KOSOVO UPDATE: D'ALEMA REITERATES SUPPORT FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 001014 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/11/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV NATO UNSC YI SR IT SUBJECT: KOSOVO UPDATE: D'ALEMA REITERATES SUPPORT FOR AHTISAARI REF: A) ROME 1011 B) ROME 827 AND PREVIOUS C) ROME 702 Classified By: Classified by Jonathan R. Cohen, Political Military Coun selor, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. Italy is becoming more vocal about its support for the Ahtisaari plan. This week, in an interview in the Italian weekly L'Espresso, FM D'Alema stated that Italy was for supervised independence and noted that Kosovo cannot go back to Belgrade rule. PM Prodi, who asserts he is personally directing Italy's Kosovo policy, has told the Ambassador that he fully supports Kosovar independence. MFA Director General for European Affairs Laura Mirachian, speaking at a May 9 roundtable organized by the influential think tank Center for Strategic Studies and International Politics, stated that although Italy has concerns about standards, there is no alternative to the Ahtisaari proposal. Earlier this month, the Margherita Party, a major force in the governing coalition, published an article in their weekly newsletter drawn largely from post-provided talking points supporting supervised independence for Kosovo. The MFA dismissed an opposition party member's claim that a parliamentary advisory on Kosovo prohibited the government from supporting an imposed solution as being nonbinding and irrelevant. End summary. ¶2. (C) FM D'Alema took a major step forward in clarifying Italy's position on Kosovo this week when he told an interviewer from the Italian news weekly L'Espresso that Italy's position is identical to that of the EU - full support for the Ahtisaari plan, including support for supervised independence for Kosovo. D'Alema stated that Serbia lost Kosovo after it revoked Kosovo's autonomy, invaded and attempted to ethnically cleanse the province. He added that there would be no return to Belgrade rule and Serbia should look toward a European future. ¶3. (C) PM Prodi told the Ambassador on May 10 that he is personally directing Italy's Kosovo policy (ref a). Prodi had told the Ambassador in an earlier meeting that his office fully supports supervised independence for Kosovo through a UN Security Council Resolution (ref c). ¶4. (C) MFA DG for European Affairs Laura Mirachian told an audience at a May 9 roundtable discussion organized by the Center for Strategic Studies and International Politics (CSSPI) that the decision on Kosovo's future status was the final chapter in the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia. She added that although Italy remains concerned about standards, there is no alternative to the Ahtisaari plan. ¶5. (C) The Margherita Party, a major force in the governing coalition, published an article by Lapo Pistelli, a Margherita MEP, and Luca Bader, foreign affairs advisor to the party. The article, drafted almost entirely from points provided by post, praised the work of the UNOSEK and supported supervised independence for Kosovo. ¶6. (C) During the CSSPI conference a member of former PM Berlusconi's opposition Forza Italia party claimed that a March parliamentary declaration calling for a peaceful and negotiated settlement for Kosovo was binding on the government. MFA Balkans Office Director Raimondo De Cardona told poloff May 11 that the declaration was neither binding nor relevant, and said the MFA is in regular contact with the foreign affairs committees of the Senate and Parliament, both of which were in full support of the Ahtisaari proposal. Spogli