MALAWI STILL QUIET ON KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L LILONGWE 000095 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SCE - SEIJI SHIRATORI E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/13/2018 TAGS: PREL UN UNMIK PGOV YI EU MI SUBJECT: MALAWI STILL QUIET ON KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE REF: A. A) SECSTATE 13716 ¶B. B) SECSTATE 1087 ¶C. C) LILONGWE 80 Classified By: Ambassador Alan Eastham for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) On February 11, Ambassador requested a meeting through the principal secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss Kosovo independence. The principal secretary preferred that Minister of Foreign Affairs Joyce Banda, who was out of the capital, discuss the matter with the Ambassador. FM Banda will be unable to meet with the Ambassador until February 19. A diplomatic note and non-paper about Kosovo independence have been sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the interim. ¶2. (C) Comment: Kosovo is clearly not a high priority issue for the government of Malawi. Given Malawi's inward focus and past history of following the Southern Africa Development Community and African Union positions on international matters, we believe it is unlikely that Malawi will be among the first nations to recognize Kosovo independence. It does seem likely, however, that Malawi will eventually do so assuming that a regional consensus on the issue begins to develop. EASTHAM