of its "dialogue" on the nuclear issue. \
Though she remains very popular with the Swiss Left, \
Calmy-Rey has faced a steady drumbeat of criticism in much of \
the Swiss press this year, not least because of her very \
damaging trip to Tehran in March in support of the EGL deal. \
Calmy-Rey also has felt pressure to clarify her stance on the \
Iran/nuclear issue in the wake of an August 20 press \
conference in which Swiss President Couchepin stated that the \
Federal Council supports the P5 1 initiative and had decided \
that Switzerland will not undertake its own initiatives in \
this area. End Summary. \
\
------------------------------------------ \
Annual Gathering of Senior Swiss Diplomats \
------------------------------------------ \
\
2. (SBU) In an August 25 address to 170 senior Swiss \
diplomats gathered in Bern for the Department of Foreign \
Affairs (DFA) annual ambassadors/CGs conference, FM Calmy-Rey \
extolled dialogue and facilitation ("diplomatic engineering") \
as chief Swiss foreign policy instruments. Calmy-Rey \
appeared to use the occasion to rebut continuing criticism -- \
primarily from Swiss conservatives -- of her often \
high-profile approach to sensitive issues. While conceding \
some limits to the prospects for dialogue, she argued that \
Switzerland's willingness to talk, for example, with \
Hizballah, Hamas, FARC, and the LTTE, was intended to draw \
them into political solutions without legitimizing such \
groups' terrorist methods that Switzerland condemns. \
\
-------------------------------------------- \
Press Flap over Reference to Usama bin Laden \
-------------------------------------------- \
\
3. (U) In her opening remarks, Calmy-Rey asserted that Swiss \
domestic press commentary seems dominated by "moralists" \
advocating strict isolation of problematic state and \
non-state actors. She asked rhetorically, "should we listen \
to these moralists? And, if not, should we seek dialogue \
without discrimination, even if that means sitting at a table \
with Usama bin Laden?" Calmy-Rey did not answer the question \
explicitly in the course of her speech, but instead argued \
that in each case the prospects for dialogue need to be \
carefully reviewed. She maintained that dialogue most of the \
time is better than isolation, but does not mean "accepting \
the unacceptable." \
\
4. (U) French daily "Le Monde" subsequently incorrectly \
reported that Calmy-Rey had advocated dialogue with Usama bin \
Laden, prompting a brief frenzy of criticism in the Swiss \
media and an August 26 press release by the DFA emphasizing \
that Calmy-Rey's question was rhetorical, that she had not \
promoted nor proposed dialogue with bin Laden, and that "in \
practice there is no question of the DFA proposing a dialogue \
with Usama bin Laden." Swiss press commentators generally \
accepted the clarification, but some argued that the Foreign \
Minister unnecessarily had risked creating misunderstanding \
on a very sensitive topic. \
\
---------------------- \
\
BERN 00000443 002 OF 003 \
\
\
Diplomatic Engineering \
---------------------- \
\
5. (SBU) Calmy-Rey used the term "diplomatic engineering" in \
describing her vision of Switzerland facilitating dialogue on \
difficult subjects with ideas, in addition to logistical and \
other material support. She claimed that the "freeze for \
freeze" concept in the context of the P5 1 offer to Iran was \
a result of just this kind of engagement. Even while lauding \
Swiss diplomacy, Calmy-Rey said more needs to be done to \
develop Swiss competencies with a view to making and managing \
"diplomatic engineering" as a Swiss "trademark." At the same \
time, she assessed that Switzerland's lack of EU membership \
and the Swiss form of government -- which lacks a unitary \
Executive -- make Swiss international engagement more \
difficult. \
\
-------------------------------- \
Iran, P5 1, and the EGL Gas Deal \
-------------------------------- \
\
6. (C) At several points in her August 25 speech, Calmy-Rey \
sought to justify the approach she has taken to the Iran \
nuclear problem. In this context, she said that Switzerland \
"is in close contact with the P5 1 and other important actors \
and had calibrated suggestions that made possible for all \
sides to come closer together and to save face." She claimed \
that the "freeze for freeze" concept was a suggestion made by \
Switzerland to "find a way to get the blocked talks between \
Iran and the (P5 1) back in gear and into substantive \
political negotiations." Calmy-Rey claimed that "we were \
always transparent with all partners and have in no case \
undermined agreed international measures -- to the contrary." \
\
7. (C) Calmy-Rey also used this opportunity to seek to defend \
her support for the Swiss firm EGL's billion dollar gas deal \
with Iran. She once again argued that the deal is in \
Switzerland's national interest and something that "hardly \
would have been possible" without the diplomatic contacts the \
DFA had developed with Iran in the course of its "dialogue" \
on the nuclear issue. Referring to criticism that her \
support for the deal had damaged Swiss-U.S. relations, \
Calmy-Rey said that "the United States questioned our support \
for the gas delivery agreement signed by EGL, but we have \
good and constructive relations with the United States -- \
contacts were never so numerous as now." \
\
-------------------- \
Calmy-Rey on Defense \
-------------------- \
\
8. (C) Though she remains very popular in her Swiss Socialist \
Party and with others on the Swiss Left, Calmy-Rey has faced \
a steady drumbeat of criticism in much of the Swiss press \
this year, not least because of her very damaging trip to \
Tehran in March in support of the EGL deal. More recently, \
allegations by Colombian officials that a DFA envoy acted \
sympathetically to the FARC have kept her on the defensive, \
as has, to a lesser degree, criticism that the ongoing crisis \
in Georgia is a "boomerang effect" of recognizing Kosovo \
independence, which Calmy-Rey strongly advocated. The \
rightist Swiss People's Party (SVP), having gone into \
parliamentary opposition and no longer feeling bound by Swiss \
government tradition of "collegiality", has maintained the \
most vociferous criticism. That said, the SVP is by no means \
alone, with commentators from the Swiss political middle \
frequently lamenting Calmy-Rey's often high-profile approach \
to sensitive issues. Responding to such critics, Calmy-Rey \
asserted in her August 25 speech that "we were never a land \
of courtly secret diplomacy -- transparency and \
predictability of our foreign policy are the core of our \
credibility." \
\
9. (C) Regarding the Iran/nuclear issue, Calmy-Rey also has \
felt renewed pressure to clarify her stance in the wake of an \
August 20 press conference in which Swiss President Couchepin \
said that Switzerland supports the P5 1 initiative and added \
that the Federal Council had decided that Switzerland will \
not undertake its own initiatives in this area. In an \
interview with the "Neue Zuercher Zeitung" published August \
23, Calmy-Rey was asked about Couchepin's comments and \
responded that Switzerland had not launched its own \
\
BERN 00000443 003.2 OF 003 \
\
\
initiative, but had offered "diplomatic engineering" \
(including the idea of "freeze for freeze") that had resulted \
in the July "Geneva Talks" that the P5 1 and Iran had asked \
the Swiss to host. She further said that the Federal Council \
"had good reason to be cautious," since Switzerland seldom is \
engaged in international security policy matters of such high \
importance. Calmy-Rey added that the Federal Council had \
feared that Swiss involvement in the issue could damage Swiss \
relations with other states, but argued that the "Geneva \
Talks" had "shown that not to be the case." \
CARTER \ Embassy Bern CONFIDENTIAL VZCZCXRO4059\
OO RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR\
DE RUEHSW #0443/01 2411509\
ZNY CCCCC ZZH ZDK\
O 281509Z AUG 08\
FM AMEMBASSY BERN\
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5286\
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY\
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 0575\
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 0049\
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA PRIORITY 1226\
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO PRIORITY 0112\
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA PRIORITY 0014\
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV PRIORITY 1136 C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BERN 000443 \
\
SIPDIS \
\
DEPT FOR P (R.RANGASWAMY), EUR/CE (Y.SAINT-ANDRE), EB, AND \
NEA/IR (H.WOOSTER) \
\
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/27/2018 \
TAGS: PREL PGOV KNNP PTER SZ
SUBJECT: FM CALMY-REY SAYS DIALOGUE AND "DIPLOMATIC \
ENGINEERING" ARE CHIEF SWISS FOREIGN POLICY INSTRUMENTS \
\
BERN 00000443 001.2 OF 003 \
\
\
Classified By: POL/E Counselor Richard A. Rorvig; reason 1.4(d). \
\
1. (C) Summary: In an August 25 address to senior Swiss \
diplomats, FM Calmy-Rey extolled dialogue and facilitation as \
chief Swiss foreign policy instruments. She used the term \
"diplomatic engineering" in describing her vision of \
Switzerland facilitating dialogue on difficult subjects. A \
rhetorical question Calmy-Rey posed in the course of her \
speech was incorrectly spun in some international and Swiss \
press as allegedly advocating dialogue with Usama bin Laden. \
In response to these reports, the Department of Foreign \
Affairs (DFA) released a press statement emphasizing that \
Calmy-Rey did not propose or support such a dialogue. At \
several points in her August 25 speech, Calmy-Rey sought to \
justify the approach she has taken to the Iran nuclear \
problem. She claimed that the "freeze for freeze" concept \
was a suggestion made by Switzerland to "find a way to get \
the blocked talks between Iran and the (P5 1) back in gear \
and into substantive political negotiations." She once again \
argued that the EGL gas deal is in Switzerland's national \
interest and said that it "hardly would have been possible" \
without the diplomatic contacts the DFA had developed with \
Iran in the course of its "dialogue" on the nuclear issue. \
Though she remains very popular with the Swiss Left, \
Calmy-Rey has faced a steady drumbeat of criticism in much of \
the Swiss press this year, not least because of her very \
damaging trip to Tehran in March in support of the EGL deal. \
Calmy-Rey also has felt pressure to clarify her stance on the \
Iran/nuclear issue in the wake of an August 20 press \
conference in which Swiss President Couchepin stated that the \
Federal Council supports the P5 1 initiative and had decided \
that Switzerland will not undertake its own initiatives in \
this area. End Summary. \
\
------------------------------------------ \
Annual Gathering of Senior Swiss Diplomats \
------------------------------------------ \
\
2. (SBU) In an August 25 address to 170 senior Swiss \
diplomats gathered in Bern for the Department of Foreign \
Affairs (DFA) annual ambassadors/CGs conference, FM Calmy-Rey \
extolled dialogue and facilitation ("diplomatic engineering") \
as chief Swiss foreign policy instruments. Calmy-Rey \
appeared to use the occasion to rebut continuing criticism -- \
primarily from Swiss conservatives -- of her often \
high-profile approach to sensitive issues. While conceding \
some limits to the prospects for dialogue, she argued that \
Switzerland's willingness to talk, for example, with \
Hizballah, Hamas, FARC, and the LTTE, was intended to draw \
them into political solutions without legitimizing such \
groups' terrorist methods that Switzerland condemns. \
\
-------------------------------------------- \
Press Flap over Reference to Usama bin Laden \
-------------------------------------------- \
\
3. (U) In her opening remarks, Calmy-Rey asserted that Swiss \
domestic press commentary seems dominated by "moralists" \
advocating strict isolation of problematic state and \
non-state actors. She asked rhetorically, "should we listen \
to these moralists? And, if not, should we seek dialogue \
without discrimination, even if that means sitting at a table \
with Usama bin Laden?" Calmy-Rey did not answer the question \
explicitly in the course of her speech, but instead argued \
that in each case the prospects for dialogue need to be \
carefully reviewed. She maintained that dialogue most of the \
time is better than isolation, but does not mean "accepting \
the unacceptable." \
\
4. (U) French daily "Le Monde" subsequently incorrectly \
reported that Calmy-Rey had advocated dialogue with Usama bin \
Laden, prompting a brief frenzy of criticism in the Swiss \
media and an August 26 press release by the DFA emphasizing \
that Calmy-Rey's question was rhetorical, that she had not \
promoted nor proposed dialogue with bin Laden, and that "in \
practice there is no question of the DFA proposing a dialogue \
with Usama bin Laden." Swiss press commentators generally \
accepted the clarification, but some argued that the Foreign \
Minister unnecessarily had risked creating misunderstanding \
on a very sensitive topic. \
\
---------------------- \
\
BERN 00000443 002 OF 003 \
\
\
Diplomatic Engineering \
---------------------- \
\
5. (SBU) Calmy-Rey used the term "diplomatic engineering" in \
describing her vision of Switzerland facilitating dialogue on \
difficult subjects with ideas, in addition to logistical and \
other material support. She claimed that the "freeze for \
freeze" concept in the context of the P5 1 offer to Iran was \
a result of just this kind of engagement. Even while lauding \
Swiss diplomacy, Calmy-Rey said more needs to be done to \
develop Swiss competencies with a view to making and managing \
"diplomatic engineering" as a Swiss "trademark." At the same \
time, she assessed that Switzerland's lack of EU membership \
and the Swiss form of government -- which lacks a unitary \
Executive -- make Swiss international engagement more \
difficult. \
\
-------------------------------- \
Iran, P5 1, and the EGL Gas Deal \
-------------------------------- \
\
6. (C) At several points in her August 25 speech, Calmy-Rey \
sought to justify the approach she has taken to the Iran \
nuclear problem. In this context, she said that Switzerland \
"is in close contact with the P5 1 and other important actors \
and had calibrated suggestions that made possible for all \
sides to come closer together and to save face." She claimed \
that the "freeze for freeze" concept was a suggestion made by \
Switzerland to "find a way to get the blocked talks between \
Iran and the (P5 1) back in gear and into substantive \
political negotiations." Calmy-Rey claimed that "we were \
always transparent with all partners and have in no case \
undermined agreed international measures -- to the contrary." \
\
7. (C) Calmy-Rey also used this opportunity to seek to defend \
her support for the Swiss firm EGL's billion dollar gas deal \
with Iran. She once again argued that the deal is in \
Switzerland's national interest and something that "hardly \
would have been possible" without the diplomatic contacts the \
DFA had developed with Iran in the course of its "dialogue" \
on the nuclear issue. Referring to criticism that her \
support for the deal had damaged Swiss-U.S. relations, \
Calmy-Rey said that "the United States questioned our support \
for the gas delivery agreement signed by EGL, but we have \
good and constructive relations with the United States -- \
contacts were never so numerous as now." \
\
-------------------- \
Calmy-Rey on Defense \
-------------------- \
\
8. (C) Though she remains very popular in her Swiss Socialist \
Party and with others on the Swiss Left, Calmy-Rey has faced \
a steady drumbeat of criticism in much of the Swiss press \
this year, not least because of her very damaging trip to \
Tehran in March in support of the EGL deal. More recently, \
allegations by Colombian officials that a DFA envoy acted \
sympathetically to the FARC have kept her on the defensive, \
as has, to a lesser degree, criticism that the ongoing crisis \
in Georgia is a "boomerang effect" of recognizing Kosovo \
independence, which Calmy-Rey strongly advocated. The \
rightist Swiss People's Party (SVP), having gone into \
parliamentary opposition and no longer feeling bound by Swiss \
government tradition of "collegiality", has maintained the \
most vociferous criticism. That said, the SVP is by no means \
alone, with commentators from the Swiss political middle \
frequently lamenting Calmy-Rey's often high-profile approach \
to sensitive issues. Responding to such critics, Calmy-Rey \
asserted in her August 25 speech that "we were never a land \
of courtly secret diplomacy -- transparency and \
predictability of our foreign policy are the core of our \
credibility." \
\
9. (C) Regarding the Iran/nuclear issue, Calmy-Rey also has \
felt renewed pressure to clarify her stance in the wake of an \
August 20 press conference in which Swiss President Couchepin \
said that Switzerland supports the P5 1 initiative and added \
that the Federal Council had decided that Switzerland will \
not undertake its own initiatives in this area. In an \
interview with the "Neue Zuercher Zeitung" published August \
23, Calmy-Rey was asked about Couchepin's comments and \
responded that Switzerland had not launched its own \
\
BERN 00000443 003.2 OF 003 \
\
\
initiative, but had offered "diplomatic engineering" \
(including the idea of "freeze for freeze") that had resulted \
in the July "Geneva Talks" that the P5 1 and Iran had asked \
the Swiss to host. She further said that the Federal Council \
"had good reason to be cautious," since Switzerland seldom is \
engaged in international security policy matters of such high \
importance. Calmy-Rey added that the Federal Council had \
feared that Swiss involvement in the issue could damage Swiss \
relations with other states, but argued that the "Geneva \
Talks" had "shown that not to be the case." \
CARTER \

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
World Headlines

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.