COUNTRY CLEARANCE GRANTED TO AMBASSADOR FRANK WISNER

UNCLAS PRISTINA 000286 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ASEC OTRA AU GR SE AL NATO EU SUBJECT: COUNTRY CLEARANCE GRANTED TO AMBASSADOR FRANK WISNER AND STEPHEN GEE REF: SECSTATE 48486 ¶1. US Office Pristina welcomes and grants country clearance to Ambassador Frank G. Wisner, Special Representative of the Secretary of State to the Kosovo Status Talks, and his assistant, Stephen J. Gee, to visit Pristina April 14 - April 16, 2006. The purpose of the visit is for consultations on issues related to Kosovo future status talks. Point of contact will be Political Officer, Carrie Shirtz, who can be reached at: office 381-38-549-516 ext. 3195; GSM 377-44-500-972; fax 381-38-549-890. ¶2. Post will coordinate arrangements for overland travel with Amembassy Skopje and Amembassy Belgrade. Post will also make arrangements for transportation for official meetings during the visit. Accommodations have been arranged in USOP housing. ¶3. Kosovo is a cash (Euro) economy. There are a few operating ATMs. A few large stores and some hotels take credit cards. Not all ATMS are reliable and personnel should use normal ATM safety precautions. TDY personnel should bring sufficient cash or travelers' checks to cover all hotel and other incidental expenses and may exchange dollars for Euros from 9:00am-11:30am and 1:00pm-3:30pm each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday and 9:00am-11:30am each Thursday at the U.S. Office cashier. Only USOP accepts travelers' checks. Reverse accommodation is available at the end of the visit. ¶4. Security issues: The security situation in Kosovo is fluid and there is still risk from occasional episodes of violence; incidents of ethnic violence continue to occur. Land mines remain in some outlying areas. Civil society institutions generally do not yet meet Western standards. There is criminal activity against internationals, including purse snatching and residential break-ins and general precautions are recommended. KFOR is deployed throughout Kosovo. ¶5. Travel to certain areas within Kosovo province requires fully armored vehicles and advance RSO approval. To facilitate planning, please provide travel itinerary to USOP in advance of arrival, as same-day travel can be difficult to arrange. To provide appropriate access to USOP facilities, visitors must ensure all necessary security clearances are included with travel messages. ¶6. Please ensure ASEC tags are included to ensure proper distribution. Specific questions regarding security may be addressed to USOP's RSO or your control officer. GOLDBERG