Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08USUNNEWYORK163
2008-02-20 23:44:00
CONFIDENTIAL
USUN New York
Cable title:
BAN TO USUN ON KOSOVO: HELP ME TO HELP EU
how-toVZCZCXRO2995 OO RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHTRO DE RUCNDT #0163 0512344 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 202344Z FEB 08 FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3779 INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000163
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/20/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL UNMIK YI
SUBJECT: BAN TO USUN ON KOSOVO: HELP ME TO HELP EU
Classified By: Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad for Reasons 1.4 b/d.
C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000163
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/20/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL UNMIK YI
SUBJECT: BAN TO USUN ON KOSOVO: HELP ME TO HELP EU
Classified By: Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad for Reasons 1.4 b/d.
1. (C) In a one-on-one meeting on February 20 with Ambassador
Khalilzad, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon compared the UN's
remaining tenure in Kosovo to a movie fade-out, but
complained that EU leadership is complicating UNMIK's
transition strategy. Ban cited in particular comments --
attributed in the press to EU foreign policy chief Javier
Solana and to incoming EU special envoy for Kosovo Peter
Feith -- effectively asserting immediate EU supremacy to the
UN in Kosovo. He said these comments contrast with his own
public position and initial post-declaration statements from
Brussels, both of which acknowledged that UNMIK was still in
charge.
2. (C) Ban said the 120-day UN-EU transition period was
essential not just to an orderly transfer of operational
control but to management of Russian sensitivities. He said
Russian PermRep Vitaly Churkin had expressed gratitude during
a February 19 meeting for the SYG's handling of Kosovo's
declaration of independence; Ban had surmised that the
Russians were looking for a face-saving way to back away from
the Kosovo issue. Ban thought Churkin had accepted that
Russia had had its day in court and would likely accept the
UN-EU transition if the EU could refrain from touting EU
authority in Kosovo during its early phases. Churkin asked
in particular that during the transition period UNMIK and the
EU refrain from holding joint press conferences and from
issuing joint documents.
3. (C) To mitigate what he sees as a potential for serious
disruption of the end-game, Ban said he would dispatch Under
Secretary-General Jean-Marie Guehenno quietly to Brussels to
SIPDIS
ask that Feith in particular be asked to lower his profile on
Kosovo chain-of-command issues and related coordination
issues. Ban would welcome our help in managing the EU's
Kosovo profile vis-a-vis the UN.
KHALILZAD
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/20/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL UNMIK YI
SUBJECT: BAN TO USUN ON KOSOVO: HELP ME TO HELP EU
Classified By: Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad for Reasons 1.4 b/d.
1. (C) In a one-on-one meeting on February 20 with Ambassador
Khalilzad, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon compared the UN's
remaining tenure in Kosovo to a movie fade-out, but
complained that EU leadership is complicating UNMIK's
transition strategy. Ban cited in particular comments --
attributed in the press to EU foreign policy chief Javier
Solana and to incoming EU special envoy for Kosovo Peter
Feith -- effectively asserting immediate EU supremacy to the
UN in Kosovo. He said these comments contrast with his own
public position and initial post-declaration statements from
Brussels, both of which acknowledged that UNMIK was still in
charge.
2. (C) Ban said the 120-day UN-EU transition period was
essential not just to an orderly transfer of operational
control but to management of Russian sensitivities. He said
Russian PermRep Vitaly Churkin had expressed gratitude during
a February 19 meeting for the SYG's handling of Kosovo's
declaration of independence; Ban had surmised that the
Russians were looking for a face-saving way to back away from
the Kosovo issue. Ban thought Churkin had accepted that
Russia had had its day in court and would likely accept the
UN-EU transition if the EU could refrain from touting EU
authority in Kosovo during its early phases. Churkin asked
in particular that during the transition period UNMIK and the
EU refrain from holding joint press conferences and from
issuing joint documents.
3. (C) To mitigate what he sees as a potential for serious
disruption of the end-game, Ban said he would dispatch Under
Secretary-General Jean-Marie Guehenno quietly to Brussels to
SIPDIS
ask that Feith in particular be asked to lower his profile on
Kosovo chain-of-command issues and related coordination
issues. Ban would welcome our help in managing the EU's
Kosovo profile vis-a-vis the UN.
KHALILZAD