"FRIENDS OF KOSOVO" MEET IN BRUSSELS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 USNATO 000254

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/18/2018
TAGS: PREL MARR MOPS NATO UN EU OSCE
SUBJECT: "FRIENDS OF KOSOVO" MEET IN BRUSSELS

REF: A. STATE 76654

B. USNATO 0253

Classified By: CDA RICHARD G. OLSON, JR. FOR REASONS 1.4(B) AND (D).


1. (C) SUMMARY. Belgium hosted on July 18 a meeting of the
"Friends Of Kosovo" bringing together key stakeholders,
including NATO, EU, OSCE, UN and contributing nations. The
meeting had no formal agenda but was designed to initiate a
process of cooperation among the players. Speakers urged
greater cooperation among key organizations --with many
urging "practical and flexible" solutions to institutional
obstacles, and they generally praised UNSG Ban's UNMIK
reconfiguration plan and welcomed greater dialogue with
Serbia. The meeting did not yield concrete results, and even
an apparent breakthrough on EULEX privileges and immunities
proved to be illusory, but it was a useful event if it was
the first step towards greater policy coherence among the
organizations and nations involved in Kosovo. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) The Belgian MFA hosted on July 18 a meeting of the
"Friends Of Kosovo" bringing together key stakeholders,
including NATO, EU, OSCE, UN and contributing nations. The
format was a tour de table led off by EU HiRep for CFSP
Javier Solana, who praised UNSG Ban's reconfiguration plan
and commented that the EULEX mission in Kosovo would operate
under UNSCR 1244 authority and would be "fully operational in
the autumn" after a summer deployment push. Solana pledged
that there would be "no gaps" in security during the
transition, and he noted EULEX's four key tasks: borders,
civil disturbances, police, and information exchange.


3. (C) NATO SYG Jaap de Hoop Scheffer assured the group that
NATO would continue its security mission under UNSCR 1244,
and he flagged deployment of international police across all
of Kosovo (i.e. including north of the Ibar) as important to
accomplish. He urged the group to share details, dates, and
modalities of their operations in order to ensure smooth
cooperation, and he noted the need for a strategy for UN/EU
cooperation through the autumn when EULEX becomes fully
operational. De Hoop Scheffer said that KFOR will maintain
its good relations with the Serb military.


4. (C) OSCE SYG Marc Perrin de Brichambaut said the OSCE also
operates under 1244 authority, and he outlined its areas of
work, including in democratization, rule of law and human
rights, noting that its 800 staffers do significant reporting
from the local level. He said that because OSCE was status
neutral, any arrangements with ICO would have to be informal
in nature.


5. (C) UNSRSG for Kosovo Lamberto Zannier pointed out that
Ban Ki-Moon had not received new guidance from the Security
Council, so he announced reconfiguration plans to create
space for the EULEX role. The June 14 Security Council
meeting, Zannier said, did not provide new guidance though
most participants supported Ban. Zannier noted the need to
engage with Belgrade, and he reviewed the UN's four key
requests: UN/EU MOU (under discussion); resolution of
personnel issues (UN is awaiting EU personnel lists);
resolution on medical support (under discussion),and
agreement on privileges and immunities. On the latter,
Zannier indicated he would issue an executive decision by
which the UN would extend privileges and immunities to EULEX
personnel in Kosovo, but EU officials told us privately the
terms of the proposal are not acceptable to them; discussions
continue.


6. (C) Zannier's comment that he would be "experimenting"
with the UN umbrella for EULEX raised some eyebrows, and he
clarified that he would be exploring creative ways to make
the transition smoother, including by phasing it in. For
example, Pristina insists that the Mitrovica courts be placed
formally within Kosovo's judicial system, something Kosovo
Serbs oppose. Zannier is considering putting international
judges in Mitrovica under UNMIK authority and later
transitioning them to EULEX hats. This would make everyone
unhappy, he mused, but would prevent Kosovo Serb "parallel
structures" from taking root.


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7. (C) National interventions welcomed the spirit of the
meeting, urged greater cooperation and transparency, and
generally supported UNSG Ban's reconfiguration plan. Many
urged greater dialogue with Belgrade, and several pressed for
greater "pragmatism and flexibility" in overcoming
institutional obstacles. USNATO Charge Olson drew from
Washington guidance to note USG interest in pragmatic
solutions, flexibility on formats, and interest in increased
cooperation. He noted that the situation in Kosovo requires
creative solutions (including US participation in EULEX),but
that these will not be viewed as precedents for future cases,
particularly as regards the US preference for working through
NATO.


8. (C) France (supported by Netherlands, Switzerland and
others) responded to comments by Solana and Zannier about a
120-day transition timetable by urging EULEX to accelerate
its deployment, and Zannier responded that the timetable was
based on "what the traffic would bear." France also
supported greater dialogue with Belgrade (as did Italy,
Norway, and others),and Zannier said he hopes to have his
oft-postponed meetings with Bogdanovic and Jeremic in the
coming days.


9. (C) The UK noted that US and Turkish participation in
EULEX, and Finnish and Swedish participation in KFOR,
demonstrate that cooperation is moving beyond bureaucratic
limitations. The German representative pronounced himself
"content with developments since February 17, despite a few
incidents." Sweden (supported by Ireland, Slovenia, Hungary,
and others) noted the importance for EULEX to deploy in the
north and provide assistance to Kosovo Serb communities to
avoid de facto partition.


10. (C) Norway referred to the recent French proposal to set
up a high-level EU/NATO commission to improve cooperation
between those institutions (ref B),saying it would be useful
to strengthen HQ-level cooperation on Kosovo. The
Netherlands agreed, noting that today's meeting was "not
about Kosovo but about us," and emphasizing the need to
provide greater policy clarity to the people on the ground.


11. (C) On institutional irritants between NATO and the EU,
Lithuania noted that relations between the organizations have
"many layers" that must be addressed, but urged "pragmatism
on the ground." Greece agreed, noting that "success in
Kosovo should be the focus" rather than other issues. The
Turkish representative said he had much to report to Ankara
and, noting the many vague calls to improve cooperation
between NATO and the EU, commented "we hope they have
something more up their sleeves."


12. (C) The European Commission representative noted that the
July 11 Donors Conference had pledged 1.24 billion euros to
Kosovo, of which two-thirds was EU money. He thanked the US,
Norway, Turkey and Switzerland for their contributions. The
conference pledges, he said, will cover the funding gap in
Kosovo social development projects through 2011 and will also
cover 100 million euro in stabilization activities.
OLSON