US embassy cable - 05PARIS8172

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 008172 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/01/2015 
TAGS: PARM, PREL, KCFE, FR, NATO 
SUBJECT: NAC COMMUNIQUE: DESPITE RESERVATIONS, FRANCE IS 
OPEN TO COMPROMISE ON CFE PARAGRAPH 
 
REF: A) STATE 217326 B) 12/1 RECINOS/LAURENDEAU E-MAIL 
 
Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt, Reason 1 
.4 B/D 
 
1. (C) On December 1, we delivered ref A points to Arnaud 
Roux, MFA Counselor following the CFE/Istanbul discussions 
and who also will be present at the NAC on December 2.  Roux 
confirmed that he was aware of the debate on the use of 
"either" versus "or" paragraph proposals.  He expressed some 
surprise about the U.S. position, however, saying that the 
MFA had thought the "or" language was a first draft that had 
already been superseded by the "either" text. 
 
2. (C) On substance, Roux said France's aim was to ensure 
that a decision would be reached at the NAC. The problem was 
how to overcome continuing reservations by some countries, 
especially Italy, against the use of the words "urge" and 
"regret" in the same paragraph.  Roux said France is fine 
with the use of the word "urge," but was less prepared to 
compromise on the use of "regret." The MFA did not support 
the inclusion of "regret," especially since it had not been 
used in last year's text. 
 
3. (C) In an effort to find another compromise approach, Roux 
suggested a combination of the "either" and "or" texts to 
read as follows: 
 
"Given the lack of progress on the further withdrawal of 
Russian military forces from the Republic of Moldova, we urge 
its resumption and completion as soon as possible." 
 
 
Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm 
 
Stapleton