ALBANIANS MAKING THE ROUNDS ON ISTANBUL SUMMIT

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 002452 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/RPM E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/24/2014 TAGS: PREL AL HR MK IT NATO SUBJECT: ALBANIANS MAKING THE ROUNDS ON ISTANBUL SUMMIT STATEMENT REF: USNATO 591 CLASSIFIED BY: A/POLMIN GARY ROBBINS. REASON: 1.5 (B)(D). ¶1. (C) ACTING ON INSTRUCTIONS, ALBANIAN EMBASSY DCM SAKO MIROSH CONTINUED HIS GOVERNMENT'S PUSH (REFTEL) FOR A FORWARD LEANING STATEMENT AT THE ISTANBUL SUMMIT, WHICH WOULD EXTEND ALBANIA, CROATIA AND MACEDONIA "THE MEMBERSHIP INVITATION IN THE NEXT ENLARGEMENT SUMMIT." SAKO PRESENTED TO A/POLMIN GARY ROBBINS A COMPLETE SUGGESTED PARAGRAPH FOR INCLUSION IN THE ISTANBUL DOCUMENT (SEE PARA 4 FOR TEXT). SAKO WAS UNSURE WHETHER THE STATEMENT HAD BEEN COORDINATED WITH SKOPJE AND ZAGREB. HE DID SAY THAT HIS COUNTERPARTS WOULD BE DELIVERING THE SAME DEMARCHE IN NATO CAPITALS. HE SAID HIS OWN DEMARCHE TO THE ITALIAN MFA WAS MET WITH A PROMISE TO "DO WHAT WE CAN" BY BALKANS OFFICE DIRECTOR ANDREA ORIZIO, WHO CAUTIONED SAKO THAT THE DECISION ON HOW THE THREE ASPIRANTS WERE TREATED IN THE STATEMENT WAS NOT UP TO THE US AND ITALY ALONE. (POLOFF LATER CONFIRMED THIS READOUT WITH ORIZIO.) ¶2. (C) SAKO JUSTIFIED HIS GOVERNMENT'S REQUEST BY NOTING RECENT PROGRESS ON MILITARY RESTRUCTURING, AND SUPPORT FOR NATO ACCESSION AMONG ALBANIANS, WHICH ACCORDING TO SAKO IS AT OVER 90 PERCENT. HE POINTED OUT ALBANIA'S ROLE IN REGIONAL STABILITY, INCLUDING SAM DEFMIN DAVINIC'S JUNE 22 VISIT TO TIRANA, THE FIRST TIME IN MANY YEARS A DEFENSE MINISTER FROM BELGRADE HAD VISITED TIRANA. SAKO UNDERLINED THE SACRIFICES A POOR COUNTRY SUCH AS ALBANIA MUST MAKE IN DEPLOYING MILITARY UNITS TO IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN AND BOSNIA, AND HOPED THAT THIS CONTRIBUTION WOULD BE RECOGNIZED IN ISTANBUL. ¶3. (C) REITERATING AMB. BURNS' APPRECIATION FOR ALBANIA'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO REGIONAL STABILITY AND THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR (REFTEL),ROBBINS POINTED OUT THAT ALBANIA SHOULD FOCUS ON ITS MAP PROGRESS AND CAUTIONED THAT AT THIS LATE POINT IT COULD BE DIFFICULT TO GARNER CONSENSUS ON INCLUDING THE SUGGESTED LANGUAGE IN THE ISTANBUL DOCUMENT. SAKO ALSO REGISTERED ROBBINS' POINT THAT RECEIVING AN ACCESSION DATE AT THIS STAGE WOULD PRESUPPOSE MAP SUCCESS FOR THE ASPIRANTS. ¶4. (SBU) BEGIN SUGGESTED ALBANIAN TEXT: HAILING THE ENLARGEMENT OF THE ALLIANCE WITH SEVEN NEW MEMBERS AND APPRECIATING THE PROGRESS ACHIEVED FROM THE THREE ASPIRANT COUNTRIES, WE EXTEND OUR WISH THAT THEY RECEIVE THE MEMBERSHIP INVITATION IN THE NEXT ENLARGEMENT SUMMIT. END TEXT. VISIT ROME'S CLASSIFIED WEBSITE: HTTP://WWW.STATE.SGOV.GOV/P/EUR/ROME/INDEX.CF M SEMBLER NNNN 2004ROME02452 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL