RUSSIA CHALLENGES POSITIVE JESSEN-PETERSEN REPORT

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 001251

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/21/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL UNMIK YI
SUBJECT: RUSSIA CHALLENGES POSITIVE JESSEN-PETERSEN REPORT
ON KOSOVO

Classified By: Ambassador Jackie Sanders, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: During a June 20 Security Council meeting on
the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK),
SRSG Soren Jessen-Petersen praised new Kosovo President
Fatmir Sejdiu and Prime Minister Agim Ceku for action on
reforms and accelerated progress on standards implementation,
but called for further progress. Jessen-Petersen also called
on Belgrade to allow Kosovo Serbs to participate in Kosovo's
institutions and democratic processes. Coordination Center
for Kosovo and Metohija (CCK) President Sandra Roskovic-Ivic
also spoke before the Council, presenting familiar legalistic
arguments and a long list of alleged incidents of ethnic
violence against Serbs and other minorities in Kosovo.
Jessen-Petersen offered a spirited rebuttal to
Raskovic-Ivic's comments, stating he "did not recognize" the
Kosovo she had described.


2. (C) Most Security Council members echoed the SRSG's
praise of Pristina's progress on standards implementation
since his last report in January and supported his call for
sustained progress. They also reinforced his appeal to
Belgrade to allow Serbs greater participation in the
democratic process in Kosovo. Russian Permanent
Representative Ambassador Churkin, however, rejected the
SRSG's assessment, accusing Jessen-Petersen of "retouching
reality in Kosovo." He also said Russia opposed imposition of
an "arbitrary timeframe" to resolve Kosovo's status. Churkin
argued that the international community should not allow
itself "to be blackmailed by the argument that if a status
outcome is not achieved in 2006 then there might be renewed
violence." The representative of Slovakia also asserted that
Jessen-Petersen's report is not "fully representative" of the
situation, although he confirmed Slovakia's commitment to
KFOR. End summary.

SRSG Delivers Positive Message on Standards Implementation
-------------- --------------


3. (C) In his last appearance before the Security Council as
SRSG (he is resigning due to his wife's illness),Soren
Jessen-Petersen reviewed his recent positive report on
standards implementations in Kosovo. Kosovo was represented
by Prime Minister Agim Ceku, who was present at the meeting
as a member of the SRSG's entourage, but made no statement.
It was only the second appearance at a UNSC meeting on Kosovo
by a Kosovar Albanian. Kosovo, said Jessen-Petersen, had
recorded significant progress on standards implementation
since his February appearance before the Security Council,
when he had reported a slowdown in standards implementation.
Kosovo is now "a picture of a society making progress" and
Prime Minister Ceku had brought "great determination and
energy" to his post since March. Jessen-Petersen argued the
international community could "expect further concrete
achievements over the coming months." He described the new
leadership's progress in reaching out to Kosovo Serbs,
including the recent establishment of a Communities Security
Council. The incidence of violent incidents had decreased,
said Jessen-Petersen, cautioning that it was wrong to ascribe
ethnic causes to incidents before they were investigated.


4. (C) Belgrade, the SRSG emphasized, needed to allow
Kosovo's Serbs to participate more directly in democratic
processes in Kosovo and should rescind a directive to Serbs
working in certain Kosovo institutions to choose between
their Belgrade and Pristina salaries. Jessen-Petersen stated
that the status process is now of the "highest importance in
Kosovo's political life," with all activities in Kosovo
taking place in its context. UNMIK now offered only
diminishing marginal returns because -- after seven years --
there was not much more that could be done without a decision
on status. Kosovo's new leaders are offering a vision for
the future that is fully aligned with the Guiding Principles
of the Contact Group.

CCK President Raskovic-Ivic: Legalistic Arguments
-------------- --------------


5. (C) In a lengthy statement that offered mostly legalistic
arguments against independence for Kosovo, CCK President
Raskovic-Ivic called on the UN Security Council to guarantee
the "consistent implementation of principles of international
law," recalling UNSCR 1244's reaffirmation of the sovereignty
and territorial integrity of Serbia. Raskovic-Ivic asserted
that the SRSG's report "did not accurately reflect the
situation regarding the implementation of standards."
Claiming that human rights were being violated on a
mass-scale in Kosovo, Raskovic-Ivic presented a lengthy list


of figures on alleged ethnically motivated crimes. She
agreed that it is important for Kosovo Serbs to play an
active role in Kosovo's political process, but stipulated
only "if their participation in these institutions is
meaningful." Raskovic-Ivic alleged an unjustifiable transfer
of some of UNMIK's competencies to the Provisional
Institutions of Self-Government (PISG),and said this action
prejudged the outcome of the status process. Speaking
rhetorically, she claimed confidence that the international
community would "not submit to pressures to break up a
democracy" and that the Security Council "would act in a just
manner."


6. (C) At the end of the meeting, Jessen-Petersen offered a
point-by-point rebuttal of her description of the situation
for Kosovar Albanians, noting that he had lived there for two
years and "did not recognize" the portrait of Kosovo conveyed
by Raskovic-Ivic's statement. He reported that UNMIK
investigations indicated that only a slim fraction of the
enumerated incidents were actually confirmable cases of
ethnically-motivated violence. He expressed confidence in
Ceku's willingness to take further action, and stated his
hope that IDP involvement in planning for the return of
Kosovar Albanians would increase the number of returnees.

Russia: Strong Repudiation of SRSG's Conclusions
-------------- ---


7. (C) Russian Permrep Vitaly Churkin delivered a harsh
statement repudiating Jessen-Petersen's briefing on every
point. Churkin alleged the UNMIK report of "retouching
reality in Kosovo," and asserted that "peripheral positives
on standards implementation did not compensate for overall
failure." Churkin, too, cited numerous figures on supposedly
ethnically motivated crimes. Churkin repeated several times
that Kosovo was not a unique case. (Comment: He was
apparently reinforcing recent statements by President Putin
calling for a universal solution to Kosovo.) He described
the non-participation of Serbs in Kosovo's institutions as
proof that Kosovo was still far from achieving a multi-ethnic
society. Churkin said that the international community
should not allow itself "to be blackmailed by the argument
that if a status outcome is not achieved in 2006 then there
might be renewed violence." Russia, he concluded, is
categorically against "attempts to defer standards
implementation to the post-status period" and opposes
"arbitrary timeframes" that specify completion of the process
in 2006." (Comment: At a dinner June 19 hosted by Greek PR
Vassilakis for the SRSG and attended by U.S. Ambassador
Sanders, Churkin pressed Jessen-Petersen to make explicit the
consequences of not acting by the end of the year, and shook
his head in disagreement as the SRSG tried to provide
compelling reasons about expectations.)

US, UK and French Statements
--------------


8. (C) Delivering the US statement, Political-Minister
Counselor William Brencick thanked Jessen-Petersen for his
work as SRSG and praised President Sejdiu and Ceku and their
bold calls for action, but agreed more work was needed to
build confidence among Kosovo's minorities. He also called
on Belgrade to allow Serb participation in Kosovo's
institutions and for continued implementation of standards
even after the determination of status. Brencick stressed
that all parties should support Special Envoy Ahtisaari.


9. (C) UK Deputy Permanent Representative Ambassador Karen
Pierce said more work would be needed to follow up on
standards implementation and announced the UK looked forward
to important steps by the Kosovo Assembly in the coming
weeks. The UK contested the argument that Serb participation
in Kosovo's institutions should be conditioned on
decentralization and voiced support for Ahtisaari and the
Guiding Principles of the Contact Group. French Permrep de La
Sabliere echoed the praise of others for progress on
standards implementation. He noted, however, that UNMIK and
the Contact Group's thirteen priorities must still be rapidly
implemented; such action would be important when the time
came to determine status. De La Sabliere said because
dialogue under Ahtisaari had intensified and Kosovo's
negotiating team had made constructive proposals, it now
appeared possible to find common ground.

Statements By Other Countries
--------------


10. (C) In Slovakia's statement, Deputy Permanent


Representative Matulay argued that the SRSG's report had
failed to address key issues including: the ability of
Kosovo's institutions to meet challenges of democratization
and the rule of law with an emphasis on the issue of
international organized crime, Kosovo's economic and
political sustainability, Kosovo's preparedness for
multi-ethnic coexistence and whether a post-status Kosovo
could contribute to regional stability. Slovakia cited
progress on standards implementation, but questioned the
directness of the SRSG's report on the question of whether
progress was sufficient to move forward on the status issue.
Slovakia also criticized the Contact Group for "redefining
and narrowing key standards" and asserted that the thirteen
priority standards needed overview from the Security Council,
not just from the Contact Group. Slovakia called on Belgrade
to allow Serbs to participate in Kosovo's institutions and
argued against an imposed solution or any action that would
give the international community the impression that "the
outcome of the final status talks had already been
prejudged."


11. (C) As interested parties, Austria and Albania also made
statements. Speaking on behalf of the EU, Austrian
Ambassador Gerhard Pfanzelter praised accelerated
implementation of standards, which he described as a
prerequisite for fulfillment of Kosovo's European
perspective; he also noted the EU's adoption of the "European
Partnership" document last December. Albanian Permanent
Representative Adrian Neritani praised Ceku and his
achievements in standards implementation and promised that
Albania would play an active and constructive role in close
cooperation with the international community. Neritani also
called for the status process to be completed within 2006 and
expressed strong support for the Guiding Principles of the
Contact Group.
BOLTON