KOSOVO: UNMIK STILL WAIVERING ON THREE-MONTH

1. (C) SUMMARY: At the October 4 meeting of the Steering
Group for Future International Arrangements, UNMIK presented
a "work in progress non-paper" (forwarded to EUR/SCE) with
timelines for transition and identifying an action office for
many of the items. According to various UNMIK
representatives, the Department of Peace-Keeping Operations
(DPKO) in New York remains convinced that transition will
require six to nine months, not the three months envisioned
in UNMIK's draft transition paper. SRSG Ruecker averred that
70 percent of the items in the paper can definitely be
completed within three months, 15 percent might be able to be
completed in three months and the remaining 15 percent would
likely take longer than three months. While an improvement
on UNMIK's previous draft, this latest version fails to set
out the specific actions that must be carried out to transfer
the specified competencies. UNMIK would like initial
comments to its draft transition non-paper by mid-October.
END SUMMARY.

UNMIK's Draft Paper Envisions Three Month Transition



2. (C) SRSG Joachim Ruecker chaired the fourth meeting of the
Steering Group for Future International Arrangements on
October 4, attended by representatives from UNMIK, UNDP,
OSCE, KFOR, EU, EC and USOP. UNMIK presented its "work in
progress non-paper" on transition planning and
implementation. The document contains timelines for
transition and identifies action offices for most of the
items. Ruecker asked for reactions regarding the planning
assumptions and the document's comprehensiveness (rather than
its substance) within a week. He also asked that the
non-paper and reactions for now be kept within the Steering
Group because the draft document has not been fully vetted
with DPKO at UN headquarters in New York. Several UNMIK
officials confirmed that DPKO remains convinced that the
transfer of UNMIK's remaining competencies to the Kosovo
government and the proposed International Civilian Office
(ICO) will require a six to nine month transition, vice the
three-month transition proposed in UNMIK's plan. PDSRSG
Steven Schook called on the ICO to maintain pressure on DPKO
to agree to the shorter transition period.



3. (C) SRSG Ruecker said that approximately 70 percent of the
action items in the plan can be completed within the
three-month period set out in the draft, an additional 15
percent might be achievable within three months, and the
remaining 15 percent would likely take longer. Both Ruecker
and Schook were adamant that everyone present understand that
after the 90-day transition period, UNMIK goes away and no/no
remnants of it will remain. Schook emphasized that issuance
of travel documents could not be resolved within three months
and expressed concerns several times during the meeting over
the need for clear security arrangements in conjunction with
KFOR.

UNOSEK Agrees



4. (C) Visiting UNOSEK representative Bernhard Schlagheck
said he had met with UNMIK officials on October 2 (without
any representatives of the ICO team present) to discuss
UNOSEK's current thinking on the future international
presence as contained in the draft settlement documents.
According to Schlagheck, UNOSEK's plan is for a 90-day
transition period after the issuance of the final status
agreement, after which the settlement will be implemented.
During this transition period, he said, UNMIK will continue
with its UNSCR 1244 mandate unless the UNSC decides
otherwise, and Kosovo's existing Constitutional Framework and
laws will still be in effect. UNOSEK would prefer that the
incoming International Civilian Representative not be in
Kosovo during the transition period.

OSCE Head: New Constitution/Electoral Law During Transition



5. (SBU) The head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo Werner Wnendt

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told participants that the Kosovo Assembly should adopt a new
constitution and a new law on local government during the
transition period. If the Kosovo government cannot adopt a
new constitution by then, Wnendt said, the SRSG will amend
the existing Constitutional Framework, which will remain in
effect until a new constitution is adopted.



6. (SBU) Wnendt also said Kosovo should hold both local and
central elections no later than November 2007, noting that to
postpone them any later would require a new decision by the
SRSG. Wnendt said that Kosovo needs a new election law --
which he said should be drafted in concert with the new
constitution -- as well as a new voter list. He assured
everyone that elections could be organized in as little as
four months (vice the six months we have heard from his
staff), so long as the voting remains on a closed rather than
an open list basis. He explained that registration is not a
problem in a closed system, but is in an open list system
because voters would have to register by district. In a
brief discussion of the advisability of simultaneous
municipal and central elections, participants were split on
whether holding both at the same time would increase
participation of or widen the impact of any boycott by Kosovo
Serbs.



7. (C) COMMENT: While an improvement on an earlier draft,
UNMIK's new transition paper still does not spell out how
competencies are to be transferred, nor is it clear that DPKO
will sign off on a three-month transition timeline. Other
issues include our fear that the OSCE is too far ahead of its
planning on the new constitution before at least some of
Kosovo's Serbs are on board and the international community
has a coordinated response. We will include these and other
comments to UNMIK on the transition paper by mid-October and
would appreciate any input from EUR/SCE. END COMMENT.



8. (SBU) U.S. Office Pristina does not/not clear this cable
in its entirety for release to U.N. Special Envoy Martti
Ahtisaari.
KAIDANOW