ASD RICARDEL MEETINGS WITH CROATIAN MINISTER OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L ZAGREB 000718

SIPDIS


SECDEF FOR OSD/ISP/EURASIA - ANDREW WINTERNITZ

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/05/2015
TAGS: PREL MARR HR NATO
SUBJECT: ASD RICARDEL MEETINGS WITH CROATIAN MINISTER OF
DEFENSE RONCEVIC AND PRESIDENT MESIC, APRIL 29

Classified By: JUSTIN FRIEDMAN, POLMIL OFF. REASON: 1.4 (B) AND (D)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) On April 29, Assistant Secretary of Defense for
International Security Policy (Acting),Ms. Mira Ricardel,
accompanied by Ambassador Ralph Frank, met with President
Stjepan Mesic and Berislav Roncevic, Minister of Defense. In
both meetings defense reform and the possibility of expanding
Croatia,s presence in Afghanistan were discussed.

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MESIC MEETING
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2. (SBU) Mesic expressed his opinion that the relationship
with the United States is good. Mesic laid out his two
strategic goals: First, membership in the European Union and
second membership in NATO. On the European Union, Mesic
noted that Croatia is expecting negotiations soon. He then
pronounced that the Armed Forces were working to be in
compliance with NATO standards.


3. (SBU) A/ASD Ricardel congratulated Mesic on his
re-election in January 2005. She agreed that the level of
bilateral cooperation with Croatia was good and related that
reforms under way are impressive.


4. (C) Noting the U.S. appreciation for Croatia,s
contribution in Afghanistan, A/ASD related that she had
discussed with SACEUR General Jones the value of non-NATO
member participation in improving those countries,
interoperability with NATO. A/ASD Ricardel requested that
Croatia consider contributing to a new Provincial
Reconstruction Team being established in Chaghcharan by
Lithuania. She then noted that the new democratically
elected government of Iraq should be welcomed by Croatia.
She observed that when Croatia was just getting started,
recognition and support by the international community were
vital to normalizing Croatia,s status. She commented that
Croatia,s establishment of diplomatic relations with Iraq is
a step in the right direction and recommended the
establishment of a commercial office in Baghdad.


5. (C) Mesic stated that it would be acceptable for Croatia
to increase its presence in Afghanistan. He also noted that
he has an open invitation from Afghan president Hamad Karzai
and that he was likely to act on that invitation in the
future. As for Iraq, the opening of diplomatic relations was
a modest step for Croatia as these relations had never
existed under Saddam Hussein. Additionally, the state-owned
oil company INA has established an office in Baghdad and this
will be strengthened as more Croatian companies engage.

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ICTY COOPERATION
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6. (SBU) A/ASD Ricadel stated that the U.S. works with the
European Union and that both have a similar goal with respect
to cooperation with The Hague tribunal. She noted that she
had heard from Prime Minister Sanader on the action plan for
Gotovina and expressed her hope that it is fully realized.
A/ASD Ricardel underscored that while Croatia had
accomplished much on ICTY cooperation, the final step is
still crucial for fulfilling Croatia,s Hague requirements.


7. (SBU) Mesic noted that on ICTY cooperation, privatization,
and the rule of law Croatia,s actions were not credible
before 2000. Additional problems came from the overt
politicization of the Police and Armed Forces. Mesic noted
that this period of history had closed. He then asserted
that attempts to tell the U.S. Defense Department that he was
politicizing the Armed Forces through the implication that
the President appoints officers directly is misleading and
untrue. He asserted that attempts to amend the Constitution
on this issue are wrong. Mesic added that some people want
to deprive the president of this right to approve general
officers. (COMMENT: Mesic may have been alluding to an error
in the draft of the OSD-funded contractor Defense Assessment
passed to the MOD prior to this visit. This mistake will be
explained to the Office of the President and the MOD and the
language will be redacted from the Assessment text.)


8. (SBU) A/ASD Ricardel stated that the USG does not comment
on Croatia,s constitutional issues and that we have not had
any discussions with the MOD on this matter.



9. In conclusion A/ASD Ricardel noted that Croatia can play
a valuable role in the Proliferation Security Initiative
(PSI) given its geography and role in the region. She also
related that the United States values its relationship with
Croatia and that we want it to continue to improve it.

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RONCEVIC MEETING
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10. (SBU) A/ASD Ricardel,s meeting with MOD Roncevic was
very amiable. A/ASD Ricardel began by noting that efforts to
make the formulation of the Strategic Defense Review (SDR)
open to the public are good for transparency. She then
observed that NATO would be looking at this document as an
explanation of how Croatia intends to spend its resources.
She then advised that a country needed to make a distinction
between a modernization goal that is useful and those that
may look powerful but cannot be used. Stressing the role of
transformation of modern defense forces, A/ASD noted that
every country joining NATO needed to bring its own niche
capabilities and that Croatia,s Military Police capacity is
useful as this was historically a shortfall for NATO-led
stability operations.


11. (SBU) Roncevic opened by explaining that despite rumors
to the contrary that the MOD and the Joint General Staff were
one system. Equally important was that with the finalization
of the SDR, both the government and the executive were
unified on defense reform issues. Roncevic noted that the
release of the SDR to the public would have to take place
after the 15 May municipal elections for political reasons,
but that the MOD would try to publish the final version of
the document shortly after.


12. (C) Roncevic thanked A/ASD Ricardel for her earlier
praise of the MPs and Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT)
contributions in Afghanistan. He noted that future rotations
of the MP platoon were already planned and that on 4 May the
Adriatic Charter countries would sign a technical agreement
required for their combined deployment of a medical team to
ISAF. Roncevic then related that Croatia is considering
increasing its PRT contributions and was looking specifically
at the PRTs led by Germany and Lithuania. Finally, he noted
that a senior-level delegation from the Parliament and Office
of the President would travel to Afghanistan in May.


13. (C) A/ASD Ricardel noted that prior to this meeting she
had held useful discussions at the Sabor on the need for
flexibility for the Armed Forces. She relayed that she had
urged the parliamentary officials to use their position as
representatives of the people to explain why this flexibility
is important. A/ASD related that she was very pleased that
Croatia was considering increasing its PRT contributions,
especially in the Lithuanian PRT. This contribution will
help Croatia,s deployed forces gain greater interoperability
with NATO, with the added benefit of recognition. A/ASD then
urged MOD Roncevic to contact the Danish MOD as she believed
that his vigorous push for the reforming of the Danish Armed
Forces could be a useful example for Croatia.


13. (SBU) Roncevic noted that he would be attempting to
establish Minister-level ties to the Danish MOD in the near
future. He then talked about the opening of regional
cooperation with Croatia,s neighbors by noting that Croatia
had recently accredited Defense Attachs to
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia-Montenegro. He also related
that Croatia had offered to help those countries with their
defense reform efforts.


14. (SBU) A/ASD received this news as a positive step and
noted that one aspect of NATO review for aspirant countries
is whether they are a net contributor or a net consumer of
security in their region. She continued that it seems
Croatia is on the right track in this regard. She also
expressed satisfaction that Croatia had become the chair for
the Southeast Europe Defense Ministerial (SEDM) Working Group
on Counterproliferation, Border Security and Counterterrorism
(CBSC). This is an important role for Croatia to play in the
region.


15. (C) Roncevic concluded by saying that Croatia accepts
this role and hopes to promote greater cooperation in the
region, especially on the sharing of military intelligence.
He added that during his mandate, the Military Security
Agency (VSA) had done good work and that several
inter-government agreements on the security of military
information had been concluded.



16. (U) A/ASD CLEARED THIS MESSAGE.

FRANK


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