Cablegate: Mission Usnato

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09.12.2009: NATO-RUSSIA: RESPONDING TO RUSSIAS LATEST DRAFT
TREATY LIMITING THE DEPLOYMENT OF TROOPS ABROAD
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 USNATO 000579
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/09/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR MOPS NATO RS
REF: MOSCOW 2878

Classified By: Ambassador Daalder for reasons 1.4 (b/d).

1. (U) This is a request for guidance. Please see para 7.

2. (C) Summary and comment: At the December 4 NATO-Russia
Council Ministerial, Russia presented to NATO a draft treaty
that would commit the Alliance to use the NRC to address
threats to Allies security and prevent NATO from stationing
armed forces on the territory of its Central and Eastern
European members. The treaty avoids mentioning the OSCE and
differs from Russias proposed European Security Treaty
mainly in specifying the NRC as the forum for discussion.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov asked ministers that Allies
consider discussing the new treaty with Russia at subsequent
NRC meetings. After reviewing the document, Allies initial
response has centered on the need for the NRC to focus
instead on the ministers decisions to work on agreed areas
of practical cooperation and start a Joint Review of common
security threats. The U.S. should respond by urging Russia
to comply with existing treaties before suggesting new ones,
and by keeping the NRC focused on initiatives already agreed.
End summary and comment.

Russia Hands NATO a Draft Treaty
--------------------------------

3. (C) During the December 4 NATO-Russia Council Ministerial
(NRC), Russian FM Sergey Lavrov presented Allies with a draft
agreement between NATO members and Russia that would, among
other things, limit the deployment of troops to certain
European countries. Lavrov said that Russia would not
publicize the document, looked forward to Allied responses,
and hoped the topic would be discussed in the NRC (full text
in para 8).

4. (C) The heart of the Russian proposal is an article that
would commit NATO not to station significant forces in the
Central and Eastern European countries that joined the
Alliance after 1997. The proposal also commits members to
use the NRC to address threats to their security, and
selectively cites previous NATO-Russia agreements, leaving
out key elements such as the 1997 Founding Acts numerous
references to the OSCE. The draft treaty appears to be what
the Russian MFA had in mind when it said recently that the
GOR wanted a strategic-level political declaration to
reorient the NATO-Russia relationship (reftel).
5. (C) PermReps have reacted by reiterating that the focus
needed to be not on a new treaty but on implementing
decisions made at the NRC Ministerial to launch the Joint
Review of 21st Century Common Security Challenges and work on
areas of practical cooperation included in the NRC Work Plan
for 2010. A fuller Allied discussion of the Russian proposal
will take place on December 14 in advance of the NATO
Secretary Generals December 15-17 trip to Moscow.

Comment
-------

6. (C) Russias latest proposed treaty, along with the draft
European Security Treaty (EST) released by Moscow just days
earlier, appear designed to undermine NATO and the OSCE. The
GOR proposal is clearly a non-starter for Allies, but Russia
may hope to sow division and raise questions about Alliance
unity. Despite Allies unanimous response that the proposed
EST should be discussed in the OSCE, Germany, France, Italy,
and Spain have commented that they could also consider
discussing the EST proposal in the NRC. Russia may hope to
get a similar reaction to its newest draft treaty.
7. (C) The U.S. should join Allies at the NRC in urging
Russia to comply with existing treaties before suggesting new
ones. We should emphasize to the Russians that the NRC needs
to focus on the recently approved Work Plan for 2010 and the
Joint Review of 21st Century Common Security Challenges,
documents that were endorsed by all 29 NRC ministers on
December 4, instead of debating proposals designed to
undermine NATO and the OSCE. Russia needs to hear the
message again that the OSCE, not the NRC, is the appropriate
USNATO 00000579 002 OF 004
forum for such discussions. We request any additional input
from Washington by OOB Brussels time December 11.

Treaty Text
-----------

8. (C) Below is the English text provided to Allies on
December 4:
AGREEMENT ON BASIC PRINCIPLES GOVERNING RELATIONS AMONG
NATO-RUSSIA COUNCIL MEMBER STATES IN THE SECURITY SPHERE
The Member States of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) - Parties
to this Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the Parties),
committed to promote friendly relations between States for
the benefit of a lasting and comprehensive peace in the
Euro-Atlantic region founded on the principles of democracy,
market economy and the rule of law;
recognizing that uniting efforts of all the Parties is
indispensable to respond effectively to contemporary
challenges and threats to security in a globalized and
interdependent world;
seeking to bring their relations to a new level through equal
partnership, solidarity and mutual trust in the sphere of
security;
noting that security interests of each Party call to improve
effectiveness of multilateral cooperation, enhance stability,
predictability and transparency in the political and military
sphere;
reaffirming their commitment to the purposes and principles
of the Charter of the United Nations; the 1975 Helsinki Final
Act adopted at the Conference on Security and Cooperation in
Europe; the 1997 Founding Act on Mutual Relations,
Cooperation and Security between the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization and the Russian Federation; the 1994 Code of
Conduct on Political-Military Aspects of Security; the 1999
Charter on European Security and the Rome Declaration
&NATO-Russia Relations: A New Quality8 signed by the Heads
of State and Government of NATO Member States and the Russian
Federation in 2002;
have agreed as follows:

Article 1
Without prejudice to obligations emanating from their
membership in international organizations, military
alliances, coalitions or other associations, the Parties
shall be guided in their relations by the principles of
cooperation and equal and indivisible security. They shall
not enhance their own security at the expense of the security
of others.

In their relations the Parties shall peacefully settle any
international dispute as well as refrain from the threat or
use of force in any way inconsistent with the purposes of the
United Nations.

Article 2
In the framework of the NRC the Parties, acting in their
national capacity, shall establish and maintain mechanisms
for harmonizing measures aimed at preventing and settling
conflicts in the Euro-Atlantic region.

The Parties shall regularly exchange their assessments of
contemporary threats and challenges to security and agree, if
necessary, on measures aimed to neutralize these threats and
challenges. These measures shall not infringe upon legitimate
security interests of other States.

In case of a situation of threats to security of or the use
of force against one of the Parties emerges, an extraordinary
meeting of the NRC shall be immediately convened at the
request of any Party in order, to hold urgent consultations
and, if necessary, agree on measures that may be required to
bring this situation to an end.

Article 3
The Parties shall not consider each other as adversaries.
They shall maintain only such a level of military capacity,
which is commensurate with their legitimate security needs,
and shall perform defense planning in a way that it does not
threaten the security of other Parties.

The Parties shall maintain a dialogue on defense planning in
order to avoid incidents related to military activities.

Article 4
The Russian Federation and all the Parties that were Member
States of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as of 27 May
1997, respectively, shall refrain from stationing on a
permanent basis (including temporary deployment for more than
42 days during the calendar year) of their substantial combat
forces (at the level of combat brigade (combat support
brigade), air wing/air regiment, helicopter
battalion/helicopter regiment or above, or having more than
41 battle tanks or 188 armoured combat vehicles, or 90 pieces
of artillery of 100 millimeters caliber and above, or 24
combat aircraft, or 24 attack helicopters) on the territory
of all the other States in Europe in addition to the forces
stationed on that territory as of 27 May 1997. In exceptional
cases, when situations arise in which a threat to security of
one or more Parties should be neutralized, such deployments
can take place with the consent of all the Parties to this
Agreement in the framework of the NRC.

Article 5
The Parties shall view arms control and confidence- and
security-building measures as a material basis of stability
and security. They shall cooperate with a view to ensure
viability, timely adaptation and advancement of arms control
regimes.

Article 6
This Agreement shall not affect and shall not be interpreted
as affecting the primary responsibility of the Security
Council of the United Nations for maintaining international
peace and security, nor the rights and obligations of the
Parties under the Charter of the United Nations.

Article 7
This Agreement shall be subject to ratification by signatory
States. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited
with the Depositary, which shall notify all other signatory
States of any such instrument deposited.

This Agreement shall enter into force from the date of
deposit of instruments of ratification with the Depositary by
more than a half of the signatory States. With respect to a
State that deposited its instrument of ratification at a
later date this Agreement shall enter into force from the
date of its deposit.

Each Party shall, in exercising its national sovereignty,
have the right to withdraw from this Agreement if it decides
that extraordinary events, related to the subject matter of
this Agreement, have jeopardized its supreme interests. A
Party to this Agreement intending to withdraw from the
Agreement shall give notice of its decision to do so to the
Depositary and all other Parties to this Agreement. Such
notice shall be given at least (120) days prior to the
intended withdrawal from this Agreement. It shall include a
statement of the extraordinary events the Party to this
Agreement regards as having jeopardized its supreme
interests.

This Agreement has been drawn up in Russian, English and
French, all texts being equally authentic, and shall be
deposited in the archive of the Depositary, which is the
Government of ... . Duly certified copies of this Agreement
will be forwarded by the above-mentioned Government to the
Governments of other signatory States.
In witness thereof the undersigned, being duly authorized
thereto, have signed this Agreement.
Done in (the city of . ) this (XX) day of (XX) two thousand
and (XX).
End text.
DAALDER

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