Serbia: President and Foreign Minister Defend Dayton

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 001480

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL BH SR
SUBJECT: Serbia: President and Foreign Minister Defend Dayton
Accords

Refs: (A) Sarajevo 2266 and previous, (B) State 149183

Summary
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1. Both President Tadic and Prime Minister Jeremic, in separate
meetings on October 30 reaffirmed Serbia's support for the Dayton
Accords as one of the "guarantors," and criticized High
Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina Miroslav Lajcak for taking
measures in Bosnia contrary to the accords. They defended Bosnian
Serb Prime Minister Milorad Dodik's actions saying he represented
the "will of the people of Republika Srpska." Jeremic cautioned
representatives of the Quint (UK, U.S, Italy, France and Germany)
that the situation in the region was explosive. Tadic's Foreign
Policy Advisor Markovic told Charge that "every single action (in
the former Yugoslavia) is interconnected" and that the international
community had to be especially cautious in the upcoming months.
Markovic added that even though 99% of the population of Republika
Srpska saw their destiny within Serbia, the Serbian Government's
staunch policy was to defend the unity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
End Summary.

Quint Demarche
--------------


2. With the UK Ambassador Wordsworth in the lead, representatives
of the Quint demarched Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic on
Serbia's inaccurate and inflammatory statements regarding recent
actions of Bosnia's High Representative Miroslav Lajcak.
Furthermore Wordsworth urged Jeremic to use Serbia's influence in
Bosnia and Herzegovina to defuse tensions and help the country
progress in line with Dayton.


3. Noting he would study the Quint demarche in detail, Jeremic said
Serbia also was strongly concerned about recent events in Bosnia and
Herzegovina and in the region as a whole. He said he wanted to work
together with the Quint and the international community to defuse
tensions, in particular in advance of the "delicate" weeks and
months ahead. Jeremic emphasized that Serbia remained committed to
EU and European-Atlantic integration, but that Serbia's and the
Quint's ideas of pace were perhaps different.


4. The Republika Srpska (RS),he said, was defined by the Dayton
Accords and RS institutions were democratic institutions
representing the will of the people who lived there. Jeremic warned
the Quint that during an October 29 vote in the RS Assembly,
deputies had overwhelmingly supported Dodik, 71-6.


5. Nevertheless, Jeremic said, the policy of the Serbian Government
was to support unity in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Serbia, as a
guarantor of Dayton was worried about developments there, including
Lajcak's recent actions. "We don't want to get into the core of
Bosnian politics," he said, but Lajcak's actions were impossible to
ignore. "The last thing we want to do is inflame tensions," Jeremic
said.


6. Jeremic further warned the Quint that all in the region were
faced with a serious threat to stability in the coming weeks and
that the Serbian Government would do all in its power to prevent
future negative developments.


7. Following Wordsworth's defense of Lajcak's actions on the
grounds that they were warranted in the face of complete paralysis
of Bosnian institutions, Jeremic said that the basis of Dayton was
for all three constituent groups to agree to any action. Jeremic
said there was complete agreement among Bosnian Serbs that Lajcak's
actions were directed exclusively against them. Jeremic agreed,
however that Bosnian Serb withdrawal from Bosnia's institutions
would be unhelpful and said the Serbian Government would encourage
Dodik to "reach out" to Lajcak.


8. When Quint representatives were asked to participate, Charge
noted that the USG was in complete agreement with the UK-drafted
demarche and that Washington remained highly engaged on this issue.
She added that she had no doubt Jeremic fully understood the
demarche and encouraged him to balance rhetoric on Bosnian issues
with the bigger picture of achieving peace and stability in the
Balkans.

Tadic Gives Same Message to German Foreign Ministry Political
Director
-------------- ---


9. The Quint demarche coincided with the visit of German Foreign
Ministry Political Director Volker Stanzel. According to
Presidential Foreign Policy Advisor Jovan Ratkovic, with whom Charge
spoke following an Israeli Embassy event honoring Serbs who helped
save Jews during WWII, Tadic gave Stanzel the identical message:

-- Serbia was committed to Bosnian unity,


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-- Lajcak's actions were ill-timed and ill-advised, and

-- Given the current climate absolutely nothing could happen in the
former Yugoslavia without implications elsewhere in the region.

BRUSH