ITALIANS WANT TO CONTACT GROUP DISCUSSION ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ROME 002871 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/SCE AND DAS DI CARLO E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/12/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV ICTY SR YI IT SUBJECT: ITALIANS WANT TO CONTACT GROUP DISCUSSION ON SERBIAN SAA TALKS ROME 00002871 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Classified by Gabriel Escobar, Political Officer, for re asons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. Serbian president Boris Tadic visited Rome on October 10 and 11 to meet with Italian President Napolitano, PM Prodi, FM D'Alema, and MOD Parisi. Tadic expressed his hope that Serbia could become part of PfP, the EU and eventually NATO but noted that Serbia had experienced significant problems that had weakened the pro-Western democratic government. On Kosovo, he noted that his institutional role requies him to do everything democratically possible to keep Kosovo within the territorial boundaries of Serbia, privately, he acknowledged that Kosovo may soon become independent. Tadic noted that although ICTY conditionality is preventing the reopening of SAA talks, he urged Italian support for reopening the discussions prior to the December elections in Serbia. For their part, the Italians expressed support for Serbian membership in the key Euro-Atlantic institutions but stressed that Serbian compliance with the ICTY and constructive engagement on solving the Kosovo status issue would be an important factor in determining international support for Serbian integration. ¶2. (C) Summary, con't. After the visit, Italian MFA officials expressed a strong desire to discuss with other Contact Group nations the possibility of reopening SAA talks in order to strengthen the position of the DS and Tadic before the elections with the understanding that SAA talks would include a clause prohibiting further integration without clear indications of moves to arrest Mladic after the elections. The GOI believes that while the current Serbian government has proven to be weak, vulnerable to attacks from the right, and divided, the situation could get even worse. The GOI intends to raise this issue at the next Contact Group meeting and will lobby other CG nations, particularly the US, to find a way to support Tadic and the DS going into the next elections. End summary. KOSOVO: TADIC WILL NOT BE AN OBSTACLE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶3. (C) Serbian president Tadic's visit to Rome on October 10 and 11 focused on gaining support for Serbian integration into the EU, PfP and eventually NATO and support. The GOI told Tadic that Italy supports Serbian integration but ICTY compliance and positive engagement on Kosovo would be important in determining the pace of integration. Tadic told FM D'Alema that his institutional role requires him to do everything democratically possible to keep Kosovo as a part of Serbia. Privately, he understood the reality of the political situation. He hinted that he would not be an obstacle to the international community's efforts to bring stability to the region - even if it included some form of independence for Kosovo. In fact, in his private and public statements, Tadic did not argue against Kosovar independence, but rather argued that the timing could affect the stability of the government. GETTING PAST ICTY: KEY TO SERBIA'S FUTURE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶4. (C) Tadic told D'Alema and Prodi that only positive movement in the direction of European integration could help the democratic forces of Serbia win with enough parliamentary seats to make the necessary reforms and take real steps toward ICTY compliance. In fact in his meeting with D'Alema, Tadic hinted that SAA talks would strengthen the DS more than any other party. A strong DS presence in the next government would be crucial in taking the difficult and necessary steps toward finding, arresting and transferring Ratko Mladic to the ICTY. Tadic argued that economic integration and political recognition of Serbia's path to Europe were important to his supporters and to the majority of the Serbian public. In a telling exchange during an otherwise ROME 00002871 002.2 OF 002 positive address to a Serbian-Italian crowd at the Serbian Embassy on October 10, Tadic was confronted by members of the Serbian expatriate community over the difficulty Serbian citizens experience in obtaining visas to EU countries. ¶5. (C) Comment: The Italians purposely gave Tadic a high-level, public reception and publicly indicated support for Serbian integration into the EU and PfP. They were careful, however, not to send any messages to indicate any cracks in Contact Group solidarity. After the visit, however, newly appointed MFA DG for European Affairs (and former Italian candidate for the position of High Representative in Bosnia) Laura Mirachian and MFA Balkans office director Raimondo De Cardona expressed a desire to raise the issue of restarting SAA talks with Serbia before the elections in order to strengthen those forces which are more likely to make the right choices for Serbia. De Cardona went even further, noting that the GOI not only wanted to help support the DS/DSS coalition in its campaign against the SRS, but it actually wanted to help the DS in its relationship with the DSS. ¶6. (C) Comment, con't. The GOI believes that helping support the democratic parties in Serbia can only be done through restarting SAA talks. No other incentive can be implemented quickly enough. The GOI acknowledges that Serbia has made very little progress on its ICTY Action Plan, but believes that the key to ICTY compliance depends on a strong, democratic government - and not one that continues to be weak, divided and dependent on support from the SPS. Additionally, the GOI believes that basing decisions on Euro-Atlantic integration entirely on the determinations of ICTY Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte effectively ties the hands of the Contact Group during a crucial period for the development of the region. Instead, the Italians argue that Del Ponte's report should be one of the most important criteria in determining integration, just not necessarily the first. SPOGLI