Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BELGRADE1252
2007-09-07 18:41:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Belgrade
Cable title:  

KOSOVO WEEKLY: DS HITS BACK AT DSS RHETORIC

Tags:  PBTS PREL PGOV KPAO KV SR 
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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1427
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 001252 

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PBTS PREL PGOV KPAO KV SR
SUBJECT: KOSOVO WEEKLY: DS HITS BACK AT DSS RHETORIC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 001252

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PBTS PREL PGOV KPAO KV SR
SUBJECT: KOSOVO WEEKLY: DS HITS BACK AT DSS RHETORIC


1. (SBU) Summary: The Democratic Party (DS) responded to the
Democratic Party of Serbia's (DSS) NATO-bashing and inflammatory
comments about Serbian "use of force" or "severe measures" in
Kosovo. Serbian media covered the U.S. and EU's reactions to the
latest DSS rhetoric, which included a Kosovo Ministry official
asserting that a Kosovo unilateral declaration of independence (UDI)
would annul the 1999 Kumanovo Agreement and allow for a return of
Serbian forces to Kosovo. In high-level meetings at the Ministries
of Defense and Foreign Affairs, we expressed USG concern about these
inflammatory public statements. The MOD and MFA confirmed that the
KosMin official's remarks did not represent Government views. End
Summary.

GOS STATEMENTS AND ACTIVITY
--------------


2. (SBU) DSS officials, including the party spokesperson and several
ministers, continued to raise the specter of a UDI by Pristina after
December 10. The DSS' inflammatory rhetoric culminated in public
comments by Kosovo Ministry official Dusan Prorokovic that Serbia is
"ready to use force to prevent the West from recognizing Kosovo's
independence." In a September 5 International Herald Tribune
article that received major attention in Serbia, Prorokovic made the
most explicit threats yet by a GOS official saying that Belgrade
could legally send forces back to Kosovo and close Kosovo's borders,
among other options, if Pristina declares independence. Prorokovic
cited the 1999 Kumanovo Agreement as the legal basis preventing such
moves now but said Pristina's UDI would void the agreement.
Prorokovic said, "Without Kumanovo our army can go back without any
legal limits. It can cross the boundary and go everywhere in Kosovo
without any legal problems." Prorokovic reiterated that the GOS
considers continued talks on Kosovo status the only desirable
option.


3. (SBU) For the first time since the DS-DSS coalition government
formed in May 2007, DS officials directly criticized the DSS over
Kosovo policy. In the September 6 Financial Times, Foreign Minister
Jeremic contradicted Prorokovic and said that Serbia will not
threaten military action in Kosovo. Jeremic stressed that while a

UDI would destabilize the region, Serbia would not contribute to the
province's destabilization with either physical, military or
security measures. Jeremic said, "All legal, diplomatic and
practical means will be used to show that we do not accept the
proclamation of independence and that it is void."


4. (SBU) On September 6, Sutanovac said that the statements made by
some Serbian ministers about NATO did not represent the position of
the Serbian government, and assessed that they were politically
motivated. "Those who say they are in favor of entry into the EU
and against cooperation with NATO should know that, lately, not a
single state has entered the EU without first becoming a member of
NATO," Sutanovac underscored that the army and the Defense Ministry
had established a high degree of cooperation with NATO. Sutanovac
assessed that it was in the highest interest of Serbians who live in
Kosovo that the Serbian Army has excellent cooperation with KFOR.


5. (SBU) Embassy officers met with the Minister of Defense on
September 7 to express USG concern over the inflammatory
pronouncements of State Secretary Prorokovic and our appreciation of
the Defense Minister's public remarks to counter Prorokovic's
threats. The Minister told us (and the media) that Prorokovic did
not speak for the GOS, nor control Serbia's troop movements or
foreign policy. "As long as I head the Ministry of Defense, no
troops will be sent to Kosovo," he told us. The minister
characterized Prorokovic's remarks as a message for domestic
consumption, laying a marker to establish blame if/when "things go
badly." He accepted our point that the international community and
press make no such distinctions. Sutanovac told us that he had
received a flood of messages supporting his public statements. We
added our encouragement for more of the same, if necessary.
Sutanovac emphasized his commitment to advancing his ministry's
relationship with NATO and the West.


6. (SBU) Embassy officers also met with Borlisav Stefanovic, the new
Political Director at the MFA, to register USG concerns. Stefanovic
referred to FM Jeremic's statement and assured us that the GOS is
committed to engaging constructively to find a diplomatic and
political solution to the Kosovo issue. He added that the MFA had
received a message from its Embassy in Washington expressing USG
concerns on this issue. Stefanovic emphasized that the MFA would
work within the GOS to try to avoid such comments in the future. He
stressed, however, that these are difficult times for Serbia and
that he and others would try to be the "guardians of the right
views" of the GOS to the international community.


7. (U) President Tadic has not yet joined his ministers in
responding to DSS rhetoric. This week, he reiterated arguments
against Kosovo independence and lauded Russia's support for Serbia's
position. In an interview with the Russian news agency ITAR-TASS,
Tadic said Kosovo is not ready to become an independent state
because "right now it is impossible to create in Kosovo a modern
society capable of respecting human rights, including those of

BELGRADE 00001252 002 OF 002


citizens of non-Albanian descent." He added that using the threat
of violence as an argument to support independence is "absolutely
unacceptable" and that any state created as a result would lead to
long-term instability in the region. Tadic blamed "outside support
for Albanian separatism" for raising the expectations within Kosovo
for independence. Tadic spoke of Russia's key support for Serbia
and said that "for centuries...even in the most difficult
circumstances, Russia protected Serbia.

DIPLOMATIC ACTIVITY
--------------


8. (SBU) Sweden: According to local contacts, Swedish Foreign
Minister Carl Bildt told PM Kostunica that NATO-bashing and the PM's
threats against countries that recognize Kosovo were "unhelpful."


9. (U) UK & France: Belgrade daily Blic carried on September 7 an
op-ed written by the Foreign Ministers of France and the UK, Bernard
Kouchner and David Miliband, in which they stated that France and
the UK want Serbia in the EU as it is of crucial importance for the
future of the region but that it is difficult to imagine Serbia in
the EU without the Kosovo status issue being resolved first. The
ministers also write that both sides should be constructive in the
negotiating process. "If Belgrade cannot accept Ahtisaari's plan,
then it has responsibility to propose an alternative which would
also be acceptable to Kosovo," the ministers write according to the
daily.


10. (U) EU: Cristina Gallach, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy
chief Javier Solana, said on September 6 that recent "inflammatory
vocabulary" from Belgrade on Kosovo did not respect the agreement
reached by representatives of Serbia and the Kosovo Albanians.
Gallach said that the Serbian officials "violated the agreement less
than a week" after the August 30 meeting in Vienna.


11. (U) NATO: Serbian media conveyed NATO spokesman James Apaturai
statements that claims that NATO wants to create a state through an
independent Kosovo are "senseless because NATO does not, cannot and
does not want to create states". He added these claims are purely
political, unnecessary and undesirable from NATO's point of view.


12. (SBU) Comment: The DS took an important step forward this week
by finally standing up to the DSS on its inflammatory Kosovo
pronouncements. We will continue to encourage the generally
risk-averse DS leaders to counter (or better, prevent) remarks that
justify the use of force in Kosovo or otherwise undermine GOS
commitments to finding a diplomatic solution to Kosovo status.

MUNTER