SERBIA: ALL QUIET ON KUMANOVO FOR NOW

C O N F I D E N T I A L BELGRADE 001288

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/12/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR KV SR
SUBJECT: SERBIA: ALL QUIET ON KUMANOVO FOR NOW

REF: BELGRADE 1231

Classified By: Bradford Bell, Deputy Political Chief; reasons 1.4 (b, d
).

Summary
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1. (C) Serbian government officials have ceased public
discussion about reopening talks with NATO on the Kumanovo
agreement (reftel). The silence is welcome, following last
week,s persistent pronouncements that Serbia wanted to
reopen the June 1999 agreement, which was concluded at the
end of hostilities in Kosovo and provided for the withdrawal
of Serbian forces from Kosovo and established a demilitarized
buffer zone along Kosovo's administrative boundary line.
Serbia still wants to reopen the agreement, but is now
willing to await - for the time being - a political signal
from NATO when the timing is right. End Summary.

General Ponos: Talks Will Wait
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2. (C) Serbian leaders and media were quiet this week on the
Government's interest in reopening the Kumanovo Military
Technical Agreement (MTA). The silence came after NATO
country representatives informed the Serbs that the timing
was inappropriate. Despite any new public discussion,
Serbian leaders are still interested in reviewing this issue
in the medium term and will likely submit its request through
NATO political channels. Chief of Staff General Ponos told
us on December 5 that various NATO officials had informed him
that the Kumanovo agreement could only be changed through
formal political channels and with the NAC,s blessing. He
said he had agreed to work with NATO in early 2009 to see
what could be done behind the scenes and at a technical
working level until there was political consensus in the NAC
to address this. He said he was frustrated by an obvious
lack of communication and understanding between NATO, its
allies, and Serbia. Assistant Minister for NATO and Security
Issues at the MFA, Zoran Vujic, told us on December 5 that
after discussing with Ponos they had agreed that both the
military and the MFA would remain silent on this issue,
hoping for better conditions next year.
Ponos: Kumanovo Should Be Gone
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3. (C) Ponos said that rather than renegotiating the MTA, he
would prefer to see it disappear. This was a basic Serbian
sovereignty issue, he said, noting that Serbia had complied
fully with the agreement in the past. After nearly ten
years, the situation now was much better between Serbia and
NATO, and the agreement should reflect that, he said. Ponos
said he wanted the five kilometer land security zone
abolished. He also wanted to remove restrictions on aircraft
in the region. Ponos reassured us that he did not want to
put troops in the area or conduct exercises in the region.

Comment
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4. (C) Serbian leaders have gotten our message that
discussion on Kumanovo is not now appropriate for public
discourse, given other outstanding security issues. Their
silence this week suggests they will be quiet, at least
temporarily. We can expect, however, that this issue will
again raise its head in 2009, particularly if Serbian
officials believe they have fulfilled their commitment to
providing a stable and calm atmosphere in Kosovo. In return,
they will look for goodwill from NATO allies on revising
Kumanovo. End Comment.
MUNTER