US embassy cable - 05PARIS6486

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 006486 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/22/2015 
TAGS: EAID, KDEM, PREL, BO, FR, RU 
SUBJECT: MFA DISCUSSES COORDINATING ASSISTANCE ON BELARUS 
AND POTENTIAL VISITS TO RUSSIA, UKRAINE AND KAZAKHSTAN 
 
REF: STATE 168836 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL MINISTER COUNSELOR JOSIAH ROSENBLATT, FOR REAS 
ONS 1.4 B/D 
 
1. (C) Summary: Aurelia Bouchez_, the MFA's DAS-equivalent for 
Russia and the former Soviet space, welcomed reftel demarche 
on promoting democratic and election reforms in Belarus, 
although she wondered how effective external broadcasts would 
be given the technical difficulties of transmitting 
radio/satellite signals into Belarus.  She said that FM 
Douste-Blazy was hoping to visit Moscow sometime in 2005, 
possibly in October.  In addition, she said that President 
Chirac's recent illness had only postponed his announced 
visits to Ukraine and Kazakhstan until early 2006; the GOF 
had assured the two countries that the visits would not be 
cancelled.  End summary. 
 
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COORDINATING ASSISTANCE ON BELARUS 
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2. (C) On September 21, Poloff discussed reftel demarche on 
coordinating democracy and election reform assistance in 
Belarus with Bouchez_ and Antoine Gosset, desk officer for 
Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine.  Bouchez_ said France agreed 
that the upcoming elections in Belarus were an opportunity to 
focus on democratization and election reforms.  There was 
broad agreement about this within the EU, said Bouchez_.  As a 
first step, France believed it necessary to educate citizens 
of Belarus about the EU, its "European Neighborhood Policy," 
and the importance of democracy and free elections.  Gosset 
added that the population of Belarus was very isolated, and 
that it was certainly conceivable that if genuinely free 
elections were held, President Lukashenko would still win. 
 
3. (C) Responding to the demarche, Bouchez_ asked if the USG 
had any specific proposals to counteract the Belarus 
government's blocking of broadcasting from outside the 
country.  She said radio signals could only penetrate a few 
kilometers into Belarus territory.  Still, she said, the GOF 
recognizes external broadcasting could be quite useful in the 
pre-election period and it looks forward to discussing 
technical options.  Bouchez_ emphasized in particular the 
possible utility of the Internet as a medium to disseminate 
election information. 
 
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GOF VISITS TO RUSSIA, UKRAINE AND KAZAKHSTAN 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
4. (C) Bouchez_ confirmed that Commerce Minister Christine 
Lagarde would visit Russia September 21-23 with a delegation 
of business leaders of small and medium-sized companies.  She 
said the MFA was not planning the trip, nor did it plan on 
participating in Lagarde's meetings, although Bouchez_ said an 
as-yet-unannounced trip by Economic Minister Thierry Breton 
in October or November would necessitate more intensive MFA 
participation.  FM Douste-Blazy also planned on visiting 
Russia before the end of 2005.  Although no date had been 
fixed, the MFA and the Russian government were looking at 
October as a possibility. 
 
5. (C) Poloff asked whether President Chirac still planned on 
visiting Ukraine and Kazakhstan despite postponement due to 
the President's recent illness.  Bouchez_ said the GOF had 
contacted both governments to assure them that President 
Chirac planned on visiting both countries, and expected that 
these visits would take place in early 2006. 
Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm 
STAPLETON