SRSG RUCKER AND COMKFOR KATHER WARN SECURITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 USUN NEW YORK 000564

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL UNSC UNMIK YI
SUBJECT: SRSG RUCKER AND COMKFOR KATHER WARN SECURITY
COUNCIL OF FURTHER DELAY ON KOSOVO



1. (SBU) Summary: In a July 9 "informal dialogue" with the
Security Council, COMKFOR General Roland Kather said that the
security situation in Kosovo was under control and could be
kept that way so long as the international community
maintained momentum and there was a prospect for some kind of
supervised independence within a clear time frame. Without
this prospect, said Kather, there could be serious trouble
and he stressed that the bottom line was that the situation
was calm on the surface but unstable and unpredictable
beneath it. He said the PISG and Unity Team were doing a
good job working on an orderly transition process and
maintaining calm, but warned that their credibility was not
endless. Russia's Permrep Churkin accused Kather of
presuming to pronounce on matters beyond his mandate and
warned that Kosovar Albanians who had previously targeted
Serbs with their "terrorism" might now focus on the
international community and that KFOR should be tougher with
them.


2. (SBU) Summary continued: UNMIK SRSG Joachim Rucker later
told the Council members that UNMIK had achieved all that was
achievable in the absence of clarity on status. Addressing
internal stability in Kosovo, Rucker said Kosovars had been
very patient, but were becoming anxious because they fear the
status process is losing momentum. The SRSG warned that
without clarity concerning status, UNMIK and PISG
achievements would be in jeopardy. End summary.

COMKFOR's Kather: With Prospects For Supervised Independence
Security Situation Can Remain Under Control


3. (SBU) In a briefing on July 9 that took place under the
new format of a so-called "informal dialogue" with the
Security Council, COMKFOR General Roland Kather briefed
members on KFOR's assessment of the security situation in
Kosovo. Kather stressed that the Provisional Institutions of
Self Government (PISG) and Unity Team were under pressure to
deliver independence and the security situation could become
very fragile without movement in that direction. He noted
that Prime Minister Ceku had told KFOR recently that a lack
of progress on status issues could risk the PISG and Unity
Team being swept away by other elements. NATO had been
pushing in Kosovo a message that stressed moderation and
reassuring Serb minorities that their place was in Kosovo.


4. (SBU) Kather said KFOR was focusing its daily mission on
three key principles: 1) having clear intelligence and
exchange of intelligence regarding the security situation 2)
carrying out a "walk and talk" policy to the keep security
situation under close scrutiny 3) being even-handed and
impartial. Kather stated that he had spoken with ethnic
Albanians recently tied with the Albanian Liberation Army and
warned them that "if they did not keep the situation under
control then KFOR would." Kather also said some Kosovo Serbs
had told him recently that they hoped for a status decision
soon and that they wanted to stay, but needed clarity.


5. (SBU) On broader security preparedness, Kather
underscored that NATO had increased its operational readiness
and strategic reserves in the context of lessons learned from

2004. KFOR currently assessed that the situation was still
calm and so long as the international community maintained
momentum and there was a prospect for some kind of supervised
independence within a clear time frame, KFOR could keep the
security situation under control. If not, he said, there
would be serious trouble. KFOR was also continuing planning
with the International Civilian Office (ICO) and the EU
planning teams so as to have an orderly transition process
(should the EU deploy the team envisioned in the Ahtisaari
proposal). The bottom line was that the situation in Kosovo
was currently calm on the surface, but also unstable and
unpredictable, concluded Kather. He believes the PISG and
Unity Team were doing a good job working on an orderly
process and maintaining calm, but fears their ability to keep
things under control might not be endless.


Interventions By Security Council Members To Kather


6. (SBU) Ambassador Khalilzad had strong praise for the
approach of KFOR including its "walk and talk" strategy. The
U.S. agreed that to maintain calm it would be necessary to
move the status process forward and have clarity about their
future for the people of Kosovo.


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7. (SBU) Russia's Permrep Churkin accused Kather of having
gone beyond his mandate in terms of referring to "the wishes
of some Security Council members for a decision on status."
Russia was concerned by periodic threats that violence would
occur in Kosovo if status were not decided by a specific
date. Russia's view was that the forces placed in Kosovo
should not allow instability to occur. Churkin claimed he
had read recent comments in the press to the effect that some
KLA veterans had said they might soon need to go back to
being active soldiers. The KLA had used "terrorism"
previously to fight against Serbs and could target e the
international community. He asserted that NATO should be
more tough in its response.


8. (SBU) Speaking for the UK, Deputy Permrep Pierce asked
whether there was any threat of Serbs in North Mitrovica
trying to take Kosovo back by force. Also, if the Ahtisaari
plan were not adopted, what would be the worst threat?
Belgian's Ambassador pointed to Kather's comment that the
situation on the ground could be kept under control as long
as there were clear prospects and asked whether he believed
the international community would be able to engage properly.


9. (SBU) Speaking in his national capacity, the Chinese
Permrep Wang said that KFOR had played an important role, the
status process was now at a critical stage, but the gap
between the two sides was huge. He said, violence would not
be helpful in bringing us to a solution and KFOR had a great
responsibility to react to any threat.

Kather Responds To Interventions


10. (SBU) Speaking again to respond to questions, Kather
said that he had clearly delivered a message to the head of
the war veterans that any threats would be unacceptable.
However, there was deep frustration regarding economic
prospects and Kosovars had been waiting for status since
1999, so it was understandable that they needed to bark, but
KFOR would keep them close to its chain. NATO was staying as
prepared as possible, however, and he had told KFOR troops to
be ready to intervene anywhere within Kosovo within thirty
minutes. In response to a question from Churkin on recent
threats to the Russian office, Kather said that KFOR had had
a full platoon ready, but there had been no available
intelligence on any specific threat. Kather said he had also
talked to NATO's SYG de Hoop Scheffer and told him KFOR
needed to be ready to call for NATO reserves if necessary.

SRSG Rucker Briefs In Security Council Consultations On UNMIK
Report


11. (SBU) In a briefing to the Security Council in the
consultations format, SRSG Rucker stated that UNMIK had
achieved all that was achievable in the absence of clarity on
status. Pointing to Kai Eide's conclusions from 2005, Rucker
said the status quo was simply not sustainable. Returns were
a complex issue for a number of reasons so results had been
mixed. However, a few significant success stories had been
witnessed recently. Kosovars had been very patient, but were
becoming anxious because they feared the status process was
losing momentum. Without clarity concerning status, the
security situation in Kosovo might become untenable because
of radical elements on both sides. There might also be an
unraveling of all of the progress that UNMIK had made in
Kosovo. The people of Kosovo were adamant that upcoming
elections should not impede the status process.

Interventions By Security Council Members To Rucker



12. (SBU) Russia's Churkin responded that he disagreed that
prompt decision-taking regarding status was necessary. The
simple problem remained that Kosovo Serbs did not feel safe,
he claimed. On UNMIK's progress to date under 1244, there
was a difference between what was achievable and what must be
done, asserted Churkin. UNMIK is responsible for doing what
must be done because what is "achievable" is subjective, he
concluded. Churkin said witness protection remained a
serious problem, claiming that three potential witnesses in
the ongoing ICTY trial of Ramush Haradinaj had been killed.
Churkin concluded that forcing a decision on status was wrong
as the Serbs were against it, that UNSCR 1244 was not
time-limited and that UNMIK had to stay.


13. (SBU) The UK's Ambassador Pierce asked Rucker whether

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there had been discussion of a referendum on independence on
the ground? France's Permrep underscored that the Security
Council must help Kosovo move beyond the status quo, which is
not tenable. Italy's permrep argued that the EU should take
a greater role in the region now. Despite UNMIK's good work,
the path to reaching certain objectives has been long and the
number of returnees was still low. He argued cryptically
that "any action in Kosovo that undermines action in New York
should be condemned." He also asserted that any new
negotiations should be "real" ones. Slovakia's permrep
stressed that the time had come to resolve status and argued
that any solution should be through the Security Council.
Belgium's permrep argued that the international community
needed a clear process, with a roadmap, benchmarks, and a
clear outcome.


14. (SBU) Ghana's permrep said status clarity is
understandably important and that we must appreciate the need
for a timely settlement taking into account regional
stability. Indonesia stated that though the desire for a
speedy resolution is understandable, hasty actions cause more
violence than considered actions. There were many places in
the world without their own status that have very successful
economies because they invest in education, he claimed. He
also asked how would UNMIK react if a unilateral declaration
of independence were made by Kosovo?


15. (SBU) Ambassador Khalilzad expressed agreement that
there had been significant progress on standards and also
that status clarity was needed for further progress. He
asked Rucker what role Serbia had played in encouraging Serbs
in Kosovo to participate in institution building and asked
what reactions Kosovo Serbs had had to the Ahtisaari
proposal.


16. (SBU) Qatar said that UNMIK, with the support of the EU,
has played a crucial role in institutions and the economy,
yet Kosovo's future still has not been resolved. Stable
multiethnic relations were necessary for the future of
Kosovo.


17. (SBU) Panama's permrep stated that it was obvious that
there has been progress in Kosovo but that building a
multiethnic society and facilitating the return of refugees
had been difficult. It was unclear how more standards
implementation would change anything within the larger
political process. The Security Council should not make
decisions on status, the Kosovars should make them. If
Kosovo is a European problem, as the Europeans say, then the
Europeans should put forward a proposal. Russians should
perhaps put forward a proposal as well. Peru stated that the
current lack of action by the council, if continued, could be
the worst case scenario.


18. (SBU) China said standards implementation was a basic
requirement of 1244 and there was still work that remained to
be done, such as on refugees. China encouraged UNMIK to
discuss with the EU what must be done and work on contingency
plans. There was no consensus in the Security Council, but
China claimed that all acknowledged that both sides needed to
continue negotiations.

Rucker Offers Rebuttal


19. (SBU) Taking the floor again, Rucker clarified that
regarding UNMIK's implementation of 1244, he had not said the
mission was completely accomplished, but that, under the
circumstances, UNMIK had achieved what was achievable without
status clarity. There had been success with protecting
witnesses who were often sent to neighboring countries. ICTY
had never provided information on intimidation of witnesses
involving Haradinaj's case. Rucker said there were
increasing signals from Kosovo Serbs that they were greatly
interested in the Ahtisaari proposal and other signals, such
as the formation of a new political party, that at least some
of them do not want to be influenced by Serbia. Kosovars are
growing weary of both the UN presence and the PISG, which
impacts their effectiveness as public anxiety worsens, said
Rucker. If Kosovo issued a unilateral declaration, guidance
from the UN would be sought.

Churkin Has Last Word


20. (SBU) Churkin took the floor again to rebut Rucker,
claiming that 1244 did not say "achieve what is achievable",

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but rather "achieve what must be done." Churkin added that
to say that in the event of a unilateral declaration guidance
from the UN would be sought was invalid because UNSCR 1244
says that any unilateral declarations must be disregarded.
KHALILZAD