CROATIA DETERMINED TO RESOLVE LINGERING ISSUES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 000311

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/07/2016
TAGS: PREL HR
SUBJECT: CROATIA DETERMINED TO RESOLVE LINGERING ISSUES
WITH NEIGHBORS, CEMENT REGIONAL STABILITY

REF: ZAGREB 295

Classified By: Ambassador Ralph Frank for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary and comment: MFA State Secretary Hido
Biscevic briefed Ambassador March 1 on PM Sanader,s
February 28 meetings in Tirana with Albanian and Macedonian
officials, and laid out the GOC,s plans to resolve a number
of lingering bilateral issues with Bosnia and Herzegovina
(BIH) and Serbia and Montenegro (SAM). Biscevic
underscored the PM,s commitment to contributing to regional
stability and helping to build a viable new security
architecture as the region enters a crucial period. He
emphasized that the GOC seeks an active bilateral
relationship with Belgrade, and noted that Croatian
chairmanship of the SEECP (Southeast Europe Cooperation
Process) beginning in May offers another opportunity for
Croatia to exercise responsible regional leadership over
the coming year. We are encouraged by the GOC,s expressed
desire to clear up nagging issues with its neighbors, and
by its thoughtful planning for the SEECP chair. End
summary and comment.

A-3 Meetings in Tirana


2. (C) Biscevic reported that the PM had met with his
Albanian counterpart to review bilateral economic issues,
but the bulk of the A-3 meeting, which took place in a
positive atmosphere, was about the regional situation. He
said it was evident that all three PMs wanted to cooperate
in contributing to regional stability; they also addressed
their "ambitions" for the Riga NATO Summit. (Note: The GOC
has publicly announced its desire for a 2008 invitation,
stepping back from previous feelers for an earlier
invitation. Croatian ambitions for Riga are more limited:
to attend the Summit, and to have helpful communique
language.

Kosovo and Montenegro: Threats to Regional Stability


3. (C) With regard to Kosovo, Biscevic said the GOC was
looking for a balanced, measured approach. He warned that
while "some friendly capitals" (meaning the U.S. among
others) see things as settled, great care must be taken
about reaction in the region. Ambassador Frank encouraged
Biscevic to be in touch with UNSYG Special Envoy Ahtisaari
as it is vital to do nothing which could potentially
complicate his work.


4. (C) On Montenegro, Biscevic asserted that the GOC
wants to engage helpfully in the post-referendum period.
He believes Belgrade has accepted the loss of Montenegro
and that it will "boil down to technical issues" following
the vote. He praised the work of EU special envoy Lajcak
(as former Slovakian deputy FM, a close friend and
colleague of Biscevic).

SAM: Looking for Continued Engagement and Quick Resolution
of Border Demarkation and Lists of Missing Persons and War-
crimes Indictees


5. (C) Biscevic noted that PM Sanader wants to continue
his personal engagement with his Serbian counterpart,
meeting next with Kostunica probably at the European
Peoples Party Congress in Rome on March 30. Biscevic
described the border issue with SAM, essentially a matter
of accounting for rivers shifting course over many years,
as "easier to resolve" than that with Slovenia (see reftel)
and easier to accommodate politically, perhaps at the next
meeting of the formal border commission. He acknowledged
that the Radicals in SAM had an interest in keeping the
issue open to undermine Kostunica. He also noted that
resolving the border issue would help the GOC domestically
on the refugee issue.


6. (C) Biscevic only touched on the missing persons list as
a minor bilateral irritant the GOC is eager to resolve.
(Note: The GOC hosted an early-February bilateral meeting
of the two national Missing Persons Commissions, the first
in over two years; the International Committee on Missing
Persons (ICMP) attended as an observer. Around 2500
persons are still missing in Croatia, while Serbia has
nearly completed identification of its missing. The ICMP
characterized the meeting as productive.


7. (C) Regarding the list of (mainly) ethnic Serbs
indicted or convicted in absentia for war crimes in
Croatia, Biscevic indicated that the chief state prosecutor
had nearly completed "consolidating" this list so that it
could be provided to SAM authorities. (Note: In fact
preliminary lists have changed hands already, according to
the prosecutor,s office. Ideally the list will be made

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public so that refugees fearing to return will know whether
there are indictments pending; all those convicted in
absentia have an automatic right to a new trial, and most
new trials result in overturning the original verdict.

BIH: GOC Will Seek New Ploce Agreement; Will Resolve Neum
Border


8. (C) Biscevic reported that PM Sanader would travel to
Sarajevo the first week of May. Before that trip, he
expected a working group to resolve the one small border
issue at Neum based on some new documentation. He noted
that the GOC wanted a new agreement on Ploce that is not
linked to transit through Neum, because the Parliament
would not accept it. A new agreement based on "European
practice" would be sought, with representatives of BiH
concessionaries on the port,s governing board. Biscevic
said PM Terzic had seemed positively inclined, but with
elections coming in October he may be under pressure.

SEECP: Croatian Plans for Southeast Europe Cooperation
Process Chair


9. (C) Noting that Croatia would take over the chair of
the SEECP in May, Biscevic said the GOC saw this as a
challenging period during which the group,s members would
all be affected by events in Kosovo and Montenegro, and
planned to use the institution to promote stability and
consultation. Looking to the future, the GOC hoped to
gradually merge several Stability Pact activities into the
SEECP, including education, energy, infrastructure,
investment and economic development. As the Stability
Pact withdraws from these areas, the SEECP could step in.
Clearly a link with the EU was needed, perhaps through an
SEECP office in Brussels. These were preliminary ideas
but, Biscevic said, the GOC saw the SEECP as a potential
tool for bringing the Euro-Atlantic vision more deeply into
the region. He optimistically stated that in ten years,
it would no longer be needed.
FRANK