US embassy cable - 04YEREVAN1822

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 001822 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/CACEN, EUR/SNEC 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/18/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, AM 
SUBJECT: MINIKES IN YEREVAN: ENGAGE WITH THE OSCE 
 
Classified By: CDA A.F. Godfrey for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (SBU) In a series of intense meetings with nearly all of 
Armenia's top-level leaders, USOSCE Ambassador Stephan M. 
Minikes called for Armenia to engage with the OSCE to make 
sure the organization suits the country's needs, and not to 
carp from the sidelines, eroding OSCE basic principles. 
Minikes pressed for further engagement with the Minsk Group; 
resolution of regional conflicts would do more for Armenia's 
economy than any assistance program.  In a wide-ranging 
discussion with the Foreign Minister, Ambassador Minikes 
urged Armenia to find its place in Europe.  End Summary. 
 
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WHERE IS ARMENIA GOING? 
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2. (SBU) During a brief visit to Armenia from August 11 to 
13, USOSCE Ambassador Minikes met with Deputy Speaker of the 
National Assembly Vahan Hovhanissyan, Foreign Minister Vartan 
Oskanian and President Robert Kocharian.  He also met with a 
group of Armenia's opposition leaders and with the OSCE 
Mission in Armenia.  In all of his meetings, Ambassador 
Minikes stressed the importance of engaging the OSCE to 
ensure the organization's actions meet Armenia's needs.  He 
told Armenia's leaders that the "unhelpful" statement which 
came out of the Moscow CIS Summit sought to erode the 
organization's principles and, hence, was unacceptable. 
 
3. (C) In an extended, frank meeting with the Foreign 
minister, Ambassador Minikes encouraged Foreign Minister 
Vartan Oskanian to "make your voices heard" more as a part of 
the international community and to use the OSCE to attain 
"the goals you've established for yourself."  The Ambassador 
then asked, "Where is Armenia going?"  Oskanian, agreeing 
that the Caucasus has to "belong somewhere," argued that "the 
only possible place (Armenia) can belong is in Europe." 
Oskanian noted that all of Armenia's historical and cultural 
roots are in Europe, and that it was only logical that 
Armenia should work closely with the Council of Europe (CoE) 
and the European Union (EU).  Eventually, Oskanian told the 
Ambassador, "We want to belong to the EU." 
 
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"COMPLEMENTARITY" IS KEY 
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4. (C) The essence of Armenia's foreign policy, according to 
Oskanian, is "complementarity."  Armenians are smart enough, 
he commented, to "choose between a good apple and a bad 
apple" but Armenians are also "smart enough to know which is 
the available apple."  Geography is a clear limitation, 
Oskanian argued, and Armenia will not put itself into a 
position where it must "choose between Russia and the U.S." 
Clearly Armenia is a Western country, Oskanian maintained, 
and Armenia's preferences lie in the West.  Armenia's 
direction and post-Soviet development confirm that it is 
growing closer to the West, and he noted the importance of 
Armenia becoming a beneficiary of the process of expanding 
the EU. 
 
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THE U.S. AND EU SHOULD URGE TURKEY TO OPEN THE BORDER 
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5. (C) Lamenting that he doesn't think "Powell or Armitage 
raise the Turkey issue forcefully enough," Oskanian noted 
that as long as the border with Turkey is closed Armenia will 
have to maintain its current close relationship with Russia. 
Turkey's eventual accession to the EU, he said, would be "the 
best thing that ever happened to Armenia," -- as long as the 
EU does not "cut corners" but insists that Turkey have normal 
ties with all of its neighbors including opening its border 
with Armenia.  Oskanian claimed that when he first met with 
Turkish FM Gul he saw "genuine acceptance" of the possibility 
for an open border, but that the Azeris had scuttled any 
possibility of de-linking settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh 
conflict and opening the border. 
 
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RUSSIAN INFLUENCE: "NYET" ON EU; "DA" ON NATO 
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6. (C) Emphasizing Armenian foreign policy's independence 
from Russia on any issues that involve the EU, Oskanian noted 
that, "Russia doesn't have a say on EU; but on NATO I would 
listen.  On NATO, because of our military cooperation with 
Russia and the Russian bases, we have to be more considerate." 
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WESTERN INSTITUTIONS "GUIDED US" 
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7. (SBU) Oskanian emphasized the importance of the OSCE and 
CoE in the immediate post-Soviet period, noting that the 
institutions "guided us" as Armenia was redefining itself as 
a democracy and reorienting itself toward the West.  Oskanian 
clearly values the role the OSCE and CoE play as they help 
keep reforms on track in Armenia. 
 
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KOCHARIAN PESSIMISTIC ON N-K 
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8. (C) Ambassador Minikes' exchange with President Kocharian 
was cordial and lasted more than an hour.  Kocharian defended 
his decision to sign the CIS-backed statement, and complained 
at length about "slanted" OSCE election monitoring.  He 
seemed unable to leave the subject of what criteria ODIHR 
employed in making judgements about whether or not Armenia's 
elections met "standards" and complained that Armenia was 
never given any.  "What standards," he kept asking. 
Ambassador Minikes said that Armenia's OSCE Vienna delegation 
was quite experto on OSCE matters and could get very clear 
answers to the President's questions but nonetheless offered 
to facilicate getting ODIHR to be more transparent if, 
indeed, that was desired by Armenia, and needed.  Kocharian 
resisted going into detail on the status of discussions on 
N-K, but was broadly pessimistic about near-term prospects. 
In response to the Ambassador's questions, President 
Kocharian said that Aliyev is not committed to the peace 
process, "Aliyev the son does not have enough of the 
statesman in him" to reach a settlement now or in the 
immediate future.  "It just won't happen" now, said 
Kocharian.  "Maybe someday," he added. 
 
9. (U) Ambassador Minikes has cleared this telegram. 
GODFREY