KOSOVO: PM CEKU "LOOKING TOWARDS STATUS" WHILE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000846

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR DRL, INL, AND EUR/SCE, NSC FOR BRAUN, USUN FOR
DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/06/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL UNMIK YI
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: PM CEKU "LOOKING TOWARDS STATUS" WHILE
MANAGING EXPECTATIONS


Classified By: COM TINA KAIDANOW FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku briefed
Pristina liaison office heads October 5 on his plans over the
next several months for managing Kosovo Albanians'
expectations for, and Kosovo Serbs' fear of, final status.
Ceku said that implementation of Standards for Kosovo,
particularly the Contact Group's 13 priorities, will be key.
Next steps, Ceku outlined, would include visits throughout
Kosovo by the PM and other government officials, media events
and other forms of confidence building outreach. Minister of
Environmental and Spatial Planning Ardian Gjini told
participants that the Kosovo government welcomed an
international presence after status. Ceku's briefing came on
the heels of recent well-publicized statements by UN Special
Envoy for Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari and EU High Representative
Javier Solana that a decision on Kosovo's final status may be
delayed because of proposed elections in Serbia. Ceku asked
liaison office heads to continue their support for Kosovo and
the process begun by Ahtisaari. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) Kosovo PM Ceku convened Pristina-based liaison
office heads to update them on Standards implementation and
his government's plans to shape public perceptions on final
status over the coming months. Originally scheduled as a
meeting with only the Contact Group, Ceku expanded it to
include all liaison offices. Ceku said that Standards
implementation remains his government's top priority and that
by his count, nine of the Contact Group's 13 priorities have
been fulfilled.


3. (SBU) Ceku noted that after Standards implementation, his
next priority is to manage the expectations of Kosovo
Albanians and assuage the fears of Kosovo's Serbs over the
outcome of final status negotiations. He said that after
consultations with UNMIK and KFOR, his office has developed
an action plan for an information campaign which will include
visits throughout Kosovo, media events and other confidence
building measures. Ceku added that since July he has
participated in 16 visits and meetings throughout Kosovo at
which he opened minority housing and multi-ethnic schools.
He also said specifically that he would fulfill requests for
small infrastructure projects in two Serb-majority areas
relayed to him by Serb SLKM leader Oliver Ivanovic. Ceku
described plans for an additional six visits over the next
two weeks, and said he had reached out to the leader of a new
Kosovo-based political party which he claimed has 3,000
members. (NOTE: This is a reference to his meeting with
Slobodan Petrovic, president of the Autonomous Liberal Party,
a new Kosovo-based ethnic Serb party. END NOTE).


4. (SBU) Reflecting on news reports and statements by Solana
and Ahtisaari that the status process might be delayed as a
result of the Serbian electoral calendar, Ceku asked liaison
office heads to continue the momentum of last month's Contact
Group meeting in Sofia and its stated aim of achieving a
decision on Kosovo's status by the end of 2006. If Kosovo's
final status is to be delayed, he argued, it would be better
to consider delaying implementation rather than the actual
decision. He also asked liaison office chiefs to pressure
Belgrade to stop forbidding Kosovo Serbs from engaging with
the Kosovo institutions. He reminded those present that
Kosovo's future lies with membership in the European Union.


5. (SBU) Environment and Spatial Planning Minister Ardian
Gjini spoke in his capacity as the Kosovo negotiating team's
representative in discussions on the future international
presence in Kosovo post-status. Gjini noted that the Kosovo
government understood it was not in a position to negotiate
over the size and scope of any future international presence
and desired close cooperation with the EU and other
participants in planning the proposed International Civilian
Office. He asserted that Kosovo has a highly-motivated
population and would aim to enhance its capacity quickly to
reach its two ultimate targets -- EU integration and NATO
membership -- in a realistic timeframe.


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6. (C) COMMENT: With speculation swirling on the likelihood
of a delay in the status process, the Prime Minister and
others will be under increasing pressure to advocate the
year-end deadline more assertively. COM met October 4 with
Ceku, October 5 with opposition leader Thaci, and October 6
with President Sejdiu (reported septel) to urge them to keep
their public comments measured and constructive and avoid
"year-end" ultimata to the international community. Ceku's
presentation was reassuring in that it represented a moderate
response to recent statements by Ahtisaari and Javier Solana,
reported prominently by Kosovo media, about the possibility
of delaying a status resolution until after elections in
Serbia. The presentation also contained welcome elements of
forethought with regard to selling the decentralization
concept to Kosovar Serbs and Albanians alike, something we
have been encouraging for a long time. END COMMENT.


7. (SBU) U.S. Office Pristina clears paras. 1 through 5 for
release to U.N. Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari.
KAIDANOW