US embassy cable - 03THEHAGUE1847

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 THE HAGUE 001847 
 
SIPDIS 
 
OSD FOR DASD IAN BRZEZINSKI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/16/2013 
TAGS: GG, KCRM, MD, NL, PREL, UP, OSCE 
SUBJECT: OSCE:  A/S JONES' MEETINGS IN THE HAGUE 
 
REF: DALY-EUR EMAILS 
 
Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY CHARGE D'AFFAIRES DANNY R. RUSSEL FOR REAS 
ONS 1.5 (b) and (d) 
 
(A/S Jones cleared this cable.) 
 
(U)  1.  During a July 15 visit to The Hague, A/S Jones met 
with Daan Everts, director of the Dutch OSCE office, to 
discuss Moldova, Georgia, and the December 2003 ministerial. 
OSCE was also raised in her meeting with parliamentarians 
from the Labor party (PvdA). Other issues reported septels. 
 
MOLDOVA 
------- 
 
(C) 2.  A/S Jones and Everts agreed that the OSCE (and the 
Dutch as CiO) must "leave no stone unturned" to achieve a 
peace settlement in Moldova by year's end, and doing so will 
require U.S. and European pressure on all parties.  A/S Jones 
said the U.S. line with Russia is, "you can't possibly want 
to perpetuate instability on your southern border; now is the 
time to end the frozen conflicts."  She asked Everts whether 
there were particular points Deputy Secretary Armitage could 
raise during counter-terrorism talks with Russian deputy FM 
Trubrikov July 22-23 in Williamsburg. 
 
(C) 3. Everts described Russia as unpleasantly surprised by 
the peace consolidation concept, and underscored the 
importance of getting the Russians on board, especially 
before an August summit among Putin, Moldova's Voronin and 
the Ukraine's Kuchma, and Putin's visit to Chisinau in 
October. He said that the Russians appear to be hopeful that 
a settlement will not/not happen, allowing them to maintain 
the status quo at year's end and obtain OSCE blessing to keep 
the Russian-led peacekeeping arrangement in place. The CiO 
wants to avoid this at all costs; A/S Jones reiterated U.S. 
agreement with the Dutch on this issue. 
 
(C) 4. Everts said the U.S. could help convince Russia that 
there is no chance the OSCE would bless the current 
peacekeeping arrangement, and encourage Russia to make good 
on its claim that it wants to comply with its Istanbul 
commitments before the Maastricht ministerial in December. 
Likewise, the Russians should understand that settling 
Moldova is an opportunity to work more closely with the EU. 
Everts added that it would be helpful for the U.S. to make 
clear to Smirnov that a federal system is necessary and that 
there is no chance of support for the sort of arrangements 
existing between Serbia and Montenegro.  A/S Jones and Everts 
also discussed collaborating on a demarche to the Ukrainians. 
 
(C) 5. In envisioning the way forward, Everts said agreeing 
on the basic structure of the federation is the prerequisite 
for a peace settlement, which in turn is the prerequisite for 
the EU agreeing to provide peacekeepers.  The OSCE must work 
to guarantee that, upon agreement of a peace settlement, any 
future EU peacekeeping operation in Moldova would fall under 
an OSCE umbrella and conform to Berlin-plus.  He said work is 
underway in Brussels, including formats that engage the 
Russians.  (Note: Deputy Political Director Herman Schaper 
called POL Counselor July 16 (ref emails) to clarify that the 
Dutch presented the EU and Russia with a "food for thought" 
paper, which included the idea of EU peacekeepers along with 
other options, but that no decision has been made yet in 
favor of an EU force. End note.)  Everts and Jones discussed 
the possibility of naming a senior statesman to bring talks 
to a conclusion. 
 
GEORGIA 
------- 
 
(C) 6. Everts, noting that he was working in conjunction with 
ODIHR, outlined CiO thinking on Georgian elections.  He said 
the OSCE cannot assume operational charge for these 
elections, and should not be seen as doing so.  Nevertheless, 
the OSCE has an interest in helping to organize the Georgian 
effort to ensure that what is done locally conforms as much 
as possible with international standards.  This can be done 
by:  ensuring early deployment of long-term advisors; 
secunding an elections expert to the mission in Tbilisi to 
alert the OSCE of problems and bring in short-term assistance 
to solve them (the expert was due to arrive July 21); 
maintaining a constant stream of high-level visits (CiO will 
visit in October); assisting in the efforts of George Soros 
to organize a local NGO election monitoring group, and 
encourage NDI and others to assist in this area. 
 
(C) 7.  A/S Jones described James Baker's recent trip, 
describing both his efforts and the ongoing political issues 
in passing a Unified Election Code in Parliament.  Baker 
worked hard to push the Georgians to take responsibility for 
their own elections rather than rely on the international 
community.  A/S Jones noted it is disheartening to see how 
little faith the Georgian political parties have in 
themselves.  The issue of identifying an individual to serve 
as chairman of the central election commission remains a 
stumbling block to passage of the Code, but the U.S. is 
urging the OSCE to take on this responsibility.  A/S Jones 
said intensive collaboration among the OSCE, COE, the local 
ambassadors' group in Tbilisi, and other interested parties 
is necessary, and noted that Baker's visit had encouraged 
Shevardnadze. Everts raised Abkhazia, saying the group of 
Western friends needed prodding and that the CIO's role is 
limited by the fact that the UN has the lead.  He said the 
Dutch are focused on a police presence and on the return of 
IDPs in Gali. 
 
 
Trafficking in Persons 
---------------------- 
 
(U) 8.  A/S Jones said it was important that we find ways to 
cooperate on anti-trafficking programs and initiatives in the 
OSCE. Amb. Everts noted the OSCE was focused on encouraging 
the adoption of anti-trafficking in persons measures 
throughout the OSCE area.  At the December 2003 Maastricht 
Ministerial, the Dutch would like to see the OSCE appoint a 
high-ranking special representative to work on this issue. 
At an earlier meeting with Dutch parliamentarians from the 
Labor party, Nebahat Albayrak, rapporteur for the OSCE 
parliamentary group's human dimension, also expressed 
support. 
 
 
December 2003 Maastricht Ministerial 
------------------------------------ 
 
(C) 9. Deputy Political Director Herman Schaper urged that 
the Secretary attend the December 2003 OSCE Ministerial in 
Maastricht, Netherlands.  A/S Jones stressed that 
streamlining the summit was key to persuading the Secretary 
to attend. The U.S. had proposed that the Ministerial 
Communique and regional statements be agreed prior to the 
Ministerial to avoid forcing ministers to negotiate texts. 
The U.S. also hoped that the reading of prepared texts by 
ministers would be replaced by more directed discussion of a 
small number of topics, especially the "frozen conflicts" in 
the former Soviet Union.  A/S Jones noted that she would 
raise these specific suggestions at the OSCE during her July 
16-17 visit to Vienna. 
RUSSEL