KOSOVO STATUS: BULGARIAN PM SEES NO REASON FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SOFIA 000093

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/19/2017
TAGS: PREL SR BU
SUBJECT: KOSOVO STATUS: BULGARIAN PM SEES NO REASON FOR
DELAY, ENDORSES TADIC

REF: A. STATE 5652

B. 06 STATE 203026

Classified By: Ambassador John Beyrle, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY. Prime Minister Stanishev told the Ambassador
January 12 that Bulgaria supports Ahtisaari and that the
Kosovo final status process "cannot be dragged out." This
echoes FM Kalfin's message to the Secretary on December 19
that Ahtisaari should present his report soon after the
Serbian elections (ref B). Stanishev made a point of meeting
Tadic in Belgrade January 18 and calling the Serb President's
Democratic Party "the European choice for Serbia." Stanishev
will travel to Tirana on January 29. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) Lamenting the fact that a negotiated solution appeared
out of reach, Stanishev acknowledged that supervised
independence for Kosovo would likely have to be imposed on
Belgrade by the international community. He emphasized the
importance in this context of protecting minority rights and
Serb cultural heritage in Kosovo, and of providing Serbia
with "a European future." Citing positively the example of
NATO's Partnership for Peace (PfP),Stanishev said he hoped
the European Union would quickly restart talks aimed at a
Stabilization and Association Agreement.


3. (C) Stanishev speculated that Russia might try to use
Kosovo as a precedent for resolving frozen conflicts in its
neighborhood because Kosovo's independence "is difficult to
explain under international law." The Ambassador pushed
back, noting the many factors that make Kosovo's case sui
generis. In a conversation with the DCM on January 16,
Stanishev's foreign policy advisor Valentin Radomirski said
he thought Russia would try to extract a price from the
international community for not using its veto in the
Security Council. Radomirski placed an emphasis on the
"supervised" part of supervised independence, and noted the
importance of a "significant and durable" KFOR presence.


4. (U) As previewed with the Ambassador on January 12,
Stanishev traveled to Belgrade in his capacity as leader of
the Bulgarian Socialist Party and official of the Socialist
International to participate in the final pre-election rally
of Tadic's Democratic Party. Stanishev told Tadic supporters,
"You are not alone, you have friends, you have a European
future." Following is a longer excerpt from Stanishev's
endorsement, as quoted today by the Bulgarian-language
Mediapool news agency:

"...I am convinced the Serbian people will chose a European
and prosperous future. All of us, your friends from Bulgaria
and the neighboring Balkan states and the whole EU want to
see Serbia as it deserves to be, Serbia which is an equal
member of the European nations. I believe this choice is
represented by President Tadic and the Democratic Party. I
know that you can achieve this future for your country. . . .
I hope you will win a convincing victory on January 21, and
you know why -- because "life cannot wait." (DP's campaign
slogan.)
BEYRLE