NATIONWIDE MEDIA APPEARANCES IN SERBIA BY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 001086

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

EUR/PPD RCABRAL; EUR/SCE DAVID SCHROEDER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PBTS PGOV KPAO SCUL SR MW YI
SUBJECT: NATIONWIDE MEDIA APPEARANCES IN SERBIA BY
OUTGOING AMBASSADOR MICHAEL C. POLT



1. Summary: From July 17-26 outgoing U.S. Ambassador
to Serbia Michael C. Polt conducted a series of
interviews with a broad spectrum of Serbian media in
which he forcefully conveyed messages on U.S.
ambitions for Kosovo, Serbia and the region. The
Ambassador reiterated that the U.S. supports
supervised independence for Kosovo and a Serbia fully
integrated into the Euro-Atlantic community. The
interviews reached huge numbers of the viewing and
reading public in Serbia, ensuring that critical USG
messages, especially on Kosovo and future bilateral
relations, could not be misinterpreted. End Summary.


2. During his last weeks at post, Ambassador Polt gave
a series of interviews to a spectrum of Serbian media
outlets, including local Radio Velika Plana,
Vojvodina-based daily Gradjanski List, wide
circulation Belgrade daily Blic, wire service BETA,
national broadcaster TV B92 and influential daily
Danas. Excerpts of the interviews were subsequently
carried by other Serbian print media and news agencies
(RTS, TV Pink, TV Avala, TV Vojvodina, Politika,
Vecernje Novosti, Blic, Kurir, Dana, etc) ensuring
that the Ambassador's message of the need for a final
resolution on Kosovo and a future path towards
integration with the West for Serbia was multiplied
many times over. Highlights of the coverage follow.

MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
--------------


3. In an extensive interview with Novi Sad-based
daily Gradjanski List titled "People are More
Important than a Piece of Land," Ambassador Polt
explained that Kosovo is not a precedent that will
trigger a domino effect in other breakaway regions
throughout the world and stressed that Kosovo is a
unique case. He stated that he very much respected
the significance Serbia attaches to Kosovo in
historical and religious terms as well as in the
context of the nation's ancestral heritage. He also
said that the unresolved status of Kosovo prevents
Serbia, Kosovo and the entire region from making
progress. Ambassador Polt reiterated that he hopes
Kosovo will have the status of supervised independence
by the end of the year and assessed that such an
outcome will lead to a stronger and more successful
Serbia, fully integrated in the Euro-Atlantic family
of nations. He added that RussiaQs backing of the
Serbian governmentQs position on Kosovo did not
contribute to reaching an agreement.


4. In a farewell interview with daily Blic,
Ambassador Polt described his mandate in Serbia as
"intensive." The daily wrote that the Ambassador said
a new resolution on Kosovo is not possible in the UNSC
because Russia, on behalf of Serbia, has blocked the
process in spite of many offered draft resolutions.
"Kosovo's status has to be resolved and if that is not
possible within the UNSC, we will find another way to
reach a solution," said the Ambassador.


5. In an interview with BETA news agency that was
also carried by RTS, Fox, TV stations Kosava, Pink and
Avala and dailies Politika, Vecernje Novosti and
Kurir, Ambassador Polt said that the U.S. will work
with the EU and Russia, if the latter wants to
cooperate, to ensure that after 120 days of
negotiation Kosovo status will be resolved. The U.S.
believes that independence is the best solution for
Kosovo and intends to see it implemented, if not
through a UNSC resolution, then in some other way, the
Ambassador told BETA, adding that even though the U.S.
backs independence, it does not agree with Kosovo
unilaterally declaring independence.


6. In his farewell interview with TV B92, aired
during prime time on July 26, Ambassador Polt said
that the upcoming negotiations between Belgrade and
Pristina would be the final phase in determining the
future status of Kosovo. The Ambassador said that
while he had no high hopes for making any significant
progress, but that we should give the negotiations
one more try before wrapping up the process.
QKosovo's status will be resolved in one way or
another,Q the Ambassador stated, adding that the U.S.
continues to insist that independence is the best
solution for Kosovo. Ambassador Polt said he would
grade bilateral relations at the end of his
ambassadorial term as "B+" from the U.S. side. He

BELGRADE 00001086 002 OF 002


stated thatthe GOS would no doubt give a lower grade,"
but added that Washington was striving to make the
grade an "A."


7. On July 27, Ambassador Polt visited editors and
journalists of Belgrade daily Danas. The Ambassador,
in his last public appearance in Serbia, said that he
is still an optimist regarding Serbia's future as a
productive member of Euro-Atlantic organizations. He
also said that he was the "luckiest ambassador"
because he had had an opportunity to work with an
excellent team in the Embassy Belgrade and to meet
many average citizens across Serbia.


8. Daily Danas last week published an op-ed by
columnist Natasa Odalovic who in an interesting and
positive way described why she is sorry that
Ambassador Polt is departing. Odalovic saw the
Ambassador "as rare among ambassadors who had
difficult dealings with the government but who made
himself very available to the media, and elegantly
refused to underestimate the intelligence or hurt the
feelings of the average citizen of Serbia."


9. Comment: Ambassador Polt's "farewell statements"
received significant media coverage in Serbia. The
message clearly picked up by the local media is that
while the U.S. agreed to the resumption of
negotiations on the future status of Kosovo, the U.S.
position on independence had not changed. The
Ambassador repeatedly stated that "the U.S. is a
friend, not an enemy of Serbia" despite its
disagreements on the Kosovo issue. The Ambassador's
messages strongly reflected and repeated recent
statements by President Bush, the Secretary, U/S
Burns, A/S Fried and other senior USG officials on
Kosovo's status and U.S.-Serbia relations.
Nonetheless, the Serbian media and the general public
continue to cling to their emotional understanding of
the Kosovo issue ("K-Albanians are trying to rob
Serbia of 15% of its territory with the help of the
Americans.") We will therefore continue public
outreach efforts with optimistic and future-oriented
messages

POLT