Senator Inhofe's Visit to Serbia

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SUBJECT: Senator Inhofe's Visit to Serbia


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1. (SBU) SUMMARY. Senator James M. Inhofe's visit
to Belgrade 27 May occurred in the aftermath of
Montenegro?s referendum and the conclusion of the
fifth round of Vienna talks on Kosovo status
issues. In meetings with President Tadic, FONMIN
Draskovic, DEFMIN Stankovic, and Deputy Chief of
the General Staff Ponos, the Senator was afforded
an opportunity to assess the Serbian leadership?s
reaction to Montenegrin independence as well as
Kosovo, Serbia's commitment to Euro-Atlantic
integration, and political and defense reform.
End summary.


Tadic: Preserving Democratic Serbia
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2. (SBU) Tadic focused in his discussions on the
difficult decisions that Serbia faces in months
ahead on such key issues as Kosovo final status,
the dissolution of the SaM State Union, ICTY
compliance, defense reform, and generally
accelerating Euro-Atlantic Security integration.
Tadic promised Serbia's relations with Montenegro
would center on common economic and security
interests. He said Serbia would respect the will
of the Montenegrin people and an independence
outcome, although he was skeptical of
Montenegro?s economic future and saw the need for
intrinsic political and security links with
Belgrade. On ICTY, Tadic sought to assure the
Senator of the Serbian government's political
will to extradite Mladic and that the issue was
mostly a technical problem. With regards to
Kosovo, Tadic promised that as a co-chair of
Serbia?s negotiating team he would strive to be
constructive in the status negotiations, but was
constrained by the Serbian constitution that
obliged him to defend the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of Serbia. He also offered
reassurances that Serbian armed forces would
remain a security partner with KFOR.

Taking Charge of the Armed Forces
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3. (SBU) Responding to the Senator?s inquiry,
Tadic in no uncertain terms asserted that he was
in charge of the Armed Forces, adding that he
would continue to champion defense reform and
press for Serbia?s entry into PFP as well as the
strengthening of Serbia?s bilateral military
relationship with the United States. Tadic said
he supported signing bilateral agreements such as
the SOFA and Article 98. He affirmed his
commitment to do more on defense reform,
promising to expend more political capital and
focus on defense policy regardless of the fact
that people in his own party did not see defense
as such a priority issue.

Draskovic: A Voice in the Wilderness
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4. (SBU) FONMIN Draskovic remained outspoken on
Serbia's need to fulfill its international
obligations to The Hague, lamenting that Serbia
was a victim of one individual, Mladic, and that
Prime Minister Kostunica?s government - and in
particular the unreformed security services -
have failed his nation. Draskovic stated that PfP
membership would have a positive and stabilizing
effect on democratic Serbia.


5. (SBU) On Kosovo, Draskovic rearticulated his

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position on Kosovo final status, arguing for a
delay of at least 3-4 years before consideration
of Kosovo independence -- after Pristina had
proven that it could protect the rights of the
Serb minority. He cautioned that Kosovar
Albanians should not be rewarded with
independence unless standards are achieved,
adding that he would push the GoS to continue
engaging responsibly on decentralization and
protection of religious sites.

Stankovic: Staying on Track
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6. (SBU) DEFMIN Stankovic reaffirmed the MoD?s
commitment to defense reform and an amicable
split with Montenegro over military assets. He
confirmed to the Senator his understanding that
the President of Serbia is the Commander-in-Chief
of the Armed Forces. Stankovic offered
assurances that he would keep defense reform on
track and stated that down-sizing the force and
the disposal of military property would be this
year?s primary resource challenges.
Additionally, the MoD and General Staff have
concluded their Strategic Defense Review Process
and allegedly were prepared to sign a SOFA.
Stankovic asserted his support for both of these
initiatives.

Ponos: Reformist Vision
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7. (SBU) General Ponos was emphatic about the
Serbian armed forces' strategic orientation on
PfP entry and eventual NATO membership. Ponos
outlined the various challenges to reach that
goal ? Personnel reductions to an end strength of
27,000 from the current 62,000, major base
reductions and closings, and the implementation
of a modern force structure. Most importantly,
Ponos stated that changing the mindset of the
armed forces, and especially the officer corps,
was the main challenge.


8. (SBU) While Mladic conditionality continued
to block Serbian participation in PfP, Ponos
noted there were numerous opportunities for
promoting Euro-Atlantic integration that remained
untapped. At the forefront of these was the
bilateral military relationship with the United
States. Ponos felt that the State Partnership
Program (SPP),IMET and FMF were all programs the
Serbian armed forces could benefit greatly from.
He expressed hope that the Serbian government
would be ready to sign a Status of Forces
Agreement (SOFA) in the near future so that SPP
could begin. IMET, in particular, would
immeasurably contribute to the Euro-Atlantic
security integration of the Serbian armed forces
as well as lead to a professional force able to
participate as full security partner with NATO
and the United States.


9. (SBU) The Senator responded that he intended
to add an amendment to the current Defense
Authorization bill that would allow for waivers
for IMET for certain countries, including Serbia
and Montenegro. Senator Inhofe did not have the
opportunity to see this message prior to his
departure.


POLT