C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 000312

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/28/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL SR YI
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: BELGRADE EAGER TO DISCUSS STATUS


Classified By: Ambassador Michael C. Polt, (Reasons 1.4 B&D)

SUMMARY
--------------
1.(C) In meetings with official USG visitors on 2/24, and
in remarks before an extraordinary parliamentary session on
2/27, members of the Serbian negotiation team for Kosovo
status signaled their desire to open up a political track
to negotiate Kosovo's status in direct discussions with
Albanian interlocutors. The political track would begin
before the end of-- and run parallel to-- the current
expert-level negotiations on decentralization and other
issues which affect the quality of life of the Serbian
minority in Kosovo. The Serbian parliament unanimously
endorsed a report on the Vienna meeting paving the way for
the continuation of talks. END SUMMARY.

HAPPY WITH THE DECENTRALIZATION TRACK, BUT . . .
-------------- ---
2.(C) Upon their return from the 2/21-2/22 meetings in
Vienna on Kosovo decentralization, chief Serbian
negotiators Slobodan Samardzic from the Prime Minister's
office and Leon Kojen from the President's office gave
positive assessments of the dialogue in meetings with
EUR/SCE Director Charles English and U.S. liaison to the
Ahtisaari team, Jeff Hovenier. Kojen said he thought the
chairman's statement presented at the end of the two-day
session was "surprisingly well balanced", and implied that
Rohan had exaggerated--to the benefit of the Serbs--the
degree of agreement on several issues. Both Kojen and
Samardzic expressed a certain level of frustration at the
slow pace of the status negotiations, and said they would
have preferred to continue the discussion sooner than 3/17,
as is currently planned. They also expressed skepticism
that a negotiated agreement would be implemented.
Samardzic called it, "just a paper", and said, that when it
comes to putting the agreement into practice, "the
Albanians won't give anything."

PUSHING THE STATUS ENDGAME
--------------
3.(C) Samardzic and Kojen both said it was time to open a
"political" direct dialogue on the status question itself.
Samardzic pushed for the political talks to run parallel to
the newly-opened "expert" dialogue on decentralizat

ion and
other issues. Noting the Contact Group's recent message
that the talks should be completed by the end of 2006, and
referring to the terms of reference that Status Envoy
Martti Ahtisaari had shared with them, Samardzic said that
the "main purpose of the talks should be to discuss status
with the Albanians in front of a mediator." He asked for
U.S. support for beginning such a discussion, at the same
time stressing that he understood there would be no control
of Pristina from Belgrade, and that the Serbian side was
ready to ask the Albanian side in direct discussions, "what
do you want?". Kojen seemed less inclined to open the
political track immediately, suggesting that it should come
somewhere in the middle of the expert-level process on
decentralization, in order to build on the common ground
that would be developed during the course of the talks.
"Realistically," said Kojen, "it needn't be too far away."

4.(C) Kojen emphasized he believes the parallel political
track is important as a mechanism to force the Albanian
side to make progress on decentralization, since after the
private messages by the U.S. and the U.K. that the outcome
would be independence, there was no reason for the Albanian
side to go any further in the dialogue. Kojen acknowledged
the importance of expanding the decentralization discussion
into other topics that affect the Serb minority, such as
protection of cultural monuments and property rights, and
other "incentives" for the Serb minority. However, Kojen
said that many of these other issues were intrinsically
linked to status, since the Serb minority would likely
immediately leave Kosovo if it became independent.

PARLIAMENTARY SESSION ACCEPTS REPORT
--------------
5.(U) PM Kostunica echoed the same theme in his 2/27
remarks before a special session of parliament called to
hear the report of Samardzic and Kojen on the Vienna talks.
In his address, Kostunica said the talks have two aims: the
preservation of Kosovo withinSerban borders and
preservation of Serbian peope within Kosovo. He took
pains to distinguish taks on decentralization-- as well as
alks on cultural heritage, property rights, and
privatization-- from the "actual talks" on Kosovo status,

BELGRADE 00000312 002 OF 002


"which have not yet begun", and proclaimed that "we are
ready for the immediate beginning of the Kosovo status
talks". In calling for an immediate discussion of status,
the Prime Minister appealed to Ahtisaari and the Contact
Group to organize the talks, "with the belief that a
compromise solution is attainable, because only a
compromise solution can be a real and lasting one." At the
end of the session, the parliament unanimously adopted the
report of the negotiating team, paving the way for the
continuation of negotiations.

COMMENT
--------------
6.(C) In light of what it perceives as public disagreements
within the Contact Group, Belgrade may be testing how far
it can challenge the U.S./E.U./U.K/Ahtisaari private
message that the outcome of the talks will inevitably be
independence. They see a separate political track to
discuss status as their best hope of doing this, and of
showing the Serbian people they are making a real effort.
We are likely to hear more calls for a status track as the
talks continue. END COMMENT.


7. (U) This message is releasable in its entirety to Mr.
Ahtisaari.
POLT