KOSOVO: BORDER DEMARCATION WITH MACEDONIA ON TRACK

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000471

SIPDIS

DEPT EUR/SCE, NSC FOR HELGERSON, USUN FOR SGEE, OSCE FOR
AHYDE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/16/2018
TAGS: PBTS PREL KV MK
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: BORDER DEMARCATION WITH MACEDONIA ON TRACK

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


1. (C) SUMMARY: The International Civilian Office (ICO)
briefed Poloff September 8 on the Kosovo-Macedonia border
demarcation process, saying that three of four sectors along
the border are complete, and they expect all primary marking
stones to be in place by September 19. Laying secondary
stones will take longer, and ICO expects the full process to
last until March 2009 or longer. Current agreements do not
specify whether it is the primary or secondary stones that
are the essential element to concluding the agreement on
demarcating the border, and ICO reports that it has rebuffed
an attempt by one Macedonian commission member at linking
conclusion to the secondary stones. With primary stones now
in place in the most politically sensitive areas of the
border and Kosovo's political commitment to the process
clear, the demarcation should be considered largely complete,
fulfilling Macedonia's desire to have this finished before
their recognition of Kosovo. END SUMMARY


2. (SBU) The ICO,s Deputy Head of the Security Advisory
Unit, Andrew Michels, on September 8 provided Poloff with a
status update on the Kosovo-Macedonia border demarcation
process. Michels said that discussions on Sectors 1, 2, and
4 (of four total) were complete, and their primary marking
stones are in place. He predicts that Sector 3 will be
complete by September 19. Above all, he said, the
cooperation between Kosovo and Macedonia has been excellent.


2. (SBU) Among the four sectors along the Kosovo-Macedonia
border, Sector 4 has been the most sensitive, with many
residents along the border fearful that their property would
be divided across the proposed new border. The Joint
Technical Commission (JTC) on the demarcation of the border
used a provision within the 2001 Delineation Agreement to
adjust the planned border by up to 150 meters in order to
accommodate property lines. Michels suspects the JTC may
have exceeded the 150 meter limit in certain instances, but
he said that both sides of the JTC agreed to the changes, and
he does not expect any problems or challenges.


3. (SBU) According to Michels, Sector 3, the remaining
sector, should see its 25 primary stones in place by Friday,
September 19, and there are no remaining political
impediments to the placement of the primary border stones in
this final sector. ICO's lone concern at this point is that
the Kosovo government contractor manufacturing and placing
the primary stones may not be able to finish its work in
Sector 3 by the proposed date. The Macedonian government has
expressed its willingness to manufacture and place the stones
if necessary and did so in completing Sector 4 last week.
Michels said that any delay would not be longer than one week
at the most. The secondary stones will take longer to place,
and given challenges of terrain and weather, it is unlikely
they will be ready before March 2009.

What's Next


5. (SBU) The Ahtisaari Plan requires the JTC to complete its
work by March 2009, one year following its establishment.
The Plan is silent on what defines completion, but the ICO
regards the placement of primary stones as meeting the
requirement.


4. (SBU) Michels told us that the head of the Macedonian
Border Committee, Todar Nanev, called him last week in an
attempt to redefine what it means to complete the border
process, arguing that it is necessary for the Border
Commission to complete both the primary and secondary stones.
Michels said that this is contrary to the working agreement
between Kosovo and Macedonia, and ICO quashed this effort to
change the rules. ICO does not expect Macedonian
representatives to raise this issue again.


6. (SBU) The placement of secondary stones is a work in
progress. The 44 secondary stones for Sectors 1 and 2
(together) are in place, but the schedule for installing
secondary stones in Sectors 3 (330) and 4 (220) has not been

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determined. Due to the terrain and approaching winter, their
placement is unlikely to occur before March 2009.


7. (C) COMMENT: Political agreement on defining the border
is an essential step in securing Macedonia,s recognition of
Kosovo. We believe that Kosovo has fulfilled its
commitments, demonstrating that it has the political will to
see the process through to the end. Special kudos for the
quick and effective work on the border demarcation goes to
ICO and specifically to Deputy ICR Fletcher Burton, who
engaged directly with the Kosovo villagers in Sector Four who
threatened to derail the process, thereby ensuring their
buy-in and support. Our hope is that Macedonia can now be
persuaded that the time has come for recognition, enhancing
stability throughout the region. END COMMENT.
KAIDANOW