RECOGNITION OF KOSOVO'S INDEPENDENCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L NAIROBI 001030 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM KE SUBJECT: RECOGNITION OF KOSOVO'S INDEPENDENCE REF: A. NAIROBI 518 ¶B. SECSTATE 16319 Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Pamela Slutz, reasons 1.4 (b,d). ¶1. (U) On April 16, PolOff met with Ambassador Daniel Mukiri Kinyanjui, Head of Division for International Organizations and Conferences at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to follow up on reftel demarche. ¶2. (C) Kinyanjui said that the Government of Kenya has no precedent for the formal recognition of another country's independence, but relations with Kosovo (or any other state) would be de facto formalized should a country be accepted as a member state in the United Nations or other international organization. ¶3. (C) Kinyanjui added that he needed to do some research into the manner in which states are formally recognized by the United Nations -- particularly when the case is controversial -- as he is sure Kenya will need to take a position on Kosovo's potential admission into the UN eventually. ¶4. (C) PolOff reiterated the U.S. concern about the precariousness of Kosovo's security situation should an insufficient number of states formally recognize its independence. Kinyanjui acknowledged the difficulty, but indicated that Kenya is not ready to step forward to recognize Kosovo's independence. RANNEBERGER