SUBJECT: KOSOVO FM MEETING WITH OIC SECGEN IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L JEDDAH 000417 SIPDIS RIYADH PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN, DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP, S/E CUMBER IN IO E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/29/2013 TAGS: EAID KISL OFDP OVIP PREL SA XF SUBJECT: SUBJECT: KOSOVO FM MEETING WITH OIC SECGEN IN JEDDAH REF: A. RIYADH 1378 ¶B. RIYADH 1345 ¶C. RIYADH 1190 ¶D. RIYADH 586 ¶E. JEDDAH 91 ¶F. JEDDAH 335 Classified By: Consul General Martin Quinn for Reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. On September 13 Kosovo FM Skender Hyseni met with OIC Secretary General Ihsanoglu in Jeddah. OIC officials commented that there has been no movement on the organization's position on the recognition of Kosovo statehood. Embassy Riyadh and Consulate General Jeddah attempted to facilitate Hyseni meeting with the MFA. END SUMMARY ¶2. (C) At a September 13 meeting with Poloff, Mahdy Fathallah, Director General of Political Affairs of the OIC commented in advance of the meeting between the OIC Secretary General and Kosovo FM Hyseni, that the recognition issue was likely to be raised, but so far membership or observer status had not been brought up. According to Fathallah, the OIC has no formal method of recognizing a country, since the "OIC is not a nation-state" and is not likely to lead the way to broader member recognition. He insisted that the best way for the OIC to support the Kosovars is through economic and humanitarian assistance, particularly through the OIC-subsidiary Islamic Development Bank. ¶3. (C) An OIC official later informed PolOff that the focus in the OIC-Kosovo FM meeting had been Kosovo's expectations and the role of the OIC in the recognition process. OIC told the Kosovo FM that the OIC Secretariat could not make a decision on recognition since this action would have to reflect the thinking of the member states. The official said there was no discussion of Kosovo becoming a member or observer, adding that "the developments in Georgia and Abkhazia are all related". ¶4. (C) Embassy Riyadh and Consulate Jeddah made efforts to arrange a meeting for FM Hyseni with either Prince Turki in Riyadh or with the Jeddah District Director General. Turki's office explained that the Prince would be traveling to New York and that the whole office was scrambling to prepare for the departure; thus, no meeting occurred. Hyseni delayed his return to Kosovo in the hope of a meeting, commenting to PolOff that he was not surprised that the meeting did not happen, but hoped the Saudis understood the importance of the matter. MEDIA COVERAGE OF KOSOVO FM VISIT -------------- ¶5. (U) A 09/18 article in the Jeddah based English daily, The Arab News, included an interview with Hyseni in which he was quoted as being optimistic on potential recognition by Saudi Arabia: "the recognition of our independence by Saudi Arabia is of crucial importance...Saudi diplomats have demonstrated profound understanding of our goals." Hyseni expressed disappointment at the small number of OIC countries that have recognized Kosovo, but said his discussion with the OIC Secretary General had been productive and that recognition is "only a matter of time: I certainly hope that there is no rift between the OIC members on Kosovo." Hyseni denied any connection between Kosovo and the situation with Georgia and Russia. QUINN