UKRAINE REMAINS DOUBTFUL THAT KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L KYIV 004156 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/31/2016 TAGS: PREL SR UP SUBJECT: UKRAINE REMAINS DOUBTFUL THAT KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE WILL NOT SET A PRECEDENT REF: A. STATE 179829 ¶B. 05 KIEV 5100 Classified By: Acting Pol Counselor George Kent for reasons 1.4(b,d) ¶1. (C) Ambassador and FM Tarasyuk discussed Transnistria and Kosovo, among other issues, October 31 (septel to follow). Tarasyuk, hewing to the line he has maintained since December 2005 (ref B),said the U.S. line on Kosovo independence not being a precedent for frozen conflicts such as Transnistria was weak, "because the Russians will use it as a precedent regardless." Ukraine wanted to achieve a negotiated settlement on Transnistria, but Kosovo independence would undermine that effort. ¶2. (C) Earlier on October 31, we orally delivered ref A's talking points to Oleksandr Tsvetkov, Deputy Head of the MFA Political Department. Echoing Tarasyuk's fears, Tsvetkov said he had "no doubt" that a move to grant independence to Kosovo would be viewed as a precedent. He opined that the "frozen conflicts are to some extent not frozen" and that an independent Kosovo would be "very threatening to all conflict zones." Tsvetkov wistfully remarked that the Kosovo problem could best be solved if the EU were expanded to cover the entire territory (of Serbia); he recognized such a development was years away at best. ¶3. (C) Tsvetkov was interested in details about the period of transitional international supervision for Kosovo after independence. He wondered if the transition period would be fixed and short and if peacekeeping troops would remain. We replied that details were subject to negotiation but there was an expectation troops would remain. Tsvetkov opined that "wrong developments" in Kosovo's security environment would be bad for the international community. ¶4. (U) Visit Embassy Kyiv's classified website: www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/kiev. Taylor