FRY RIGHT TO ADDRESS THE UNSC: DUTCH WILL ABSTAIN

C O N F I D E N T I A L THE HAGUE 001879 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/23/2010 TAGS: PREL SR NL UNSC SUBJECT: FRY RIGHT TO ADDRESS THE UNSC: DUTCH WILL ABSTAIN REF: SECSTATE 119702 Classified by A/Polcouns Eric Lundberg, Reasons 1.5 b/d 1.(C) The Netherlands will abstain if the motion to allow the FRY Permrep to address the UN Security Council is brought to a vote. Responding to reftel demarche, MFA Balkans Coordinator Remmert Cohen told A/Polcouns on June 23 that the Dutch preferred abstention to a no-vote since it would help deny Belgrade a forum while minimizing the ire of the Russians, whose continued cooperation in Kosovo was important to preserve. The Dutch also did not wish to flaunt the principle that UN members had a right to address the UNSC, he said, a point emphasized to A/Polcouns by MFA acting head of UN Political Affairs Marcel van der Kolk. 2.(C) Noting that London and Paris had both signaled their intention to abstain, Cohen said that the Dutch Mission in New York was confident the pro-FRY motion would fail to win the nine affirmative votes necessary. Cohen could not see how Milosevic could garner any propaganda victory from the failure of NATO Allies on the UNSC to vote no, rather than abstain, since the end results were identical. SCHNEIDER