SEN. VOINOVICH DISCUSSES NATO, KOSOVO NEGOTIATIONS

UNCLAS SKOPJE 000310

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/SCE
DEPT ALSO FOR H (PLEASE PASS TO OFFICE OF SEN. VOINOVICH)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV MK
SUBJECT: SEN. VOINOVICH DISCUSSES NATO, KOSOVO NEGOTIATIONS
WITH MACEDONIAN OFFICIALS


1. (SBU) Summary: In meetings with senior Macedonian
officials on March 25, Sen. George Voinovich encouraged
Macedonia to make further progress on NATO-related reforms,
discussed Kosovo final status issues, and thanked Macedonia
for its military support of coalition operations in Iraq and
Afghanistan. Press coverage of the visit was extensive and
positive, highlighting the Senator's optimistic message on
NATO enlargement and support of U.S. policy on the name issue
with Greece. End Summary.


2. (U) Sen. George Voinovich met with President Branko
Crvenkovski; Foreign Minister Ilinka Mitreva; President of
Parliament Ljubco Jordanovski; DUI Vice President Teuta
Arifi; and VMRO-DPMNE President Nikola Gruevski March 25 to
discuss Macedonia's NATO candidacy, the ongoing Kosovo final
status talks, and Euro-Atlantic integration. The Senator was
accompanied by Ambassador Milovanovic, legislative aide
Jeannie Siskovic, and military escort LT Josh Wellner.

SENATOR URGES FURTHER PROGRESS ON NATO-RELATED REFORMS
-------------- --------------


3. (SBU) In his meetings with Macedonian officials, Sen.
Voinovich praised the government for its progress to date on
reforms related to NATO membership. He noted the importance
to Macedonia's NATO candidacy of fair elections, judicial
reforms, and fighting corruption. He also recalled his role
in promoting the last enlargement of NATO, and hoped
Macedonia and the other Adriatic Charter (A-3) countries
would be ready for NATO membership by 2008. To this end, he
said he would work with ambassadors from A-3 countries in
Washington to promote their NATO bids. The Senator also
noted with approval the high percentage of Macedonians who
support membership in NATO.


4. (SBU) Macedonian officials welcomed the Senator's
statements regarding NATO expansion, and pledged to continue
undertaking the difficult reforms necessary to meet NATO
political criteria. All agreed on the importance of the
conduct of the summer parliamentary elections for Macedonia's
NATO prospects. President Crvenkovski acknowledged the
necessity of avoiding public discussion of timelines for NATO
accession, but said that, privately, he hoped Macedonia would
receive an invitation at the 2008 summit. FM Mitreva asked
the Senator for a U.S. Senate resolution in support of
Macedonia's NATO candidacy; he replied that such a resolution
would be impractical at this time, but that a resolution by
NATO's interparliamentary body in support of further NATO
enlargement is a possibility that he was interested in
exploring.

MACEDONIA WILL FOLLOW INTERNATIONAL LEAD ON KOSOVO
-------------- --------------


5. (SBU) On Kosovo, the Senator described to Macedonian
officials his view of how the Kosovo final status progress
would progress and shared his insights from a visit the
previous day to Pristina and Camp Bondsteel. He noted that
Belgrade and Pristina remain sharply divided on the status
question, and predicted that neither side would get exactly
what it wanted from the negotiations. In particular, he
said, U.S. soldiers at Camp Bondsteel reported to him that
many Kosovar Albanian villagers with whom they speak have
unrealistically high expectations of full independence by the
summer of 2006. Whatever the results of the final status
talks, the Senator added, NATO allies should seriously
consider strengthening (rather than drawing down) NATO forces
in the region.


6. (SBU) Senator Voinovich's interlocutors largely agreed
with his assessment of the situation in Kosovo, and indicated
their continued intention to follow the Contact Group's lead
as the status talks progress. President Crvenkovski stressed
that the PISG had not made sufficient progress on steps to
protect the Serbian minority in Kosovo. He noted that Serbia
is already in a sensitive situation due to the search for
Ratko Mladic and the upcoming referendum in Montenegro.
Teuta Arifi, vice president of the ethnic Albanian coalition
partner DUI, said she believed that independence for Kosovo
would help stabilize the region.


7. (SBU) On the question of border demarcation, the Senator
agreed with Macedonian officials on the importance of
demarcating the Kosovo-Macedonia border, saying the
demarcation issue should be addressed as part of the final
status negotiations. President Crvenkovski said an early
demarcation of the border would further underline that Kosovo
has no territorial pretensions toward Macedonia; FM Mitreva
referenced last year's Eide Report and its recommendation
that the issue be resolved quickly.

SENATOR THANKS MACEDONIA FOR IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN TROOPS
-------------- --------------


8. (SBU) The Senator thanked Macedonia for its contributions
of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and stressed the importance
of the fight against terrorism. Macedonian officials, in
turn, pledged their continued support for coalition
activities in Iraq and Afghanistan and emphasized the
importance of bilateral ties between Macedonia and the U.S.

POSITIVE PRESS FOCUSES ON KOSOVO, NATO, NAME ISSUE
-------------- --------------


9. (U) Coverage of the Senator's visit to Macedonia was
extensive; all six national television stations aired
primetime news reports highlighting the Senator's statements
that he strongly supported the U.S. government's recognition
of the country's constitutional name and his prediction that
the name issue would not be an obstacle to Macedonia's NATO
or EU accession. Senator Voinovich's statement that border
demarcation issues should be addressed as part of a final
status settlement and his expression of appreciation to
Macedonia for its military support of coalition operations in
Iraq and Afghanistan were also positively featured in press
coverage of the visit.


10. (U) The office of Senator Voinovich did not have an
opportunity to clear this message.
MILOVANOVIC