PSI: CROATIA SOON READY TO CONSULT ON OPERATIONAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L ZAGREB 000155

SIPDIS


DEPARTMENT FOR NP/RA:SONTAG; EUR/SCE:KABUMOTO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/25/2015
TAGS: KNNP KTIA PARM MNUC PHSA PREL HR NATO
SUBJECT: PSI: CROATIA SOON READY TO CONSULT ON OPERATIONAL
AND LEGAL ISSUES

REF: STATE 8961

Classified By: Poloff Justin Friedman, reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)


1. (C) Poloff and DATT delivered reftel demarche to MFA North
America Office Director Andrea Bekic and Multilateral Affairs
Office Director Marina Vasilj on January 19. Bekic responded
that the legal review of the draft bilateral shipboarding
agreement was near completion and that interministerial
consultations would begin shortly. Bekic stressed that the
GoC fully supported completing the shipboarding agreement;
the only issue would be the time to complete the
interministerial process. Vasilj had told us previously that
the draft text was largely acceptable; the only issue that
needed work was how to accommodate Croatia's declaration of
an exclusive economic zone.


2. (C) Bekic said that the GoC saw many potential
opportunities for military cooperation, both with PSI and
bilaterally with the U.S. She said that the GoC interagency
PSI coordination group would meet in the coming week to take
initial steps to clarify PSI operational points of contact.
She and Vasilj urged that the U.S. recognize Croatia's
broader efforts on non-proliferation, including the creation
of a dual-use export control legal and regulatory mechanisms,
in reviewing Croatia's requests to join multilateral
non-proliferation regimes like Wassenaar, MTCR, and the
Nuclear Suppliers Group.


3. (C) Poloff and DATT also delivered reftel demarche the
same day to Assistant Minister of Defense for Policy Jelena
Grcic-Polic. Grcic-Polic was more cautious about the time
needed to complete interagency review of the shipboarding
agreement. Although she acknowledged that she was not well
versed on the issue, she cautioned that accommodating the
differences between Anglo-Saxon and Continental legal
traditions could delay the interagency review of the
agreement. COMMENT: Although we take the MFA's optimistic
projection for completing the shipboarding agreement review
as well-intentioned, Grcic-Polic may be correct about the
time required for the key action Ministries' lawyers to
prepare for negotiations.
FRANK


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