Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07DUBLIN102
2007-02-09 12:57:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Dublin
Cable title:  

IRELAND'S VIEWS ON KOSOVO (IN ADVANCE OF THE

Tags:  PREL PGOV EUN KPAL IE 
pdf how-to read a cable
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RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDL #0102 0401257
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 091257Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY DUBLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7943
INFO RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
C O N F I D E N T I A L DUBLIN 000102 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/09/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV EUN KPAL IE
SUBJECT: IRELAND'S VIEWS ON KOSOVO (IN ADVANCE OF THE
FEBRUARY 12-13 GAERC)

REF: A. STATE 13840


B. STATE 12957

Classified By: Embassy Dublin Pol/Econ Chief Joe Young
for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L DUBLIN 000102

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/09/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV EUN KPAL IE
SUBJECT: IRELAND'S VIEWS ON KOSOVO (IN ADVANCE OF THE
FEBRUARY 12-13 GAERC)

REF: A. STATE 13840


B. STATE 12957

Classified By: Embassy Dublin Pol/Econ Chief Joe Young
for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D)


1. (C) Summary: The Irish Government strongly supports
Special Envoy Martii Ahtisaari's efforts in Kosovo and his
recommendations for a status solution, which it sees as
bringing peace and stability to the whole of the Balkans,
according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). While
the Irish Government does not want to see undue delay in the
process of negotiating the recommendations, it thinks a short
delay for a compelling reason would make sense. Ireland
believes that EU Member States wish to achieve consensus on
their approach to Kosovo. Ireland's bottom line: The EU must
band together in the UNSC to produce an unequivocal UNSCR in
support of Ahtisaari's recommendations. End summary.


2. (C) POLOFF delivered reftel demarches on February 8 to
Pat Kelly, European Correspondent, Department of Foreign
Affairs (DFA) and Jim Kelly, Director, Europe Office,
Political Division, DFA. (Note: GAERC demarche items, other
than Kosovo, are reported septel.)


3. (C) Jim Kelly noted that Ireland has consistently been a
strong supporter of Special Envoy Ahtisaari's efforts in
Kosovo and is pleased with his recommendations for a status
solution. Recognizing Serb sensitivities to Kosovo's
autonomy, Kelly said he looks forward to the next few weeks
of consultation and negotiation as a time during which the
people in the Balkans can get used to the idea, and during
which Ahtisaari's proposal can be fine-tuned for presentation
to the UNSC. He said that Ireland intends to pitch the
coming weeks as a period of consultation -- akin to the
process that has advanced the peace process in Northern
Ireland in recent months. Rather than allowing the debate to
hinge on whether the recommendations are anti-Serb, Ireland
will cast the debate in terms of how Ahtisaari's
recommendations will bring peace and stability to the entire
Balkan region.


4. (C) Ireland generally sees nothing to be gained by delay
in the process of consultation and negotiation, Kelly noted.
However, he pointed out that waiting a few additional days
for a compelling reason -- say, for the Serbian Parliament to
be formed so the negotiating team could be appointed by the
Parliament -- would make sense.


5. (C) Kelly pointed out that the future of Kosovo is
personal for the Irish. Towards summer, as a Framework
Nation, Ireland will take over leadership of a section of
KFOR and increase its troops on the ground in Kosovo from 210
to nearly 300.


6. (C) Among EU Member States, Kelly said, there exists a
strong push for consensus on Kosovo. Ireland, in particular,
will insist on unity, recognizing that any split within the
EU ranks will embolden opponents of Ahtisaari's
recommendations, hobble the UNSC, and create dangerous
regional uncertainty within the Balkans. Ireland will urge
Serbia to cooperate with the UNSC on Kosovo. Nonetheless,
Kelly pointed out, any sweeteners for Serbia, such as the
resumption of the Stabilization and Association Agreement
(SAA),would have to grounded in real Serbian commitments and
considered within an all-Balkans context. In the case of the
SAA, this would include cooperation with the International
Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and demonstrated
respect for human rights. Kelly indicated that Ireland would
oppose letting Serbia off the hook in order to gain
cooperation on Kosovo, saying that such action would only
perpetuate destabilization in the Balkans.


7. (C) When asked about what shadow Russia might cast over
the EU deliberations on Kosovo, Kelly predicted that there
would be little effect at the GAERC, saying that the real
showdown with Russia, if any, will be at the UNSC. He
discounted Russian predictions that independence for Kosovo
would lead to a surge of independence momentum in Russian
regions such as Chechnya. Each conflicted region has a
unique set of circumstances at the genesis of its problems,
which, he said, has little connection to the difficulties of
other regions.


8. (C) Ireland's Goal: Kelly said that Ireland wants the EU
to band together in the UNSC to produce an unequivocal UNSCR
in support of Ahtisaari's recommendations.
FOLEY