MACEDONIA: FM MILOSOSKI ASSURES AMBASSADOR THAT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SKOPJE 000473 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/SCE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV NATO MK SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: FM MILOSOSKI ASSURES AMBASSADOR THAT MACEDONIA REMAINS "NATO-READY," ASKS FOR HELP ON GREECE, IS POSITIVE ON KOSOVO REF: SKOPJE 464 SUMMARY ¶1. (SBU) Macedonia remains "NATO-ready" despite apparent recent steps away from democratization and a supplemental budget re-balance that directed funds away from the Ministry of Defense, according to Foreign Minister Milososki in his July 22 meeting with the Ambassador. He sought to deflect our concerns about what Greece perceives as provocative rhetoric on the name dispute, but agreed on a "back-to-basics" approach. Milososki reported progress on Kosovo border demarcation and agreed to revisit practical mechanisms to address the "human dimension" of the final border. End Summary. NATO-READINESS: PERCEPTIONS MATTER -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The Ambassador, in her July 22 meeting with FM Milososki, expressed concern that Macedonia is not doing all it could do to be, and to be perceived as, "NATO-ready" following the Bucharest summit. She called upon Macedonia to focus attention on issues of democratic dialogue, rule of law, and defense readiness -- areas in which some post-Bucharest developments in Macedonia have drawn criticism. ¶3. (SBU) Specifically, the Ambassador pointed out that Macedonia's recent supplemental budget re-balance, which shifted considerable funding from the Ministry of Defense to the Ministry of the Interior, raises questions about Macedonia's ability to continue with needed military reforms and training, as well as Macedonia's support of NATO missions. Without offering budget details, Minister Milososki assured the Ambassador that the budget re-balance "will not affect Macedonia's ability or willingness related to military reforms, equipment and training." He further offered that the Government would intervene to address budgetary issues should the re-balance have any negative impact on Macedonia's military readiness or commitments. ¶4. (SBU) In areas of rule of law and democratic dialogue, the Ambassador raised concerns about the MoI's role in prompting a media circus surrounding the arrest of an opposition party vice president (reftel),and the Parliament's passage of a controversial procedural rulebook in the absence of the opposition. Both raise concerns about Macedonia's commitment to mature political dialogue. FM Milososki shared the Ambassador's concerns about the impact of the passage of the rulebook, saying "I personally was not happy that the rulebook was passed in the absence of the opposition." He assured the Ambassador, however, that the content of the new rulebook is democratic and well-structured. TURNING DOWN THE TEMPERATURE AND MAKING PROGRESS ON THE NAME DISPUTE -------------- -------------- ¶5. (SBU) FM Milososki thanked the USG for continued engagement on the name dispute, including Secretary Rice's firm assurance of continued U.S. recognition of Macedonia under its constitutional name. He asked the Ambassador to relay to Washington his Government's request that the U.S. consider adding a footnote to NATO documents, as Turkey does, citing recognition of Macedonia's constitutional name. He suggested that such a footnote could be important both symbolically and a means of motivating Greece to focus on resolving the name dispute. The Ambassador agreed to do so, but added that the GoM should have no/no expectation of the U.S. footnoting. ¶6. (SBU) The Ambassador replied that Macedonia must expend every effort to make progress on the name dispute between now and the next NATO Ministerial meeting in December. She suggested that Macedonia should offer concrete proposals to UN Negotiator Nimetz and avoid provocations with Greece, either real or perceived. She called into question the recent public release of PM Gruevski's letter to Greek PM SKOPJE 00000473 002 OF 002 Karamanlis on the issue of the Macedonian minority in Greece, saying that it unnecessarily raised tensions between the two countries. She also urged that Macedonia not play up events such as the meeting of the "Aegean Refugee Children," instead aiming to de-escalate tensions. ¶7. (SBU) The Ambassador told the FM that the U.S. supports the parties "getting back to basics" in name negotiations -- focusing only the name and scope of use, rather than peripheral issues outside the immediate scope of UN Negotiator Nimetz -- and noted that the USG will share that view with Nimetz. FM Milososki fully concurred with the need to re-focus the scope of the name negotiations, adding "the interim agreement should be replaced with a final agreement that does not exceed a single page." The FM suggested, however, that Gruevski's recent letter to Karamanlis had the desired effect of deterring the Greek side from pressing on other peripheral issues. He asserted that the Greek Deputy FM, following the recent exchange of letters between Macedonia and Greece on the issue, also expressed a desire to get back to the basic issues of the name and scope of use. THE HUMAN DIMENSION OF KOSOVO BORDER DEMARCATION -------------- --- ¶8. (SBU) More upbeat than in previous conversations, the FM indicated that Macedonia is pleased with recent progress on the demarcation of the Kosovo border, noting that the Joint Technical Committee's (JTC's) work is progressing well and that they expect to have key border stones in place for all but two areas of the border (including the strategic highpoint of Kodra Fura) by the end of August or middle of September. He was disappointingly vague, however, in calling the progress "an additional impetus for us on an issue we will approach this year"-- Macedonia's recognition of Kosovo. ¶9. (SBU) The Ambassador suggested that Macedonia also focus on the human dimension of demarcating the border, recalling previous discussions of plans for practical solutions for the areas of the border where villagers are concerned about being able to continue to use land for sheep grazing and other agricultural pursuits. She suggested that defusing practical concerns and showing that villagers will not lose their land or need compensation, but be able to access it, could be a valuable contribution to the demarcation process. FM Milososki replied that he had discussed the possibility of special ID cards for these persons with Minister of Interior Jankulovska who had been positively inclined. He agreed to raise the issue directly with the Macedonian JTC when he met with them later that same day, indicating a direct MoI-MoI agreement may be the appropriate mechanism. ¶10. (SBU) Comment: FM Milososki listened to the Ambassador's concerns about the MoD budget, the passage of the Parliamentary rulebook in the absence of the opposition, and the MoI's questionable interactions with the media related to opposition VP Zaev's arrest, but made no concession that these present real concerns about Macedonia's NATO readiness. He made clear the GoM's desire to limit the scope of the name negotiations, leaving peripheral issues out of any potential agreement, but did not inspire confidence that Macedonia will intensify efforts to resolve the issue in the near term. The most positive outcome was his agreement to look more closely at practical mechanisms to ensure a successful border demarcation with Kosovo. End comment. Milovanovic