BELGIUM: ASSESSMENT ON KOSOVO UNSCR

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 001268 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/16/2017 TAGS: EU PGOV PREL RS UNMIK UNSC YI BE SUBJECT: BELGIUM: ASSESSMENT ON KOSOVO UNSCR REF: STATE 49723 Classified By: POLCOUNS TED ANDREWS. REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) Embassy spoke April 16 with Thomas Antoine, the Belgian MFA's Director for the Balkans. Antoine said Russian Ambassador Lukov met with MFA officials two weeks ago to discuss Kosovo. Antoine indicated there was no lobbying, but Lukov did discuss Russian concerns about the proposals on Kosovo. Antoine said there were "no surprises" and the meeting led him to believe a "soft no from Belgrade" was coming on the proposals. According to Antoine, Belgian officials tried to urge more flexibility, indicating to Lukov the consequences for regional stability would be worse without the Ahtisaari plan or a UN resolution. ¶2. (C) Antoine reiterated his own preference for a longer timeline, but said Belgium would support a resolution affirming the Ahtisaari plan, calling Ahtisaari's proposal the "lesser evil." He thought attempts should be made to assuage Belgrade's fears, but noted the long term priority was for Serbia and Kosovo to exist together peacefully. ¶3. (SBU) Belgian Ambassador to the UN Verbeke will reportedly lead a UNSC mission to Kosovo at the end of April. The trip, scheduled for April 25 to 27, will include stops in Brussels, Belgrade, and Pristina. IMBRIE