Wikileaks - CMLIX

141593 2/15/2008 10:44 08BUCHAREST120 Embassy Bucharest CONFIDENTIAL 08STATE13607 VZCZCXRO9282 PP RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR DE RUEHBM #0120 0461044 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 151044Z FEB 08 FM AMEMBASSY BUCHAREST TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7898 INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON PRIORITY RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0394 RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO PRIORITY 1219 RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0158 C O N F I D E N T I A L BUCHAREST 000120

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/NCE A.JENSEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2018 TAGS: MOPS, PARM, PREL, NATO, UN, RO SUBJECT: CLUSTER MUNITIONS: ROMANIA NOT ATTENDING OSLO PROCESS/WELLINGTON

REF: STATE 13607

Classified By: POLCONS Ted Tanoue; Reasons 1.4(b) and (d).

(C) POLMILOFF delivered on February 14 reftel demarche on Cluster Munitions (CMs) and left behind talking points as a non-paper to MFA Director for Combating Terrorism and Arms Control Nineta Barbelescu. Barbelescu noted that Romania did not endorse the Oslo statement in February, and was not planning to attend the next meeting of the Oslo Process in Wellington. She said Romania attended as an observer in the process from the beginning, including having attended the regional conferences in Brussels and Vienna, but was concerned that the meetings were increasingly less open than the CCW. She agreed that the Wellington meeting was inappropriate and pointed out that even participants who were committed to a more limited ban on CMs were feeling less certain about the conditions being imposed at Wellington. She said the push for an open-ended declaration on a universal CM ban has discouraged many others (like Belgium, Poland and Bulgaria) who were no longer thinking of participating from capitals. Barbelescu closed by saying that the GOR will assess -- and share with the U.S. as part of the strategic partnership -- whatever comes out of Wellington. TAUBMAN