THAIS STILL FORMULATING STANCE ON KOSOVO ICJ

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANGKOK 002644 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/04/2018 TAGS: PREL UN UNGA KV TH SUBJECT: THAIS STILL FORMULATING STANCE ON KOSOVO ICJ RESOLUTION REF: SECSTATE 91908 Classified By: Pol Counselor George Kent, reason 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (C) We discussed ref A points on Serbia's proposal for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding Kosovo's declaration of independence with MFA First Secretary for Central and Eastern Europe Nabhasporn Bhuttarichval on September 4. Nabhasporn told us that Thailand's distance from the region and perceived status as a "small country," not to mention domestic political turmoil, prevented the formulation of a policy towards Kosovo's independence or Serbia's ICJ request. She promised to convey our points to her superiors and said that Thailand remains a member of the world community and is always interested in hearing the viewpoints of long-time allies. ¶2. (C) Note: French Political Counselor Pascal Le Deunff advised us that France would not be engaging the MFA on the issue due to FM Tej's resignation, noting that the MFA would be certain not to have formulated a viewpoint. He added that the best option for soliciting a concrete response from the MFA would be for PM Samak, if still in power, to proceed with his October 5 trip to Russia, triggering a MFA statement on Kosovo and Serbia's ICJ proposal due to press inquiries. Otherwise, he added, the French plan to engage the Thais on Kosovo at the UNGA assembly. JOHN