US embassy cable - 05VIENNA3569

C O N F I D E N T I A L VIENNA 003569 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/UMB, EUR/ERA AND EUR/AGS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/07/2015 
TAGS: PREL, KDEM, PGOV, BO, AU, EUN 
SUBJECT: PRE-GAERC DEMARCHE ON BELARUS: AUSTRIAN RESPONSE 
 
REF: STATE 201513 
 
Classified By: Pol Unit Chief Michael DeTar, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d 
) 
 
1.  (C) PolOff delivered reftel demarche to Austrian MFA A/S 
for Eurasian Affairs Hans Porias on November 4, stressing 
that the U.S. hoped the EU would specifically call on 
Lukashenko not to run again.  Porias told us that he believed 
that the Council Conclusions on Belarus were essentially 
finalized.  However, there would be a detailed, substantive 
discussion of Belarus at the GAERC.  Porias said that Belarus 
must "get the message that it must adhere to the standards it 
had signed up to."  At a minimum, Belarus needed to invite 
ODIHR to monitor the election. 
 
2.  (C) In Porias' view, one of the problems in dealing with 
the Lukashenko regime was that many Belarusians do not 
perceive themselves as being badly off.  To them, Belarus was 
"the last example of a successful Communist country." 
Reaching out to opinion elites in Belarus might be the most 
productive way to effect change in the country in the long 
term.  In order that Belarus could have positive examples to 
emulate, the EU would invest substantial resources in its 
"European Neighborhood Policy, " specifically targeting 
Ukraine and Moldova. 
Phillips