RUSSIA OBSTRUCTIVE AS UNSC CONSIDERS PROPOSAL FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000273

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/10/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL UNMIK UNSC YI
SUBJECT: RUSSIA OBSTRUCTIVE AS UNSC CONSIDERS PROPOSAL FOR
KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE

REF: SECSTATE 42643

Classified By: Ambassador Alex Wolff, Reasons 1.4 (b and d).


1. (C) Special Envoy Ahtisaari briefed the Security Council
on April 4 on the Kosovo status process and detailed his
reasoning for recommending that Kosovo become an independent
state. The format of the meeting was decided only 90 minutes
before Ahtisaari began his presentation, largely because
Russia insisted that Kosovo President Sejdiu not be allowed
to participate on an equal footing with Serbia Prime Minister
Kostunica. Council members eventually compromised on a
series of three meetings during the afternoon and evening --
a private council meeting (no press, no cameras, Serbia,
Germany, and SRSG Rucker reading Sejdiu's speech),a brief
"Arrias-style" informal meeting for Sejdiu, and closed
consultations (members only) with Ahtisaari. Speaking at the
private meeting, at which Sejdiu sat behind Rucker, Serbia
Prime Minister Kostunica detailed a legalistic argument that
the international community could not deprive Serbia of
"fifteen percent of its territory." Kostunica said Serbia
was ready to begin negotiations under a new international
mediator aimed at "finding the best form of substantive
autonomy for the 'province'." Rucker read Sejdiu's speech
fully supporting the Ahtisaari proposal and recommendations
as the only way forward. During the closed consultations,
Russian PermRep Churkin, picking up on Kostunica's earlier
comments, cited a long list of UN and other documents that he
said established that an "imposed solution violating Serbia
territorial integrity" would not be legally defensible.
China and Indonesia expressed basic sympathy with the Russian
message. Congo and South Africa were concerned about setting
a precedent that might affect their domestic equities. UK,
France, Belgium, Slovakia, Italy and U.S. all delivered solid
messages of support for Ahtisaari. End summary.

Three Hours Debate on Meeting Format
--------------


2. (C) The morning consultations of the Security Council were
ostensibly dedicated to consideration and adoption of the
program of work for the April presidency of the UK. In
reality, the morning was devoted to Kosovo polemics regarding
the format of the afternoon session with Russia insisting
from the outset that Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu not be
allowed a speaking role in any official Council meeting. In a
challenging start to its presidency, the UK at one point
described five outstanding format proposals none of which
seemed to have sufficient support to be adopted. (NOTE. The
specter of a rare procedural vote hung over the proceedings
with backbenchers continuously projecting national comments
into possible votes. Nine votes are needed for any Council
procedural motion with no veto available. END NOTE.) Panama
startled most members by early on supporting the Russians
effort to deny Sejdiu a speaking role. Later on, though,
Panama announced it had been informed that Arrias-style
meetings are not official Council meetings and that allowing
President Sejdiu only an informal meeting would be unseemly.
As Panama, the potential swing, flipped back and forth,
Russian PermRep Vitaly Churkin underwent a quite visible
transformation from arrogant disdain for any Sejdiu
participation to strong advocacy for a complex UK proposal
that had UNMIK SRSG Joachim Rucker reading Sejdiu's prepared
speech in a private meeting (closed to the press and
uninvited UN members) at which Serbian Prime Minister
Vojislav Kostunica would speak with Sejdiu sitting behind
Rucker. This was the very proposal Russia had rejected all
morning and was the formula ultimately adopted along with an
informal "Arrias-style" meeting of Council representatives
for Sejdiu and closed consultations with Special Envoy Martti
Ahtisaari.
Kostunica Blasts Ahtisaari, Sejdiu's Words Praise Him
-------------- --------------


3. (SBU) Special Envoy Ahtisaari began his address by
reminding participants that former Special Envoy Kai Eide's
review of the implementation of the international
community-created Standards of Good Governance in Kosovo had
concluded in 2005 that it was time to start the final status
process and that his terms of reference had given him a
mandate to do so. He noted that he had made numerous visits
to the region and had presided over many meetings of the
parties during the 16 months the UN Office of the Special
Envoy for Kosovo (UNOSEK) has been in existence. He finds
the positions of the sides to be irreconcilable and has
concluded that further work would not yield greater results.


In making his settlement proposal and status recommendations
to the Security Council, he said his goal is to make a viable
and stable Kosovo so that Kosovars outside it could return.
Ahtisaari stressed repeatedly that his package had
historically generous provisions for protection of
minorities, to such an extent in certain cases that it tested
the limits of functionality. His bottom line recommendation
is that the only solution for Kosovo's future is supervised
independence as all control of Belgrade had been severed
eight years before and it would not be possible to go
backward or find a solution in a vacuum. Without a status
solution, he believes Kosovo would be not be able to develop
a viable economy and neither Kosovo nor Serbia would be able
to move toward integration into the EU. He said Kosovo Serbs
also needed to be encouraged to participate in Kosovo's
institutions. Ahtisaari urged endorsement of his package to
complete the last episode of the recent history of the
Balkans and allow the region a new future.


4. (SBU) Prime Minister Kostunica stated that Serbia is "an
old European state" that had been a founding member of the UN
and charged that no one had been able to justify why Serbia
should be stripped of 15% of its internationally recognized
territory. He claimed that creating an Albanian state in
Kosovo would also be unwarranted because Albanians already
have a state. Recently Albanian separatists and terrorists
had been making increasing threats of violence. He accused
Ahtisaari of acting beyond his mandate by listening to the
views of one side only. Kostunica also proposed more
negotiations based on resolution 1244 under a new special
envoy and said he fully supported Russia's proposal for a
fact-finding mission to the region to see whether UNSCR 1244
has been implemented. Kostunica warned that Serbia "would
never allow itself to be dismantled."


5. (SBU) UNMIK SRSG Joachim Rucker told the Council that he
would read a speech that Kosovo President Sejdiu had intended
to deliver. Sejdiu's words took on an ironic aspect when
Rucker read that Sejdiu was grateful for the opportunity to
address the Council for the first time in formal session.
(NOTE. Rucker later told poloffs that he had tried to capture
some of the feeling of the speech in this awkward format
without attempting a dramatic reading. END NOTE.) Sejdiu's
major points included: that Ahtisaari had conducted the
status process with great care and explored all avenues for
compromise; that the Kosovar side had agreed to a number of
compromises for the sake of Kosovo's future and a new
relationship between Kosovo and Serbia; that the violent
breakdown of the former Yugoslavia had made Kosovo a very
special case; that Kosovo had made great progress since the
Security Council severed Belgrade's governance in 1999.
Speaking then in his own capacity, Rucker noted that UNMIK
had reportedly regularly on standards implementation, most
recently on 19 March, and stressed that a solution to
Kosovo's status would only become more difficult over time.

Arria Meeting: Maybe Eight Minutes
--------------


6. (SBU) During a quick Arria style meeting with President
Sejdiu, Sejdiu expressed the hopes and intentions of the
Kosovars to bring to a close the current chapter of their
history and open soon a new one.

Closed Consultations: Hints of the Views From Capitals
-------------- --------------


7. (SBU) South African Permrep Kumalo said he strongly
supported a Security Council trip to Belgrade and Pristina so
all could see the lay of the land. South Africa was pleased
that Ahtisaari was leading the status process given his track
record on African issues. South Africa was still concerned
by a decision that could set an international legal
precedent. South Africa did not want an imposed solution.


8. (SBU) Reading a statement in Russian, Ambassador Churkin
said he would not go into detailed discussion of Ahtisaari's
plan and package but stressed that Russia could not agree it
was the basis for a just resolution of the problem as it
envisaged an imposed decision. It was obvious to Russia that
an imposed solution would be illegal based on paragraph 11 of
resolution 1244, the Rambouillet accords, and UN documents
such as S 1999 648 and addendum 2 of UNSCR 1244 respecting
the territorial integrity of Serbia and other countries in
the region. Churkin pointed also to the PRST beginning the
status process in the same vein. The Helsinki Final Act


allows for changes in borders, said Churkin, but only by
political means and with the agreement of parties involved.
He said the importance of a Security Council decision based
on compromise was also included in many other UNSC documents
such as S 2005 709. He concluded by alleging that talks were
far from exhausted and reiterating that an imposed settlement
would not be possible because we could not dismember a
sovereign state.


9. (SBU) France said that a solution was indispensable
notwithstanding that the Ahtisaari process had not produced
one. France said the EU stands fully behind Ahtisaari and is
prepared to send the largest police and judicial mission in
its history to Kosovo in implementation of his settlement
proposal. France believes the Council faces a critical
decision and needs to keep in mind the impossibility of delay
and the unique nature of the problem.


10. (SBU) Belgium stated that the status quo and UNMIK were
not options. Other options had been explored and were not
realistic. Ahtisaari made many trips to the region and
conducted many meetings of the parties and had ultimately
offered a unique solution for a unique case.


11. (SBU) Speaking for the U.S., Ambassador Wolff stressed
that we could not forget about the history leading to the
situation we face today. The U.S. strongly supports
Ahtisaari's recommendation of supervised independence as the
best chance for the region to move forward. Kosovo deserved
clarity about its future after eight years of UN
administration. Further delay would only make it more
difficult to find a sustainable solution. 1244 had not ruled
out any outcome, including independence. Kosovo was a
special case and Ahtisaari's recommendations were
specifically tailored to it and should not be extrapolated to
other conflicts.


12. (SBU) Ghana stated that the status quo cannot be upheld
and insisted on peace and security in region also noting that
the proposal by Ahtisaari was a courageous effort to fix the
situation. A Security Council trip to region would also be
helpful.


13. (SBU) Indonesia stressed that though Ahtisaari's report
showed the parties were strongly opposed and an agreed
solution would be difficult, an "automatic conclusion" should
not be made. Territorial integrity was enshrined in
Indonesia's constitution. Indonesia understood, however,
that the particularity of every situation should be examined.



14. (SBU) China stated that the status question was at a
critical stage and China was gravely concerned. China had
always maintained that a solution acceptable to both sides
was the most appropriate way out. The international community
should support negotiations for a settlement proposal. A
secession of the Council could have a far reaching impact so
the Council should not be reckless. The EU had a unique role
and should help the parties to reach an agreement. China
supported Russia's request for a comprehensive review of 1244
and a fact finding mission.


15. (SBU) Slovakia stated that peace and stability in the
Balkans was most important and the Council should act in a
timely manner. Slovakia would welcome a conclusion to the
status process leading to a new resolution that took into
account the interests of Pristina and Belgrade. There was no
reason to believe more negotiations would lead to a mutually
acceptable conclusion. It was critically important any
solution be sui generis.


16. (SBU) Italy supported Ahtisaari's package saying that
delaying decisions would only increase tensions in the
region. A new Security Council resolution was needed and
Italy was strongly committed to the implementation of
Ahtisaari's package.


17. (SBU) Panama said both territorial integrity and
self-determination were important factors. Kosovo was
historically part of Serbia but "had a different makeup now"
and we could not ignore the ethnic cleansing of the 1990s.


18. (SBU) Qatar was convinced that as Ahtisaari's report had
said this was a unique case that needed a unique solution.
We should consider the case carefully and its impact on the
Balkan region. The Council should be cautious and Qatar


called for patience and wisdom.


19. (SBU) Congo praised Ahtisaari's work in Africa in the
past saying that trusted him. We should not set a precedent
because of the fragile situation in Africa. This situation
could lead to the dismantling of a sovereign state. However
Congo also knew that the Security Council could not go on
supporting UNMIK. Congo said the Council should make a
decision based on full knowledge, The acts of the Milosevic
government could be used by others around world as
justifications as well. "Sadam Hussein had done similar
things in Iraq some years back and certain populations could
use these same arguments," said Congo.


20. (SBU) Peru said it had listened carefully and had no
answers yet but did have questions. Peru asked why clarity
on status necessarily meant independence as there were other
options in other places in the world. It was difficult to
accept the argument that there were no other options. The
Council would probably in the end set some kind of precedent
but needed members should ask ourselves if that was the price
they were willing to pay to guarantee peace and stability in
the region.


21. (SBU) The UK, speaking in its national capacity and not
as Council President, stated that it was an illusion to think
we could reach a negotiated settlement. While a negotiated
settlement was desirable, we could not hang onto that hope
forever.


WOLFF