US embassy cable - 05VIENNA1653

C O N F I D E N T I A L VIENNA 001653 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/ERA - BISHARAT AND EUR/AGS - VIKMANIS-KELLER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/19/2015 
TAGS: PREL, MARR, MOPS, CH, SU, AU, EUN 
SUBJECT: DEMARCHE TO AUSTRIA IN ADVANCE OF THE MAY 23 EU 
FOREIGN MINISTERS MEETING (GAERC) 
 
REF: STATE 90085 
 
Classified By: Economic-Political Counselor Gregory E. Phillips.  Reaso 
n:  1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (SBU) EconPolCouns met on May 18 with Andreas Riecken, 
the Austrian Foreign Ministry's European Correspondent, to 
present reftel points and discuss the May 23-24 General 
Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) meeting. 
 
2.  (C) Riecken made the following comments concerning the 
points in reftel: 
 
--  On the China arms embargo, Riecken said it was his 
personal interpretation that Luxembourg Foreign Minister 
Asselborn's May 11 statement referring to a possible lift of 
the embargo during the Luxembourg presidency was simply a 
bureaucratic nod to the mandate the Presidency had received 
from the European Council in December, and not an attempt to 
energize the issue.  In December, achieving a lift by the end 
of June looked "easy," Riecken said.  Now, everyone knew that 
"times have changed," in view of both the strenuous U.S. 
objections to a lift and Chinese actions like the 
Anti-Secession Law.  Riecken noted that the China arms 
embargo was not on the GAERC agenda. 
 
--  On European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP), Riecken 
noted that Defense Ministers would meet for an hour and a 
half Monday morning, starting at 0900.  Foreign Ministers 
would then continue the discussions.  Concerning 
staff-to-staff cooperation between NATO and the European 
Defense Agency, Riecken said that, while this was certainly a 
goal, some basic problems stood in the way, including 
Turkey/Cyprus and France. 
 
--  On Sudan, African Union chair Konare met with the EU 
Political and Security Committee (PSC) and with NATO in 
Brussels on May 17, Riecken said.  The EU was considering 
what it could do to provide more support in a more 
coordinated way.  Riecken said it seemed that a lot of 
countries were taking action, but there was no EU chapeau, 
and there was a lack of information sharing between the EU 
and NATO. 
 
3.  (C) Riecken said other items on the agenda were the 
Middle East and the tsunami action plan. 
 
--  Discussion on the Middle East could touch on any issue, 
he said.  He thought Gaza and the Wolfensohn mission would 
likely come up, in addition to the Palestinian parliamentary 
elecdtiosn on July 17.  Lebanon, Iran and Iraq might also 
come up, he said. 
 
--  On the tsunami, Riecken said there had been an action 
plan from January 31 to improve EU capabilities to coordiante 
consular, military and development assistance efforts in 
response to disasters.  The GAERC was now going to discuss a 
status report on these efforts. 
Brown