EL SALVADOR LEANS TOWARDS KOSOVO RECOGNITION, BUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN SALVADOR 000182 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL UN UNMIK EU ES SUBJECT: EL SALVADOR LEANS TOWARDS KOSOVO RECOGNITION, BUT LATER REF: A. STATE 13716 ¶B. SAN SALVADOR 51 ¶C. STATE 1087 Classified By: The Ambassador, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: El Salvador will almost certainly recognize Kosovo's independence, but because of sensitivities concerning relations with Moscow, the GOES will not be among the first wave of countries to do so. End Summary. ¶2. (C) PolCouns delivered Ref (A) demarche to MFA officials February 12. North America Director Wendy Acevedo, standing in for the Deputy Director General for Political Affairs who was called away, said El Salvador had hoped a negotiated agreement could be reached. The GOES recognizes that is unlikely, so it intends to maintain a "prudent" policy of watching and waiting as Kosovo's independence declaration plays out, both between Belgrade and Pristina and in the international community. ¶3. (C) Complicating El Salvador's position, Acevedo said, was the GOES' continuing effort to improve relations with Russia. VM Calix visited Moscow last year, and the GOES hopes to build on that visit and strengthen relations with Moscow in coming months. San Salvador does not want to jeopardize this effort with quick recognition of Kosovo independence. ¶4. (C) That said, Acevedo said El Salvador would almost certainly recognize Kosovo, just not immediately. She said timing would depend on how things played out in the days and weeks after Kosovo's declaration of independence and this would inform the MFA's "strategic analysis" paper (Ref (B)). ¶5. (C) Comment: Both Acevedo and Amaya acknowledge that Kosovo has escaped Belgrade's orbit and that San Salvador will eventually recognize Pristina. While the GOES will not recognize Kosovo right away, reaching a critical mass of recognitions -- especially in Europe -- will ease that step for the GOES. We will continue to urge that it do so as soon as possible. GLAZER