HUNGARY TO FOLLOW EU LEAD ON KOSOVO ICJ RESOLUTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUDAPEST 000881

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/CE-SEIJI SHIRATORI, WILLIAM TOMLYANOVICH
AND JAMIE LAMORE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/05/2018
TAGS: PREL UNGA UN KV HU
SUBJECT: HUNGARY TO FOLLOW EU LEAD ON KOSOVO ICJ RESOLUTION
AT UNGA

REF: SECSTATE 91908

Classified By: PolOff Ryan C. Leong, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Reftel talking points were discussed on September 2
with Rita Silek of the GoH Ministry of Foreign Affairs Legal
Department, which is responsible for all ICJ issues. Silek
agreed with many of the points made in reftel, namely the
uncertainty and instability that the continued discussion of
Kosovo's legal status can bring to the region, and questioned
the wisdom of Serbia's continued efforts on this issue.
However, from a strictly legal point of view Silek maintained
that Serbia, as a UN member, had the right to raise this
issue and request a legal opinion on the matter. In a slight
modification of the usual "need for consensus" message from
the MFA, Silek said Hungary would wait to see what "trends
developed" in the EU before forming a final opinion. PolOff
pointed out that Hungary's opinion, as a neighboring country
of Serbia, would likely have a significant impact on forming
this "trend" and that Hungary's recognition of Kosovo as an
independent state earlier this year was an action shared by
almost 80 percent of EU countries.


2. (C) Silek agreed that independence is typically a
political question rather than a legal one and that this
request for an advisory opinion could set a negative
precedent for the future. Judging from informal discussions
in preparation for upcoming EU discussions on UNGA positions,
Silek gathered that other EU members were not overly
concerned with movement forward on the resolution, even if a
negative opinion on independence is reached by the ICJ. She
said the ICJ is a legal body in principle but still subject
to fickle political winds. She downplayed the effect of even
a "worst case scenario" judgment by the ICJ, concluding that
Serbia and Kosovo should both be concentrating on EU
integration rather than expending political capital on this
issue.

The Danube Shuffle
--------------

3. (C) Foreign Minister Kinga Goncz recently received a
letter from Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic requesting
support for the UNGA resolution, but Hungary had not yet
officially replied. Goncz was in Belgrade on September 2 for
a previously scheduled trip to discuss bilateral relations
and "international issues" with Jeremic and Prime Minster
Mirko Cvetkovic. Press reports stated that Jeremic
"complained" about the current relations between the two
countries, as ties were set back by Hungary's recognition of
Kosovo's independence. Goncz stressed that Hungary supported
Serbia's European integration and carried with her a package
of proposals on how to move forward. Cvetkovic and Goncz
discussed a variety of specific issues, including the
construction of more border crossing stations. Post will
notify the Department once the MFA has formed an official
position on this issue.
Foley