US embassy cable - 04BRUSSELS3066

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 003066 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/ERA, EUR/UMB AND EUR/RUS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/19/2009 
TAGS: PREL, PARM, PBTS, PHUM, PGOV, RS, MD, EUN, OSCE, USEU BRUSSELS 
SUBJECT: EU ON EXPANDED TRANSNISTRIA VISA BAN:  NEED TO 
PERSUADE MEMBER STATES 
 
REF: A. STATE 150715 
 
     B. BUCHAREST 1952 
     C. TAPLIN-LITZENBERGER EMAILS 
 
Classified By: USEU POLOFF LEE LITZENBERGER; REASONS 1.4 (B,D) 
 
1.  (C)  On July 19, USEU conveyed reftel non-paper to 
Council Secretariat Russia watcher Carl Hallergard, who is 
temporarily covering Moldova.  He welcomed the non-paper, and 
said he would distribute it to member states at that day's 
COEST Working Group meeting.  The Council Secretariat, he 
said, is convinced the EU needs to look at "options" such as 
the proposed expansion of the US-EU visa ban on Transnistrian 
officials.  The Council Secretariat thinks that Russia will 
try to take advantage of US presidential elections and the 
change in EU Commission members this fall to spring a "Kozak 
II" unilateral settlement proposal for Moldova/Transnistria. 
Hallergard said that Russian Deputy FM Chizhov told EU 
Political Directors in Moscow on July 16 (septel) that Moscow 
considers the first Kozak proposal as the "starting point" 
for an eventual settlement. 
 
Transnistrian actions will strengthen the case 
----------------------- 
2.  (C)  Hallergard said one option for the EU to use to 
press the Transnistrians to engage in the ongoing OSCE-led 
settlement process is expansion of the visa ban.  But, he 
cautioned, "It will take time. Member States do not share the 
Council Secretariat's sense of urgency."  The issue of a 
possible expansion of the visa ban was discussed last week in 
Brussels and The Hague, he said; there was no consensus to 
ratchet up the travel ban.  Any discussion of sanctions, he 
added, always raises legal and technical issues by members 
states who oppose sanctions on principle.  Hallergard was 
nevertheless optimistic that the Council Secretariat would be 
able to persuade member states to support an expansion of the 
ban.  First, late last week the Transnistrians closed down a 
Moldovan school in Transnistria, an incident the EU raised 
with Moscow last Friday.  Next, he welcomed the US non-paper, 
which lays out other recent examples of Transnistrian 
obstructionism.  Third, he welcomed the US proposal for US 
and EU missions in Chisinau to coordinate a recommendation, 
acknowledging that Finally, he considers it likely that the 
Transnistrians will continue to take steps that will only 
help bolster the case for expanding the sanctions. 
 
Comment 
------- 
3.  (C) The key next step is for EU Ambassadors in Chisenau 
to get the green light to coordinate an expanded list with 
us.  Due to the August EU vacation period, this week's two 
COEST meetings will be the last opportunities for the working 
group to discuss Moldova until September.  It is not clear, 
though, that there will be a consensus to task Embassies to 
explore expanding the list.  At the next higher EU level, the 
Political and Security Committee is likely to meet on an 
ad-hoc basis in August, which will offer additional 
opportunities to push this issue in coming weeks.  We will 
continue to work with the Council Secretariat to this end. 
 
McKinley