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