AMBASSADOR BRIEFS PM ON BOSNIA MEETINGS IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L ZAGREB 000540

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/01/2017
TAGS: PREL BK HR
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR BRIEFS PM ON BOSNIA MEETINGS IN
WASHINGTON

REF: A. 06 ZAGREB 1423


B. 06 ZAGREB 1439

Classified By: DCM Greg T. Delawie, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Drawing on points provided by EUR/SCE, Ambassador and
DCM briefed PM Ivo Sanader and MFA State Secretary Hidajet
Biscevic June 1 about the meetings held in Washington the
week of May 21 between State Department officials and
Bosnia-Herzegovina politicians Milorad Dodik and Haris
Silajdzic.


2. (C) The Ambassador added that we would appreciate
Sanader's continued engagement with all parties in BiH, and
his encouraging them to keep working for police reform and
constitutional reform.


3. (C) Sanader was grateful, and said he understood. He
appreciated that the meeting was more a target of opportunity
than a planned negotiation, which was fine. He did lay down
a marker that it would be important to include the BiH Croats
in any real discussion of police reform and constitutional
reform. He noted that he is continuing to work on the BiH
Croats in order to encourage a merger of the HDZ and HDZ-1990
parties. He asked that we keep HDZ-1990's Ljubic involved as
well as HDZ's Covic.


4. (C) Sanader noted that U/S Burns had told him earlier
that week that he had spoken with Cardinal McCarrick; Sanader
hopes McCarrick can work with Puljic to keep him involved in
the reform process.


5. (C) Sanader said it was up to the BiH Croats to react to
the proposals we had put on the table, so he would not do so.
He thought that both Croat parties could accept police
reform, but said he believed they were still divided on
entity voting. He felt that dissolution was a minor issue.
He also asked us to keep in mind the constitutional
amendments he had proposed to us last fall (reftel).


6. (C) Sanader concluded this topic by noting that U/S Burns
had encouraged him to stay involved in BiH's future.
BRADTKE