KHATAMI VISIT: MESIC HITS KEY NON-PRO AND MIDEAST

C O N F I D E N T I A L ZAGREB 000391 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/SCE - KABUMOTO, BENEDICT DEPT FOR NEA E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/10/2015 TAGS: PREL PGOV XF IR HR SUBJECT: KHATAMI VISIT: MESIC HITS KEY NON-PRO AND MIDEAST PEACE POINTS REF: A. ZAGREB 298 ¶B. ZAGREB 273 ¶C. ZAGREB 262 Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Greg Delawie for reasons 1.5 (b) & (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY AND COMMENT: President Mesic made good use of the ill-timed March 7-8 visit of Iranian President Mohammad Khatami (ref A) to stress that Croatia shares the international community's key concerns about Iran, including its uranium enrichment program and its support for groups that jeopardize the Middle East peace process. In addition, Mesic expressed Croatia's first official endorsement of the Iraqi elections during the visit, using it to illustrate Zagreb's expectation that Iran will respect Iraq's sovereignty and not interfere in Iraqi politics. ¶2. (C) While the focus of Khatami's 36-hour stop was economic, Mesic and the GoC clearly understood its political sensitivity, requesting our suggestions for talking points during preparations for the visit. Mesic's staff worked closely with Post and our EU colleagues to ensure that Croatia's message was as consistent with US and EU views as possible. This included sharing advance copies of his press statement and dinner speech, which clearly incorporated our points, and providing an open read-out after the visit. Khatami's meetings with PM Ivo Sanader, FM Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, and Science, Education and Sports Minister Dragan Primorac and the Parliament's six-member Croatian-Iranian Friendship Group were primarily of a protocol nature. The three documents signed during the visit were between institutions rather than government-to-government, promoting cooperation between television stations, chambers of commerce, and customs services. END SUMMARY AND COMMENT. NON-PROLIFERATION TOPPED AGENDA -------------- ¶3. (C) The atmosphere of the bilateral meeting, according to Mesic's Chief of Cabinet Davor Bozinovic, was relaxed and open, but substantive. Mesic initiated a discussion of Iran's nuclear research program, firmly supporting a policy of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and stressing the need for international control of nuclear technology through the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). ¶4. (C) Khatami noted Iran's membership in that organization, asserted that his country shared international concerns about proliferation, and accepted the need for IAEA inspectors as well as the "delay" of Iran's enrichment program. According to Khatami, Iran's goal is to build the capacity to produce 7,000-10,000 megawatts of electricity, as he said was recommended by the USG before the Islamic revolution. CONSENSUS ON MIDDLE EAST PEACE AND IRAQ -------------- ¶5. (C) Mesic also focused on the need to fight international terrorism and to strongly support the Middle East peace process. He hailed the first moves of Palestinian PM Mahmoud Abbas as a good basis for renewed negotiations. For the first time he saluted the recent Iraqi elections, hoping they will lead to stability and enable Iraqis to take their future into their own hands. He also noted that Croatia is ready to help Iraq in cooperation with UN. (Note: Three Croatian police officers will soon leave for Jordan to train Iraqi police there.) ¶6. (C) According to Bozinovic, Khatami agreed that the Palestinian people deserve peace, and said he is ready to support the democratic will of the Palestinians and their right to an independent state. He also welcomed changes in Iraq, saying it is heading toward peace, stability, and a democratic government. Iran, he said, respects the sovereignty of Iraq. Khatami noted that Iran has created a development fund for Iraq that may offer some contract opportunities for Croatian businesses. "DIALOGUE OF CIVILIZATIONS" RECURRING THEME -------------- ¶7. (C) Khatami's "Dialogue of Civilizations" project surfaced as a recurring theme during his public comments, which included a press statement (separate from that of Mesic, in line with our suggestion),a speech at the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (HAZU),a brief interview on Croatian National Television, and an address to members of Croatia's Islamic community. He urged the use of dialogue instead of violence in solving the world's problems. He also highlighted historic ties between Iranians and Croatians and praised religious tolerance in Croatia. ¶8. (U) It was in his HAZU speech that Khatami made his most open criticism of U.S. policy, questioning the basis of the assertion that "there are two types of people ) those who are with us and those who are against us." He said, "This kind of amoral self-sufficiency cannot result in anything but war, violence, and disaster." Khatami's thinly veiled and predictable criticisms of the US, however, were a minor part of his message, though they attracted more media attention than they deserved as commentators tried to assess potential political consequences for Croatia. ECONOMICS AT THE CORE -------------- ¶9. (U) While Mesic carefully managed the political sensitivities of Khatami's visit, the real value for Croatia was clearly in potential economic benefits. While bilateral trade remains relatively insignificant at $7 million annually (one-tenth of neighboring Slovenia's trade with Iran),the GoC perceives Iran as a lucrative market for Croatian products such as pharmaceuticals, machinery, ships, and consumer goods. FRANK NNNN