Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08BELGRADE965
2008-09-15 15:58:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Belgrade
Cable title:  

SERBIA CONTINUES TO OPPOSE U.S. DEPUTY FOR UNMIK

Tags:  PREL UNSC SR KV 
pdf how-to read a cable
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DE RUEHBW #0965 2591558
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 151558Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0426
INFO RUEHPS/AMEMBASSY PRISTINA PRIORITY 0010
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0023
C O N F I D E N T I A L BELGRADE 000965 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/SCE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2018
TAGS: PREL UNSC SR KV
SUBJECT: SERBIA CONTINUES TO OPPOSE U.S. DEPUTY FOR UNMIK

REF: BELGRADE 964

Classified By: DCM Jennifer Brush; reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).

C O N F I D E N T I A L BELGRADE 000965

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/SCE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2018
TAGS: PREL UNSC SR KV
SUBJECT: SERBIA CONTINUES TO OPPOSE U.S. DEPUTY FOR UNMIK

REF: BELGRADE 964

Classified By: DCM Jennifer Brush; reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).


1. (C) Summary: Serbia opposes the appointment of an
American as SRSG Lambert Zannier's deputy on the grounds that
the top two UNMIK positions should not be filled by states
that have recognized Kosovo. A top Foreign Ministry advisor
suggested that Serbia would drop its opposition if the UN
Security Council took action to "legitimize" EULEX, however.
Serbia apparently remains convinced that Russia will expend
its own political capital to achieve a UNSC decision blessing
EULEX's mission in Kosovo. End summary.

Recognizers and Non-Recognizers
--------------


2. (C) Damjan Krnjevic Miskovic, a senior advisor to Serbian
Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic, told us on September 15 that
Serbia opposed the appointment of an Amcit as Lamberto
Zannier's PDSRSG (Principal Deputy Special Representative of
the UN Secretary General) in UNMIK. Serbia believed that the
situation had changed significantly since the 1999 agreement
reserving the SRSG slot for a European and the PDSRSG slot
for an American; in the new context, Miskovic said, Serbia
felt "the deck was stacked" by having the top two UNMIK
positions filled by states that had recognized Kosovo, and
two of the top three positions held by Americans. Miskovic
claimed that Russia had reached agreement with UNSYG Ban that
if the SRSG came from a recognizer, the PDSRSG would come
from a non-recognizer.


3. (C) We stressed the importance of retaining a U.S.
PDSRSG, noting that Serbia's sudden opposition to the
appointment ran counter to the message of constructive
engagement that we have been hearing from President Tadic and
FM Jeremic. In response, Miskovic argued that Serbia's
position was one of principle and was not a bilateral issue.
He added that if the UN Security Council took action to
"legitimize" the EULEX mission before the new PDSRSG arrived,
Serbia might revisit the citizenship question. Miskovic said
that Serbia's objections had nothing to do with the
individual merit of the U.S. candidate, although their
opinion of the previous incumbent colored their thinking.

Serbia Still Counts on Russia
--------------


4. (C) In response to our observation that UNSC action was
both unnecessary and unachievable, Miskovic said that the
Serbian government had engaged the Russian government on the
UNSC question, "both before and after Georgia," and remained
fully confident that a UNSC presidency statement on EULEX was
an achievable goal. "Russia will not be more Serbian than
the Serbs on this," Miskovic stressed, adding that Serbia
would immediately inform the United States if their
confidence in the Russian position was shaken for any reason.



5. (SBU) Turning to Zannier's September 12 visit to Belgrade
(reftel),Miskovic said talks on the judiciary and the police
had been productive. "We will give everything we've got" to
reach agreement on all six points highlighted in UNSYG Ban's
letter before UNSC action on EULEX, Miskovic said. He asked
for continued U.S. help in "alleviating misunderstandings" in
Pristina regarding the dialogue with Zannier.


Comment
--------------


6. (C) Post will continue to press the Serbian government on
the PDSRSG issue, underscoring the contradiction between this
effort to exclude the United States from the leadership of
UNMIK and Tadic and Jeremic's purported commitment to a
constructive approach on Kosovo. It appears that a full-court
press -- in Belgrade, Washington, and New York -- will be
necessary to divide Serbia from Russia on this, given the
Serbs' continued belief that UNSC action on EULEX is
possible. End comment.
MUNTER