BOSNIA- AMBASSADOR AND NATO HQ PREPARE TO ENGAGE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SARAJEVO 000162 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR (DICARLO),EUR/SCE (HOH, SILBERSTEIN, FOOKS, STINCHCOMB),EUR/RPM DEFENSE FOR FATA AND BEIN NSC FOR BRAUN USNIC FOR WIGHTMAN E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/30/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR BK SUBJECT: BOSNIA- AMBASSADOR AND NATO HQ PREPARE TO ENGAGE DODIK ON MOVABLE DEFENSE PROPERTY REF: A. SARAJEVO 150 ¶B. SARAJEVO 129 Classified By: Ambassador Charles English 1.4 (b) and (d) SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) On January 28, the Ambassador and NATO HQ POLAD continued their outreach in support of the NATO draft transfer agreement for movable defense property, meeting with the Chairman and Deputy Chairmen of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Defense and the Federation Prime Minister. NATO HQ also convened a meeting of NATO Ambassadors and other senior international community representatives to brief on their ongoing efforts and urge them to lobby Bosnian officials, particularly from Republika Srpska (RS),to support the NATO draft proposal. The Ambassador will travel to Banja Luka January 31 to engage RS Prime Minister Milorad Dodik on the issue and press him to accept the NATO draft plan and finalize the agreement in the coming weeks. End Summary. BRANKOVIC, PARLIAMENTARIANS BRIEFED -------------- ¶2. (C) On January 28, the Ambassador and NATO HQ POLAD continued their outreach in support of the MOD draft transfer agreement for movable defense property, meeting with Chairman Branko Zrno, Deputy Chairman Slobodan Saraba and Deputy Chairman Sefik Dzaferovic of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Defense, and Federation Prime Minister Nedzad Brankovic. NATO HQ also convened a meeting of NATO Ambassadors, the EUFOR Commander, OSCE Ambassador, OHR representatives and the Head of UNDP to brief on the status of the movable defense property discussions and solicit support in lobbying Bosnian officials, particularly from Republika Srpska. The Ambassador reprised the points on the issue raised during his meetings January 24 and 25 (reftels): all arms and ammunition must be transferred the state in order to preserve a "safe and secure environment" in Bosnia; and, failure to finalize the movable property transfer agreement will adversely affect Bosnia's aspirations for NATO's upcoming Bucharest Summit. FEDERATION WILL BACK NATO DRAFT -------------- ¶3. (C) Prime Minister Brankovic told the Ambassador that he fully supported the NATO proposal, saying "on behalf of the Federation government, we will do whatever is necessary to finish this." Brankovic asserted that the "only way" to interpret the July 2007 political agreement on defense property, which he signed, was that the entities must transfer ownership of all arms and ammunition to the state. Brankovic pledged that, as soon as RS Prime Minister Dodik agreed to the plan, he would ensure that the Federation government would expeditiously approve it. The Ambassador received similar statements of support from Zrno, Saraba, and Dzaferovic, who agreed that the failure to transfer the movable defense property had unnecessarily slowed progress in defense reform and threatened to derail Bosnia's further integration into NATO. NEXT STOP BANJA LUKA -------------- ¶4. (C) The Ambassador and NATO POLAD will discuss the issue with Dodik in Banja Luka on January 31. From the beginning, Dodik has been the principle obstacle to concluding any agreement on movable defense property. We provided Dodik's staff with a copy of the draft transfer agreement January 28 to preclude the Prime Minister from asserting that he is unprepared to discuss the issue. The Ambassador will inform Dodik that the working-level consultations on the issue have come to a close, and it is now time to make the political SARAJEVO 00000162 002 OF 002 commitment to approve the transfer agreement as written. The Ambassador will tell Dodik that the NATO redraft of the MOD plan encompasses all of his legitimate concerns in the process (i.e. revenue sharing and entity consultation on any future arms and ammunition sales),while preserving our bedrock principle that the state must possess all arms and ammunition. If Dodik agrees to the NATO draft, we will push the state, Federation and RS government to take the necessary steps for the three Prime Ministers to sign it. The Ambassador will make absolutely clear to Dodik that there is no justification for either entity to possess military hardware, which includes tanks, artillery pieces and rockets. ENGLISH