Wikileaks - DX

84094 11/2/2006 15:36 06THEHAGUE2362 Embassy The Hague CONFIDENTIAL 06STATE181103 VZCZCXRO7706 PP RUEHAG RUEHROV DE RUEHTC #2362 3061536 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 021536Z NOV 06 FM AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7293 INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE RUEHKV/AMEMBASSY KYIV 0434 RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 1685 RUEHBM/AMEMBASSY BUCHAREST 1138 RUEHCH/AMEMBASSY CHISINAU 0112 RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 2136 RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 0425 RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA 0112 RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS 0405 C O N F I D E N T I A L THE HAGUE 002362

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/03/2016 TAGS: PREL, ELTN, RS, MD, UP, NL SUBJECT: NETHERLANDS/TRANSNISTRIA: DISRUPTION OF CHISINAU-MOSCOW RAIL LINKS

REF: STATE 181103

Classified By: A/DCM Andrew J. Schofer; reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

1. (C) Poloff delivered reftel demarche Nov 1 to MFA Deputy Head of Eastern Europe and Central Asia Division Thymen Kouwenaar and Moldova Desk Officer Natascha Soons. Kouwenaar said that the MFA was reviewing a frozen conflicts proposal delivered by us to the Dutch embassy in Washington last week, but that initial impressions in The Hague were positive. He said that he agreed with "our assessment" that Transnistria might be a place where some progress could be made. By contrast, he believed the Russians would remain intransigent on Georgia for some time.

2. (C) Soons thought that the Ukrainian failure to reopen the bridge at Mogilev-Podolsk was due, at least in part, to attempts by the Moldovans to raise customs duties. She suggested that, as part of any resolution of the rail and bridge problems, the Moldovans could be encouraged to reconsider the customs issue. Neither she nor Kouwenaar committed the GONL to raising reftel request with the Russian and Ukrainian governments. Kouwenaar, however, said that he thought the U.S. proposal passed last week in D.C. offered a constructive starting point for addressing the issue.

3. (C) Separately, MFA Deputy European Correspondent Jeroen Boender, who visited Moscow last week with MFA Director General for Political Affairs Pieter de Gooijer, told poloff that Goergia, but not Transnistria, had been discussed with the Russians. He promised to take a look at reftel request. ARNALL