US embassy cable - 04YEREVAN2686

C O N F I D E N T I A L YEREVAN 002686 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR EUR/SNEC AND EUR/RUS FROM AMBASSADOR EVANS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/14/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, AM, IZ, RS 
SUBJECT: RUSSIAN-AMERICAN RELATIONS: TIME TO SOLVE N-K 
TOGETHER 
 
REF: A. MOSCOW 15265 
 
     B. MOSCOW 15312 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Evans, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) NEITHER OF THE TWO FINE MOSCOW CABLES UNDER REFERENCE 
MENTIONS NAGORNO-KARABAKH AS AN ISSUE IN THE CIS THAT MOSCOW 
AND WASHINGTON (AND PARIS) MIGHT RECOMMIT THEMSELVES TO 
SOLVING IN THE DISTURBING WAKE OF THE CRISIS IN RELATIONS 
OVER UKRAINE.  IN A CHAT EARLIER TODAY, THE RUSSIAN 
AMBASSADOR AND I SIMULTANEOUSLY HIT ON THE IDEA THAT MOSCOW 
AND WASHINGTON NEEDED A SHARED SUCCESS IN THE NEXT FEW 
MONTHS, AND THAT,IN VIEW OF THE ENCOURAGING NEWS THAT THE 
PRAGUE TALKS HAD BEEN SALVAGED, THIS MIGHT BE AN IDEA WHOSE 
TIME HAD COME.  I LEAVE IT TO AMBASSADOR MANN AND HIS 
COLLEAGUES TO SAY WHETHER THEY STILL "REFUSE TO BE 
OPTIMISTIC," BUT VIEWED FROM MY VANTAGE POINT HERE IN LEFT 
KAVKAZ, AND AFTER CONVERSATIONS WITH OSCE SPECIAL REP 
KASPRZYK AS WELL AS FM OSKANIAN FOLLOWING THE SOFIA AND 
BRUSSELS MEETINGS, I HAVE A SENSE THAT THERE MAY INDEED 
FINALLY BE SOME LIGHT AT THE END OF THIS LONG TUNNEL.  THE 
CO-CHAIRS ARE REPORTED TO HAVE WORKED VERY WELL TOGETHER OVER 
THE LAST TWO WEEKS DESPITE THE BACKGROUND NOISE IN UKRAINE. 
N-K, THOUGH EXTREMELY DIFFICULT AND COMPLEX, IS ONE ISSUE ON 
WHICH RUSSIAN AND AMERICAN VIEWS ARE NOT IN SERIOUS CONFLICT, 
WHICH CANNOT BE SAID SO EASILY OF THE GEORGIAN CONFLICTS OR 
MOLDOVA/TRANSNISTRIA.  OBVIOUSLY MUCH DEPENDS ON THE PARTIES 
THEMSELVES, BUT HAVING KEPT THE NEGOTIATING PROCESS ALIVE 
AGAINST SOME FORMIDABLE ODDS, PERHAPS THEY CAN NOW BE INDUCED 
TO MAINTAIN THE POSITIVE MOMENTUM THAT WE SENSE JUST GETTING 
UNDERWAY. 
 
EVANS