Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08PRISTINA241
2008-05-13 13:43:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Pristina
Cable title:  

SCENESETTER FOR THE MAY 16-17 VISIT OF

Tags:  PGOV AID KV 
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FM AMEMBASSY PRISTINA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8191
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 1476
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RHMFISS/CDR TF FALCON PRIORITY
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RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000241 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR, EUR/SCE, NSC FOR BRAUN, USUN FOR DREW
SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/13/2018
TAGS: PGOV AID KV
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR THE MAY 16-17 VISIT OF
ADMINISTRATOR FORE

Classified By: CDA TINA KAIDANOW FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000241

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR, EUR/SCE, NSC FOR BRAUN, USUN FOR DREW
SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/13/2018
TAGS: PGOV AID KV
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR THE MAY 16-17 VISIT OF
ADMINISTRATOR FORE

Classified By: CDA TINA KAIDANOW FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (C) Your visit to Kosovo will be regarded here by the
leadership and the public as a welcome sign of continuing
U.S. support for Kosovo, manifest both in the political arena
and in concrete assistance offered. We have a large and
varied assistance program that targets a range of sectors in
Kosovo, but is focused heavily on three priorities:
strengthening rule of law as a prerequisite for stable
development; promoting a sustainable economic base for
Kosovo's future; and enhancing democracy, in particular by
securing the rights of minority communities. Kosovo has seen
progress on all these fronts in recent years, and Kosovo's
leaders will describe for you their pride in accomplishments
made. Serious challenges remain, however, and all your
interlocutors will be equally frank about this.


2. (C) The primary political preoccupation here now is with
the ongoing transition from UN administration in Kosovo to
the assumption of key responsibilities by the Kosovo
government. Important questions remain unanswered -- when
and how will the UN presence here "reconfigure"; when will
the EU presences foreseen in the Ahtisaari settlement plan be
able to fully deploy; and how will this international
transition be squared with the authorities assumed by the
Kosovo government under its new constitution, which will come
into effect on June 15. Despite the uncertainties, Kosovo
leaders have done a good job in managing public expectations
and have already acknowledged that the UN presence here --
not particularly popular -- will remain in Kosovo under UNSC
1244 in some form after June 15, though they have been
equally clear with the UN hierarchy in New York that they
expect changes in UNMIK's mandate after that date. Kosovo
leaders have also managed to contain, at least thus far,
anxieties over the situation in the north, where hardline
Serb provocations have led to violent confrontation with
international peacekeepers.


3. (C) In this environment, assurances of continuing U.S.
and European engagement on Kosovo's behalf mean quite a lot.
Kosovo's leadership, its political parties, civil society and
the public at large trust the United States as the guarantor
of peace and stability here. Even Kosovo's Serb community,
trapped between its unhappiness over Kosovo's independence
and deep skepticism that the Serbian government in Belgrade
really cares about its fate, respects the U.S. as an
interlocutor and as a source of aid and advocacy.


4. (C) This is particularly the case with Serbs living in
the southern enclaves (in fact the majority of Kosovo Serbs
live south of the Ibar River),who understand for the most
part the inevitability of independence and want a better
relationship with Kosovo authorities, but have been told by
Belgrade to leave their public sector jobs and, in essence,
separate themselves entirely from the Albanian community.
This is not only impractical but dangerous over the
long-term, exacerbating mutual mistrust and potentially
causing a backlash, though ethnic Albanians did swallow --
painfully -- the holding of illegal local elections in Kosovo
by the Serbian government on May 11. You will meet with
moderate representatives of the Kosovo Serb community, who
were buoyed by the resounding pro-European vote in Serbian
parliamentary elections but still harbor doubts about their
own fate in Kosovo should Serbian President Tadic fail to
form a democratically-oriented government in Belgrade.


5. (C) We have worked closely with the Kosovars to keep them
focused on the milestones ahead, including the need for more
international recognitions and the impending donors'
conference, which will bring signficant and much-needed
investment in Kosovo's public sector and infrastructure.
Kosovo's government is making a good faith effort to outline
its development priorities for this conference, and you can
encourage the President and Prime Minister to ensure that
their presentation at the conference is clear and compelling.
You can also advise them to do everything possible to
maintain stability in the coming months in order to reassure

PRISTINA 00000241 002 OF 002


donors, as well as private investors and governments on the
verge of recognition, that Kosovo is a responsible member of
the international community.


6. (C) Other events during your trip will provide you with
insights into the programs we are busily supporting, and also
give you a sense of our very fruitful cooperation with U.S.
KFOR in building confidence through small infrastructure
projects in their area of responsibility -- which contains
the largest number of Serb communities anywhere in Kosovo.
We are pleased and proud to host you for this visit, and the
people you speak with in Kosovo will undoubtedly echo the
same sentiment.
KAIDANOW