US embassy cable - 04YEREVAN633

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 000633 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/RPM, EUR/CACEN, PM 
USNATO FOR POL 
SECDEF FOR ISP/NATO POLICY 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/17/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, AM, AJ, NATO 
SUBJECT: DELEGATIONS ENCOURAGE INCREASED ARMENIAN 
ENGAGEMENT WITH NATO PFP 
 
REF: A) STATE 44628 B) 03 STATE 325116 C) YEREVAN 615 
 
Classified By: Ambassador John Ordway for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1. (C) An interagency delegation met with the Deputy 
Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense March 11 to outline 
a United States proposal to shift the focus of NATO 
Partnership for Peace (PfP) activities to the Caucasus and 
Central Asia.  The delegation also discussed the necessity to 
reach a compromise with Azerbaijan over the NATO PfP 
Cooperative Best Effort 04 exercises with the GOAM officials. 
 Two visiting professors from the  National Defense 
University also visited Yerevan March 10-11 to discuss 
enhanced NATO PfP activities with GOAM officials.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
DELEGATIONS PROMOTE INCREASED NATO FOCUS IN CAUCASUS 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
2. (C) An interagency delegation including Eric Schultz 
(Deputy Director, EUR/RPM), Bruce Rogers (Deputy Polad, 
USNATO), and Dennis Skocz  (OSD, NATO Policy Office) met with 
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tatul Margarian and Deputy 
Minister of Defense Artur Aghabekian March 11  to discuss and 
solicit Armenia's support for the U.S. proposed shift in PfP 
focus to the Caucasus and Central Asia regions (refs A and 
B).  The delegation sought to gain Armenia's support for a 
regional NATO liaison office that could better shape NATO PfP 
programs to Armenia's needs,  encourage defense reform, and 
promote greater military interoperability  with NATO forces. 
The delegation also encouraged the GOAM officials to reach a 
compromise with Azerbaijan over the continuing dispute over 
the upcoming Cooperative Best Effort 2004 (CBE 04) exercises 
to be held in  Azerbaijan.  The delegation relayed a 
compromise proposed by Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister 
Araz Azimov, whereby Azerbaijan would allow two  Armenian 
officers to attend the conference as "participants" in 
another  country's military unit, and urged Margarian and 
Aghabekian to give it full consideration. 
 
3. (SBU) National Defense University professors Dr. Eugene 
Rumer and Dr. Jeffrey Simon also visited Yerevan March 10-11 
to discuss ways to make the Partnership for Peace program 
more relevant to the countries of the South Caucasus and 
Central Asia and solicited advice on how NATO can modify the 
PfP program to address the new global security environment. 
Rumer and Simon met with Margarian and Aghabekian, as well as 
Mher Shadelghian, Chairman of the National Assembly's Defense 
Committee. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
USG DELEGATION SOLICITS GOAM OPINIONS ON PFP AND CBE 04 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
4. (C) Margarian told the USG delegation that the GOAM 
supported the U.S. proposal for a strategic shift in PfP, 
saying that Armenia had been in favor of such an approach for 
over a year.  He said Armenia not only favored closer ties 
with NATO but was also interested in membership someday and 
in that regard was prepared to work seriously on the 
Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP).  He said Armenia 
would welcome a NATO liaison office in the Caucasus, 
preferably one in-country, which would more effectively meet 
Armenia's needs.  Margarian said that if a regional office 
was established in Tbilisi, he would expect its staff to 
spend approximately equal time every month in Armenia, 
Azerbaijan, and Georgia.  Margarian further suggested that 
the United States and NATO better define what is meant by 
"increased engagement" with the region.  He said he 
understood that it is important to begin a "process" of 
cooperation but that his colleagues in the MOD and elsewhere 
in the GOAM take these proposals very seriously, and would 
require an explanation of what concrete programs and 
initiatives would be included. 
 
5.  (C) Margarian initially said Armenia would stick to PfP 
principles and continue to press for full participation in 
CBE 04.  He reminded the delegation that Armenia had extended 
an invitation to Azerbaijan to participate in the CBE 03 
hosted in Armenia, and had accepted Turkish soldiers as 
participants in the same exercises, both politically 
difficult decisions to take.  Margarian pointed out that NATO 
was a possible forum to bring the two countries together, but 
Azerbaijan continued to resist any cooperation and seemed 
intent on excluding Armenia from NATO and PfP.  (Note. 
Margarian made the same argument in a meeting with a 
delegation from the United States Air War College the 
previous week.  End Note.)  Margarian acknowledged Schultz's 
point that if the exercises were canceled, no one would win 
and that other NATO allies might use the failure of CBE 04 as 
a reason to oppose further cooperation with the region, 
including other PfP exercises. Margarian said the decision 
would rest with the MOD, noting that they would need to be 
convinced to send two officers rather than five to seven. 
 
------------------------------------- 
MOD OFFERS COUNTER-PROPOSAL ON CBE 04 
------------------------------------- 
 
6. (C) Deputy Defense Minister Artur Aghabekian emphasized 
that cooperation with NATO under the PfP program is one of 
the key elements of Armenia's security strategy.  Addressing 
concerns that Armenia is not as active as other countries in 
PfP, Aghabekian noted that Armenia prefers to take time to 
review thoroughly the feasibility of an endeavor prior to 
committing to action.  This is one reason why Armenia signed 
up for NATO's Planning and Review Process (PARP) later than 
its neighbors.  Armenia also had to deal with a society that 
has always identified NATO with Turkey and committing to 
closer ties with NATO was not necessarily a popular decision 
in Armenia.  This same deliberative process is underway 
concerning Armenia's first Individual Partnership Action Plan 
(IPAP), but that Armenia did plan to submit one in the near 
future.  Aghabekian stated that he understood NATO's logic in 
placing the first office in Tbilisi and he believed this 
would be a good first step toward regional cooperation. 
 
7. (C) Regarding CBE 04, Aghabekian stated that Armenia would 
not agree to being limited to observer status for the 
exercise, since Armenia had allowed Turkish participation in 
Yerevan last year.  At a reception later in the evening, 
Aghabekian informed DAO that Armenia could accept sending 
three officers to the exercise as participants (see reftel C.) 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
NDU PROFESSORS SEEK PROPOSALS TO IMPROVE PFP PROGRAM 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
8. (C) While meeting with Professors Rumer and Simon, neither 
Margarian nor Aghabekian offered any concrete proposals for 
improving the PfP program, but each stated that PfP remains 
the only viable forum for advancing cooperation in the 
region.  When asked about the possibility of Armenia 
supporting a Greater Black Sea Ministerial process, neither 
Margarian nor Aghabekian showed any particular interest 
toward the idea, but both stated that they would not be 
opposed to such an initiative and that any new initiatives 
would be examined on their merits.  Both emphasized that 
Armenia views PfP as the best method of pursuing regional 
security through cooperative programs.  Shadelghian and 
Aghabekian felt that regional cooperation should be pursued 
in the area of crisis response/disaster management. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
9. (C) The visit of the USG and NDU delegations provided GOAM 
officials with an opportunity to discuss their commitment to 
enhancing cooperative efforts with NATO through the PfP 
framework.  The GOAM seems firmly behind initiatives to 
expand on their NATO relationship, though officials still 
seek further elucidation on what PfP's "strategic shift" 
means and entails for Armenia.  Importantly, the GOAM seems 
willing to step back from some of its rhetoric over the CBE 
04 exercises and accept a compromise solution that allows the 
Azerbaijani government to save some face.  Furthermore, the 
MFA and MOD also seem willing to move past the February 18 
Budapest murder, and fully engage in PfP activities. 
 
10. (U) RPM: Eric Schultz_ has cleared this telegram. 
 
ORDWAY