MACEDONIA: AMBASSADOR NULAND URGES PRESIDENT AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SKOPJE 000533 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/SCE E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/04/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV NATO MK SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: AMBASSADOR NULAND URGES PRESIDENT AND PRIME MINISTER TO PRESS HOME NATO REFORMS REF: SKOPJE 418 Classified By: P/E CHIEF SHUBLER, REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). SUMMARY ¶1. (U) During separate meetings with President Crvenkovski and PM Gruevski on the margins of the NATO EAPC Security Forum in Ohrid June 29, Ambassador Nuland urged the GOM to maintain steady progress toward meeting NATO standards in the crucial months leading up to NATO's Bucharest Summit in April ¶2008. To win Allied consensus to invite Macedonia into the Alliance, she said, more needed to be done to demonstrate the maturity of the country's political institutions, to improve relations with Greece and Bulgaria, and to launch diplomatic efforts to persuade key NATO allies that Macedonia is headed in the right direction. She also stressed that NATO would judge aspirants individually; there would be no "package approach" to membership. ¶2. (C) Both Crvenkovski and Gruevski cited recent progress on the political front, with Crvenkovski pointing to a "broad national consensus" in favor of NATO membership. Gruevski pledged to implement the May 29 agreement with opposition DUI (reftel),and to continue the GOM's focus on combating corruption and trafficking in persons. Neither Crvenkovski nor Gruevski thought a resolution of the name issue was likely soon, but they agreed to pursue measures to demonstrate "good neighborliness" toward Athens and to show restraint in public comments on the name dispute. The meeting with Gruevski helped boost momentum toward a government-opposition consensus on judicial reforms, and toward implementing the May 29 agreement. We will use additional leverage, including FM Milososki's upcoming visit to Washington, to sustain that momentum. End summary. KEY MESSAGES -- SHOW POLITICAL MATURITY, GOOD NEIGHBORLY RELATIONS, TELL YOUR STORY ¶3. (U) USNATO Ambassador Nuland, accompanied by Ambassador Milovanovic, met separately with President Crvenkovski and Prime Minister Gruevski on the margins of the NATO EAPC Security Forum in Ohrid on June 29. PM Gruevski was accompanied by FM Milososki, MOD Elenovski, and National NATO Coordinator Ambassador Dimitrov. ¶4. (SBU) During both meetings, Ambassador Nuland underscored the need for Macedonia to show quick and steady progress toward meeting NATO standards. That included demonstrating the maturity of the country's political institutions, including full implementation of the May 29 agreement between Gruevski's VMRO party and the opposition DUI party (reftel); taking measures to foster good neighborly relations with Greece and Bulgaria; and launching diplomatic efforts to persuade key NATO allies that Macedonia is heading in the right direction. She emphasized that there was little time left for accomplishing these tasks, and said she would return to the region with a USG interagency team in November to assess aspirants' progress. She stressed that NATO would judge aspirants individually before the 2008 summit; there would be no "package approach" to offering membership. BROAD CONSENSUS ON NATO MEMBERSHIP ¶5. (SBU) President Crvenkovski, noting that the successful hosting of the EAPC Security Forum had demonstrated Macedonia's organizational capacity, acknowledged that the country had to demonstrate it could meet NATO standards in the coming months. He pointed to the "broad consensus" at the national level in support of NATO membership, and said that an earlier lack of government-opposition communication had been overcome. There was now "permanent communication" with the opposition focused on reforms, including judicial reforms. Decentralization would begin July 1, and the GOM was trying to ensure a draft religious freedom law met Venice Commission standards. The "working atmosphere" had improved and the country was headed in a positive direction. If Macedonia met NATO membership criteria, the President hoped the country could count on USG support in membership deliberations in Brussels. Ambassador Nuland affirmed support for Macedonia's NATO aspirations, but stressed that Macedonia had to convince not only the U.S., but all 26 Allies, that it was ready to join the Alliance. SKOPJE 00000533 002 OF 002 POLITICAL MATURITY -- IMPLEMENTING MAY 29 AGREEMENT ¶6. (SBU) PM Gruevski said the political situation in Macedonia had improved since the conclusion of the May 29 agreement with DUI. He pledged that the government would take steps to fully implement the agreement, including convening working groups on a draft law on the use of languages, and on providing benefits for victims of the 2001 inter-ethnic conflict. He also pledged to continue combating corruption and trafficking in persons. The GOM was consulting with Macedonia's religious communities on the religious freedom law, and was moving ahead with phase II of the decentralization process mandated by the 2001 Ohrid Framework Agreement (FWA). NAME ISSUE -- RESOLUTION UNLIKELY, BUT WILLING TO SHOW GOODWILL ¶7. (C) On the name issue, Crvenkovski said he was pessimistic about reaching a solution in the short-term, but acknowledged the need to demonstrate goodwill toward Athens. Parties in Greece were trying to exploit the name issue for political purposes, he contended, but the GOM had badly miscalculated by renaming the Skopje Airport "Alexander the Great Airport;" he assessed that it would be politically difficult for the Prime Minister to retract that decision now. It was essential in the meantime for the government to avoid further provocative actions, and to reach out to the Greek side. He noted that proposals to raise monuments and statues to Alexander the Great had been shelved to avoid exacerbating the situation. Crvenkovski added that he, the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister had agreed not to make public statements on the name issue that could be viewed by Athens as provocative. ¶8. (C) PM Gruevski said the GOM would try to avoid negative public comments on the name issue. FM Milososki added that he hoped to meet with Greek FM Bakoyannis during some upcoming multi-lateral event to discuss the matter. Ambassador Nuland pressed Gruevski to ensure GOM restraint in public comments on the name dispute both before and after the Greek elections; Ambassador Milovanovic urged the GOM to "swallow its pride" and show restraint on the name issue in order to stay focused on its primary goal of NATO membership. Gruevski added that the GOM recently had clarified "some misunderstandings" with Sofia, and that he was planning to visit Bulgaria in September to further shore up relations. COMMENT ¶9. (C) Ambassador Nuland's meeting with Gruevski helped domestically to boost momentum in implementing the May 29 agreement and in moving forward on judicial reforms. The government and opposition (minus DUI) met over the weekend and on July 2 to reach agreement on several key points regarding judicial reforms, including the draft Law on the Public Prosecutor. Following a telcon with Ambassador Milovanovic on July 2, in which she reminded him of his pledge to Ambassador Nuland to fully implement the May 29 agreement, Gruevski agreed to convene on July 3 the first session of the Working Groups to begin implementing provisions of that agreement. In order to sustain that momentum, we will continue to prod the GOM, including using the upcoming July 10 meeting planned between FM Milososki and the Secretary to ensure progress continues. ¶10. (U) This cable was cleared by USNATO. MILOVANOVIC