S E C R E T USNATO 000279 NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/09/2018 TAGS: PREL, NATO, GG SUBJECT: GEORGIA REQUESTS FORMAL NATO CONSULTATIONS NEXT WEEK REF: A. USNATO 278 B. YATES/REID E-MAIL FWD'D TO DEPT Classified By: A/DCM W.S. REID III; REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). 1. (SBU) On August 9, the U.S. Mission to NATO received a copy of a letter dated August 9 from Georgian Ambassador to NATO Revaz Beshidze to NATO Deputy Secretary General Claudio Bisogniero in which Georgia requests a "NAC plus Georgia Emergency Meeting at the earliest convenience, preferably in the week of 11 August, 2008." 2. (C) Letter text follows: Dear Deputy Secretary General, I would like to draw your attention to the fact of serious deterioration of the situation in the Tskhinvali Region of Georgia. We are satisfied to note that NATO is closely following the developments in Georgia and by the Statement of the NATO Secretary General tries to contribute to the normalization of the situation. Nevertheless the fact of open military aggression against Georgia gives me indulgence to further recapitulate on the recent developments in this regard. On August 8, the Russian Federation undertook a direct and full-scale attack against Georgia, both inside Georgia's territory of South Ossetia as well as outside the conflict zone (bold text in letter) resulting in hundred of civilian casualties among Georgia's population (end bold text). Russian jets have violated Georgian airspace numerous times, bombing the cities of Kareli and Gori and dropping mines on the villages of Shavshvebi, Variani and Tsedisi. Russian aviation bombed Marneuli and Bolnisi military airbase as well dropped two bombs at Vaziani Military airport which is located in the immediate vicinity of Tbilisi. Russian jets also engaged in massive bombing for 20 minutes of the area between the villages of Ksuisi and Khelchua. Russian jet fighters have been circling over the cities of Tskhinvali and Gadauri for hours. It needs to be underlined that the majority of these inhabited areas lie outside Tskhinvali region. Russian military aircrafts have also destroyed Georgia's Black Sea Port in Poti. City Gori is currently under the heavy air strikes from the Russian Federation. It is crystal clear that the Russian Federation openly is pursuing a deliberative strategy of aggression. By the actions it is undertaking today, the Russian Federation has grossly violated universally recognized norms and principles of international law. Moreover the Russian Federation's open military aggression is posing a direct threat to Georgia's territorial integrity, independence and security. In this regard, referring to the article 8 of the PfP Framework Document stipulating that "NATO will consult with any active participant of the Partnership if that Partner perceives a direct threat to its territorial integrity, political independence, or security" and as part of ongoing consultations between NATO and Georgia within the ID and in the period of Intensive engaging let me kindly request your assistance in organizing NAC plus Georgia Emergency Meeting at the earliest convenience, preferably in the week of 11 August, 2008. We do believe that the Allies will give due assessment to the current situation and express their readiness to hold the NAC plus Georgia. Sincerely yours, Ambassador Revaz Beshidze Head of the Georgian Mission to NATO (End text) FRENCH EDGY ABOUT NATO INVOLVEMENT ---------------------------------- 3. (C/NF) French Charge Duchene (ref. A) contacted A/DCM at 1600L on August 9 to consult about the Georgian request. See said that Paris remains cautious about involving NATO too closely in the diplomatic efforts linked to resolving the ongoing conflict in South Ossetia and Georgia. She said that she had told Paris that it had to agree to the Georgia request per standing NATO-Partner commitments. She said that prior Allied deliberations on Georgia were necessary before speaking with Georgia and noted that the NATO Political Committee is set to meet the morning of August 11. She said that Paris is not confident it understands fully Moscow's bottom line intentions and hopes Moscow does not perceive it can acquire any new territory or alter lines of separation beyond their pre-conflict status. She noted that Paris saw Russian attacks outside S. Ossetia and its immediate adjacent area as widening the conflict and had noted Abkhaz steps to perhaps widen the potential conflict area as well. This escalatory trend dismayed Paris, she reported. When asked U.S. intentions, A/DCM said that the U.S. supported a meeting with Georgia as soon as it could be arranged, per the Partnership for Peace framework, and that a prior Allied discussion was acceptable and seemed likely no later than Monday. A/DCM summarized that our bilateral efforts were focused strongly on achieving disengagement of the conflicting parties and a de-escalation of the conflict and we, too, were following with concern a Russian widening of violence beyond the S. Ossetian zone. ROGOZIN BACK, BUT AVOIDING CALLING NRC FOR NOW ---------------------------------------------- 4. (U) Russian NATO Permrep Dmitry Rogozin returned to Brussels early on August 9 and held a press conference at the airport in which he announced he would not be calling a NATO-Russia Council (NRC) meeting immediately, preferring to consult bilaterally. 5. (S/NF) Nonetheless, he did meet today with SACEUR staff and acting USMILREP (ref. B), noting, inter alia, that Moscow greatly valued the NATO-Russia relationship and saying the Russian Federation was trying to act in ways that would insulate that link from consequences of the fighting. He repeated publicly stated Russian conditions for disengagement. WEINROD