MACEDONIA: KOSOVO ICJ RESOLUTION AT UNGA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SKOPJE 000614 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/07/2018 TAGS: PREL UNGA UN KV MK SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: KOSOVO ICJ RESOLUTION AT UNGA REF: A. STATE 105796 ¶B. STATE 195796 ¶C. STATE 91908 Classified By: DCM THOMAS J. NAVRATIL, FOR REASONS 1.5 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Ambassador Reeker made points in reftels to Foreign Minister Milososki on the evening of Oct. 6. DCM followed up with DPM Bocevski on Oct. 7. Macedonia will not support the resolution. Milososki and Bosevski indicated that although Macedonia had not yet made its final decision, it most likely will abstain, following the lead of the majority of EU countries. We pressed for Macedonia to stand with us and vote against. Embassy's view is that an abstention is most probable, particularly given our expectation that Macedonia will soon recognize Kosovo's independence and is seeking to soften the impact on Serbia to minimize retaliation. Reeker