CROATIANS FULLY SUPPORTIV ON AHTISAARI PLAN FOR

					  C O N F I D E N T I A L ZAGREB 000149 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR EUR, EUR/SCE BALIAN/BLACK 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/09/2017 
TAGS: PREL PGOV YI HR REGIONAL ISSUES
SUBJECT: CROATIANS FULLY SUPPORTIV ON AHTISAARI PLAN FOR 
KOSOVO 
 
REF: STATE 12957 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Greg Delawie for reasons 1.4(b) 
and (d). 
 
					

1. (C) Drawing on reftel points, DCM February 2 briefed MFA
Assistant Minister for Europe Neven Pelicaric about US views
on the Ahtisaari proposal on Kosovo's final status.



2. (C) Pelicaric said the GOC would fully support the Contact
Group position on the issue. He felt this was an excellent
time for Serbia to deal with the Kosovo issue, in the
interregnum between two parliaments. He noted concern that
the Kosovar Albanians would begin to lose patience with the
international community if the status process drags on much
longer; they could destabilize the situation, which would
cause negative effects beyond Kosovo and Serbia throughout
the region.



3. (C) The GOC will continue to take a low profile on the
issue, Pelicaric said, encouraging Serbian counterparts
privately while refraining from conspicuous public comments.
The GOC theme with Serbia has been that everything will be
easier for the country in a variety of fields once it accepts
the reality of Kosovo's final status. Pelicaric noted that
the Croatian relationship with Serbia was one of its most
important and delicate issues; maintaining good relations
with Belgrade and continuing to improve the level and quality
of their bilateral interactions was one of the country's
highest priorities. Therefore, when the time comes to
recognize Kosovo's independence, Croatia would do so without
fanfare and only after EU member states had done so.



4. (C) Pelicaric noted that the Russian ambassador had called
on him the previous day to make the point that the Kosovo
process was moving too fast. He told Pelicaric that
President Putin had recently made the same point to German
Chancellor Merkel, who had agreed with him.



5. (C) Ambassador Bradtke followed up February 3 with FM
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, who was also fully supportive of
the Ahtisaari plan and the Contact Group's work.
BRADTKE