Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07SOFIA172
2007-02-09 14:48:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Sofia
Cable title:  

BULGARIA READY TO HELP AHTISAARI

Tags:  PREL PGOV UN UNMIK YI BG 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO3441
OO RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHSF #0172 0401448
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 091448Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY SOFIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3180
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHPS/USOFFICE PRISTINA PRIORITY 0378
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SOFIA 000172 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

EUR/SCT, EUR/ERA, AND EUR/NCE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/08/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV UN UNMIK YI BG
SUBJECT: BULGARIA READY TO HELP AHTISAARI

REF: STATE 15235

Classified By: DCM Alex Karagiannis for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SOFIA 000172

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

EUR/SCT, EUR/ERA, AND EUR/NCE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/08/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV UN UNMIK YI BG
SUBJECT: BULGARIA READY TO HELP AHTISAARI

REF: STATE 15235

Classified By: DCM Alex Karagiannis for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Ahtisaari deputy Albert Rohan asked Bulgarian
Foreign Minister Kalfin February 7 to try to convince
Bucharest to be more supportive of Ahtisaari's plan. In a
subsequent conversation, Prime Minister Stanishev's Foreign
Policy Advisor flagged for us the issue of the
Kosovo-Macedonia border as one that Ahtisaari needs to get
right in order to avoid destablizing Bulgaria's southwestern
neighbor. Sofia is also concered about a possible alliance
between Kostunica and the Radicals. The Stanishev government
is committed to assisting the diplomatic process in any way
that Ahtisaari and Bulgaria's allies--particularly the
U.S.--deem appropriate. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) We delivered reftel letter from PDAS Volker to his
V-10 counterparts on February 8, discussing Kosovo in both
the MFA and the Prime Minister's office. Iva Kruleva, the
MFA's chief expert on Kosovo, emphasized that Bulgaria fully
supports Ahtisaari's proposal and timeline. She said
officials here in fact would prefer an accelerated timeline
and wished the UN resolution could be passed sooner before a
government in Serbia is formed. Bulgaria is afraid that
Kostunica is considering an alliance with the Radicals and
officials see little daylight between Kostunica's recent
hardline positions on Kosovo and the Radicals. Kruleva
downplayed any Bulgarian concerns over Kostunica's threat to
reconsider relations with countries that recognize Kosovo.
She said a UN resolution would make it easier for Bulgaria to
recognize the new state and, although Sofia places a high
value on its relations with Belgrade, it could not accept
such conditions.


3. (C) Bulgarian officials are pleased that Ahtisaari's
proposal includes a plan to clearly demarcate Kosovo's
borders. Prime Minister Stanishev's Foreign Policy Advisor,
Valentin Radomirski, told us February 8 that Bulgaria had
strongly opposed removing from Ahtisaari's plan the reference
to the 2001 agreement on the demarcation of the border
between Kosovo and Macedonia. Regarding the EU, Bulgaria
firmly agrees with the need for the EU to be unified on
Kosovo. Kruleva also gave us a readout on the February 7
visit to Sofia of Ahtisaari's deputy, Albert Rohan.
According to Kruleva, Rohan asked for Bulgaria's help in
trying to convince its neighbor Romania to not fall out of
line. Foreign Minister Kalfin agreed to this request, but
said the recent resignation of Romania's Foreign Minister
could inhibit these efforts. Rohan also sought Bulgaria's
views on what Russia might be seeking for its support in the
UNSC. Bulgarian officials believe Russia wants to link
Kosovo to other issues unrelated to Serbia, possibly to
Georgian accession to NATO, as some Austrian officials have
speculated.


4. (SBU) After his meeting with Rohan, Kalfin publicly
reiterated Bulgaria's full support for Ahtisaari and his
team. Kalfin also called on Belgrade and Pristina to
constructively engage in the process. The Foreign Minister
said Bulgaria would stay actively involved in this issue and
that Sofia's main concern regarding Kosovo is to maintain
regional security.


5. (C) COMMENT. Judging from our conversations with
Radomirski and other officials, Bulgaria's greatest fears
with regards to an independent Kosovo are possible
destabilization of neighboring Macedonia, the radicalization
of Serbian politics, and the fear that Kosovo could become a
black hole of crime and criminality in Europe if its economic
and demographic problems are not addressed. Of these fears,
the first is perhaps more viscerally felt here than in
countries further afield because of Bulgaria's
sometimes-troubled "historical kinship" with its southwestern
neighbor. Despite these concerns--or perhaps because of
them--Bulgaria is fully on board with Ahtisaari's proposals
and is willing to play an active role in convincing Belgrade
and others to accept them.
KARAGIANNIS