US embassy cable - 04YEREVAN2092

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 002092 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR 
DEFENSE FOR OSD/ISP/EURASIA (MACDOUGALL) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/20/2014 
TAGS: PREL, MARR, PARM, AM 
SUBJECT: ARMENIA'S MOD SUPPORTS BROADER, DEEPER DEFENSE 
RELATIONSHIP 
 
 
Classified By: Amb. John M. Evans, for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
1.  (C) In his first meeting with the Ambassador on September 
20, Armenia's Defense Minister Serzh Sargsyan stated that 
Armenia highly valued its developing defense relationship 
with the U.S., stood ready to cooperate on an upcoming 
Defense Assessment and was preparing troops for deployment to 
Iraq.  He expressed regret that Armenia was not able to 
participate in a NATO exercise in Azerbaijan and concurred 
with the Ambassador that the exercise cancellation helped 
neither side.  Sargsyan said that while there were few 
concrete signs of progress from the Astana Summit on a 
resolution of N-K, he expected President Kocharian to be 
contacting President Aliyev within the next month or so to 
propose next steps.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (U) On September 20, the Ambassador paid his initial call 
on Armenia's Defense Minister, Serzh Sargsyan.  With Sargsyan 
were General Mikhael Melkonyan, Head of the MOD's Department 
of Foreign Relations and Military Cooperation and Colonel 
Hayk Kotanjian, Advisor to the Minister of Defense.  DCM, 
DATT and ODC Chief accompanied the Ambassador.  Press 
coverage of the meeting was both positive and accurate. 
After President Kocharian, Sargsyan is broadly considered to 
be Armenia's most influential political figure. 
 
Parliament to Review Iraq Deployment in November 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
3.  (C) The Ambassador opened by reviewing U.S. goals in the 
South Caucasus, thanking Armenia for its contribution to the 
war on terrorism and saluting Armenia's intention to deploy 
troops to Iraq.  Sargsyan stated that Armenia's deployment 
was passing through the last stages of interagency approval, 
after which the Constitutional Court would review the terms 
of the planned deployment.  The final package would then be 
sent to the National Assembly for final approval.  Sargsyan 
estimated that the National Assembly would begin addressing 
the issue in early November.  Sargsyan acknowledged that the 
deployment was a hot-button issue in Armenia, but predicted 
that the National Assembly would approve the deployment.  He 
added that Armenia was obliged to participate in Iraq to the 
extent that it is capable. 
 
Bilateral Military Relations 
---------------------------- 
 
4.  (C) Sargsyan expressed appreciation for the developing 
military relationship with the U.S. and expressed hope that 
it would continue to broaden and deepen.  He reiterated 
Armenia's readiness to go forward with a Defense Assessment, 
saying that there were "no obstacles within the framework of 
the agreement," referring to limits on the assessment from 
considering issues relating to Nagorno-Karabakh.  Ambassador 
Evans praised this step, adding that the Defense Assessment, 
which the USG is preparing to conduct, was a key tool for 
identifying ways to best use available resources to develop 
capabilities which can be used to support shared goals. 
 
5.  (C) Sargsyan told the Ambassador he remained convinced 
that the best use of FMF continued to be for the purchase of 
communications equipment, a point underscored by his 
government's interest in using national funds to supplement 
FMF.  The Ambassador said the Defense Assessment was just the 
right tool for deciding how best to apply resources.  ODC 
Chief suggested that the current pattern of purchases did not 
take into account the incomplete nature of Armenia's 
communications infrastructure. 
 
6.  (C) Sargsyan expressed satisfaction at press reports that 
the U.S. would maintain parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan 
on Foreign Military Financing (FMF) funding levels.  The 
Ambassador pointed out that there had never been any thought 
in Washington of upsetting the existing military balance in 
the region.  He noted that military assistance was a tool 
intended to help potential allies develop capabilities and 
reminded Sargsyan that Azerbaijan has been a key U.S. ally in 
the Global War on Terrorism, with boots on the ground in 
various coalition operations.  Sargsyan took the point, and 
said that Armenia "understands its obligations" and will keep 
its agreement to deploy. 
 
Ambassador: Nobody Won When CBE-04 Was Canceled 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
7.  (C) Ambassador Evans said that the U.S. fully supported 
NATO's decision to cancel Cooperative Best Effort 04 and 
regretted Azerbaijan's decision to not permit Armenian 
officers to travel to Baku.  He noted that this was not a 
cause for rejoicing, adding that it was hard to see how this 
development would contribute to maintaining stability in the 
months ahead.  Sargsyan concurred and said he would address 
this and other topics during a press conference in the near 
future. 
 
Sargsyan Not So Pessimistic on Astana 
------------------------------------- 
 
8.  (C) The Ambassador asked how the GOAM saw the results of 
meetings between Presidents Kocharian and Aliyev in Astana; 
we were disappointed at what appeared to be a lack of 
progress.  Sargsyan had been briefed on the substance of the 
meetings, but seemed less pessimistic about their results. 
He said that it had been a good meeting; the first such 
one-on-one meeting for over a year.  He praised the work of 
the Minsk Group and hoped that their efforts would continue. 
He said that we might know more about where things were 
heading "after a month or a month and a half," but gave no 
specifics about what to expect.  The Ambassador thanked 
Sargsyan for the brief and took the opportunity that Amb. 
Mann would continue to have the lead for the USG on issues 
relating to N-K. 
EVANS