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Cablegate: Osce: February 17--Fsc Salw and Vienna Document

VZCZCXRO9218
PP RUEHAST RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHLA RUEHMRE RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSL
RUEHSR
DE RUEHVEN #0057/01 0530657
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 220657Z FEB 10
FM USMISSION USOSCE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6917
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6916
INFO RUCNCFE/CONVENTIONAL ARMED FORCES IN EUROPE PRIORITY
RUCNOSC/ORG FOR SECURITY CO OP IN EUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHMFISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHMFISS/CDRUSAREUR HEIDELBERG GE PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUESDT/DTRA-OSES DARMSTADT GE PRIORITY
RUEASWA/DTRA ALEX WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMCSUU/EUCOM POLAD VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMCSUU/SACEUR POLAD SHAPE BE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/USAREUR POLAD HEIDELBERG GE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 USOSCE 000057

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR VCI/CCA, VCI/NRRC, EUR/RPM, EUR/PRA, EUR/CARC,
SCA/CEN, SCA/RA, PM/WRA, ISN/CPI
NSC FOR SHERWOOD-RANDALL, HAYDEN, MCFAUL, HOVENIER,
NILSSON, FRIEDT
OSD FOR ISA (WALLENDER, KEHL)
JCS, EUCOM, USAREUR AND CENTCOM: FOR J-5

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OSCE PARM PREL KCFE RS XG
SUBJECT: OSCE: FEBRUARY 17--FSC SALW AND VIENNA DOCUMENT
REDUX

REF: USOSCE 0039

1. (SBU) Summary: The FSC received presentations on
Montenegro's demilitarization program from Deputy Defense
Minister Rifet Kovacs and on the Wassenaar Arrangement from
Chief of Secretariat Sune Danielsson. Kovacs received a mild
rebuke from Denmark for Montenegro's lapses in keeping donors
current. Working Group A discussed at length the UK and
Danish proposals on improving the Vienna Document (VD99), and
at a special informal meeting held on February 18, fielded,
inter alia, a French suggestion to combine the two proposals
into a single document and decision. Russia harshly assessed
the Austrian proposal for a reference guide for the Code of
Conduct Questionnaire. End Summary.

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Security Dialogue (part one): Montenegro Demilitarization
--------------------------------------------- ------------

2. (SBU) Under the rubric of Small Arms and Light Weapons
(SALW) discussions continuing from the previous FSC session,
Deputy Minister of Defense Colonel Kovacs, "in the framework
of Montenegro's commitment to join the EU and NATO," briefed
on its SALW demilitarization program. Among his perfunctory
descriptions of the program, Kovacs' presentation made some
emphasis on the conversion of scrap metal from heavy weapons
as an income generator as an environmentally friendly way to
strengthen Montenegro's "tourism potential." He noted there
were challenges, much of which were related to lack of
infrastructure, steep training curbs, and insufficient
resources to be more effective in the demilitarization
program. The regional coordinator for UNDP working in
Montenegro made an unscheduled appearance at the FSC, sharing
observations on the "solid partnership" between the
Montenegrin Ministry of Defense, OSCE and UNDP. He also put
the SALW program into the context of improving Montenegro's
regional development and tourism. Nonetheless he identified
stockpile management as the most difficult and complex of the
issues confronting Montenegro.

3. (SBU) Kovacs in response to a U.S. inquiry noted
Montenegro had learned much in trying to solve SALW
destruction program design problems and overcome obstacles
that arose from the lack of equipment for the destruction of
SALW. He did not address Montenegro's efforts in the context
of Dayton Article IV commitments though he was prompted to do
so. (Note: USDEL informed the Montenegrin delegation the day
before the plenary about answering the Article IV inquiry.
End note.) Spain (as EU President) made some perfunctory
remarks. Denmark (Petersen) was critical of Montenegro's
apparent lapses in meeting donors' reporting deadlines for
the 250K Euros Copenhagen had contributed to the SALW
demilitarization program. Denmark pointed out that the
elimination of toxic chemicals portion of the program was
completed over a year ago, but Copenhagen was still waiting
for the financial report. (Note: Kovacs also did not address
the issue of timeliness in reporting as raised by Denmark.
End note.)

Security Dialogue (part two): Wassenaar Arrangements
--------------------------------------------- -------

4. (SBU) The Chief of the Secretariat for the Wassenaar
Arrangements, Sune Danielsson, noted that he last spoke to
the FSC in February 2008. Following his presentation (and in
response to a few inquiries), he advocated continuing close
contact between the OSCE Conflict Prevention Center (CPC) and
Wassenaar Arrangement Secretariats, adding that although he
was not authorized to raise the issue, it was "about time"
for the OSCE to speak to the Wassenaar Arrangement. Turkey

USOSCE 00000057 002 OF 003


(Begec), Hungary (Molnar), Spain (for the EU), Ireland
(O'Leary), Sweden (Byren), and the U.S. (Neighbour) made
various statements supporting the utility of the Wassenaar
Arrangement.

5. (SBU) Under Any Other Business: Germany (Genrich) reported
that a German-sponsored Union of South American Nations
contingent would attend the February 24 FSC Plenary and meet
with the CPC as part of a study program on managing regional
and political conflicts and on ways to enhance CSBMs. The
group is also interested in the Code of Conduct, Dayton
implementation and Arms Control issues. The Greek FSC Chair
(Marinaki) welcomed the visit to the FSC by Australia's
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith.

Working Group "A": Focus on UK and Denmark VD99 Proposals
--------------------------------------------- ------------

6. (SBU) The Danish and British proposals for "strengthening"
Vienna Document 99 (VD99) were the main focus of discussion
in Working Group "A," but little ground was made beyond an
airing of delegations' various opinions. The UK (Gare)
revealed it was working with Denmark to make their respective
proposals (FSC.DEL/13/10 and FSC.DEL/9/10) more compatible.
The UK announced it would co-sponsor the Danish paper;
Denmark reciprocated co-sponsoring the UK paper along with
The Netherlands. Slovakia (Wlachovsky) added its support for
the Danish proposal and the suggested German amendment to
include proposed language changes to VD99 within the
"VD-plus" process "in order to avoid reopening political
discussions" when the Danish-proposed VD Review Meeting would
convene. Slovakia also expressed support for the Swedish
opinion for immediate validity of VD-plus additions vice the
proposed one-month approval mechanism. Finally, Slovakia
argued for convening VD Review Meetings at intervals of "five
years or less" perhaps immediately following the AIAM,
suggesting the meeting would not only review the VD-plus
folder but also issued a declaration.

7. (SBU) Russia (Ulyanov) supported most of the Slovak
position (again referring to the German-suggested addition as
"interesting"), but believed there could be instances where a
preparatory phase would be necessary for additions to VD99
that would be better to manage on a case-by-case basis but
not preclude consideration of a more substantial update for
VD99. Ulyanov did note a more frequent review cycle could be
warranted provided there was sufficient material to consider.
The Greek Chair noted Conference Services circulated the
index of decisions adopted by the FSC under
SEC.GAL/1/10/Rev.1, and re-circulated the Index of FSC
Chairman's Statement adopted since VD99 (SEC.GAL/46/08).

The 2/18 VD Informal Working Group's discussion
--------------------------------------------- --

8. (SBU) (Note: The UK and Denmark convened a
heavily-attended informal working group on February 18, to
discuss in more detail their two draft proposals. France's
suggestion to merge the two documents failed as the UK,
Denmark, Germany and Russia made strong arguments against
mixing the short-term substance of the UK proposal with the
long-term procedures proposed by the Danish draft. Spain
(Anson) and France (Simonet) initiated an exchange of views
on how the VD-plus mechanism would work for verification
centers because it was yet unclear whether "decisions" in the
VD-plus folder could in fact be more pertinent than still
applicable or related references within the actual Vienna
Document without risking the integrity of VD99. The UK
(Gare) replied that the Danish proposal simply put into a

USOSCE 00000057 003 OF 003


neat folder what the heads of verification already must deal
with, and therefore would simplify the protocols. Austria
(Eischer) suggested that the FSC could get a quick win on
updating VD99, by simply incorporating FSC Chairman's
Statements first (thus creating a VD 2010), before tackling
specific chapters that could get bogged down by intensive
negotiations. In contrast with the Danish paper which was
deemed by Russia as "close to final," Ulyanov challenged the
UK's choice of Chapters V and IX in its draft decision
suggesting is lacked flexibility and relevance. He, however,
did not table any suggestions to the UK text. (Comment: On
the margins Ulyanov told us the Russian MOD had yet to
weigh-in on his guidance from MFA. End Comment.) End note.)


Back to Working Group "A": Russia attacks Austria's FFT
--------------------------------------------- ----------

9. (SBU) After noting the Austrian Food-for-thought paper
(FSC.DEL/14/10) for developing a reference list to assist in
the completion of the Code of Conduct Questionnaire was
consistent with the Ministerial Decision 16/09, Russia
(Geyvandov) proceeded to attack various elements in the draft
without offering alternative language or concepts. Calling
the Austrian paper "flawed," Geyvandov criticized in
excruciating detail inaccuracies in the draft starting from
the first paragraph and proceeding through to the operational
paragraphs and the indicative list of references. Denmark
(Petersen) and Germany (Risse) defended the Austrian paper as
a helpful, purely voluntary guide. Austria (Eischer) pointed
out that some detail had been omitted for purposes of
brevity, and that Austria was still open to concrete
suggestions and co-sponsors.

Any Other Business
------------------

10. (SBU) The CPC (Ischi) announced the circulation of:

-- Revised Annual CPC Survey on CSBM Information Exchanged in
2009 (FSC.GAL/3/10/Rev.1);
-- Summary Report on Recent Trends in the Implementation of
VD99 and Other Measures (FSC.GAL/19/10/Corr.1);
Progress Report on the Elimination of the First Batch of
Melange, Cycle I in Ukraine (FSC.GAL/23/10)
-- redistribution of the Survey of Suggestions
(FSC.AIAM/36/09) and the Third Heads of Verification Centers
Meeting Report (FSC.GAL/4/10).

11. (SBU) The next Meetings of the FSC Plenary and Working
Groups are set for February 24.
FULLER

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