C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 001980

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/10/2015
TAGS: PREL EU SR IT KOC UN NATO
SUBJECT: SERBIAN PRIME MINISTER KOSTUNICA IN ROME; TAKES A
HARD LINE ON KOSOVO STATUS

REF: A) ROME 1966 B) JUNE 8 ROME SIPRNET DAILY REPORT

Classified By: POL MINISTER COUNSELOR TOM COUNTRYMAN. REASON: 1.4 (B)(
D).


1. (C) As reported ref a, on June 7, in anticipation of
Serbian Prime Minister Kostunica's visit to Rome later the
same day, EUR A/S Fried provided MFA POLDIR Terzi with an
overview of the U.S. position on Kosovo. Fried
asked that Italy try to persuade him to accept a definition
of "less than independence" as being "less than unsupervised
independence." He should be convinced to make this change in
order to give himself a formula for success. To keep the
hard line on Kosovo's status will not be successful and will
only delay Serbia's eventual integration in to European
institutions. He also asked Italy to work on getting
Kostunica to encourage participation of Kosovo Serbs in the
Kosovo political process, and to locate Mladic and hand him
over to the ICTY.


2. (C) Following Kostunica's meeting with PM Berlusconi, PM
Diplomatic Advisor Castellaneta provided the readout below
via a letter to the DCM:

Begin (partial) text:

PM Berlusconi expressed appreciation for the process of
reform that PM Kostunica is moving forward and encouraged him
to continue on the path of democratization and openness
toward the international community, a path that must ) in
the first place ) include courageous cooperation with the
Tribunal for ex-Yugoslavia. The moving toward the EU and
NATO of Serbia and Montenegro ) which Italy has always
supported and always will -- falls within this context.

Kostunica underscored his special ties with Italy (Rome is
the largest western capital that he has visited as Serbian
PM), noting also that Italy was the first foreign country he
visited after the democratic turnover in 2000. I think the
most positive aspect of the talks was the strong reassurance
Kostunica expressed on his attachment to democracy and the
rule of law, in which he clearly inserted an explicit
willingness to cooperate with the Tribunal in The Hague.

There seemed to be less flexibility in Serbia,s position on
Kosovo, at least for the immediate future. Kostunica
unde

rscored more than once the need to respect Serbia,s and
Montenegro,s territorial integrity. He said that &the
solution can be found within existing boundaries, respecting
the rights of individuals and minorities.8 In this regard,
he recalled the example of the wide autonomy for Alto Adige
in the Italian legal system.

Alto Adige is probably not a good example for the situation
in Kosovo (or at least not any more, in the current
circumstances) and PM Berlusconi ) underscoring the need for
a solution that takes into account a greater moving closer by
the entire region to the EU ) invited Kostunica to assume a
flexible attitude. He also inquired about developments in
Serbian involvement in Kosovar institutions and about the
direct dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade.

Kostunica noted the invitations to the Kosovar President and
Prime Minister to meet, and underscored Serbia,s absolute
availability for dialogue. He also noted that the existence
of a path of integration for the Balkans in Europe suggests
the need to avoid developments that lead to further regional
dissolution. He said that it is necessary not to hasten the
process in order to avoid errors and that it is necessary to
believe in the possibility of coexistence between Serbians
and Albanians, underscoring in the meantime the objective of
guaranteeing to Serbian refugees their return to their homes
in Kosovo. He added that the verification under way on
standards must be objective, because it is relevant to
decisions on status.

The conversation then moved to merely bilateral issues, with
both leaders agreeing on the excellent state of
Italian-Serbian relations, which can still improve greatly,
in particular in the economic sector. The objective is to
bring Italy to become Serbia,s and Montenegro,s major
commercial partner, as it already is with many other
countries in the Balkans. Minister of the Economy Bubalo,
who was present at the meeting together with two other
members of the government, said Italy has already gained that
position in the initial months of 2005. PM Berlusconi noted
how economic relations also depend on the propagation in the
western world of a vision of Serbia as a stable and
democratic state of law, with a positive economic climate.
This greater information could be facilitated by enhanced
relations also among the younger generations, with a greater
exchange of visits between the two countries.


End Text


3. (U) As reported ref b, Kostunica addressed a public
conference chaired by Senate President Pera. In Pera,s
opening remarks, he commented that stability in the Baltic
area was necessary for the stability of greater Europe. He
also commented on the excellent state of Italian/Serbian
bilateral relations. Kostunica reaffirmed Serbia,s close
relations with Italy, agreeing that they have &rarely been
better,8 while also affirming Serbia,s desire to become a
full member of the EU. Kostunica provided his views on the
situation in Kosovo, which included a criticism of the U.N.
peacekeeping force in Kosovo, citing its inability to prevent
human rights violations and exile of Serbian minorities.
However, he praised Italy,s PKO role and funding for the
restoration of Serbian shrines and other cultural heritage
sites in Kosovo. Kostunica strongly opposed &any partition
of Kosovo and Metohija,8 arguing that it would inevitably
result in the ethnic cleansing of the Serbian population that
currently resides there. (In an op-ed published in a daily
newspaper on June 7th in Italy, Kostunica took a hard line on
"no independence" for Kosovo.)



4. (U) Kostunica also addressed the possibility of a popular
referendum to decide whether Montenegro would become
independent. He called for the referendum to be &held by
the rules and procedure supported by the authority of the
European Union8. He indicated that he is certain that &the
result of the referendum will be more than favorable for the
state union to remain intact.8

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2005ROME01980 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL