CROATIA SUPPORTIVE OF THE EXPANSION OF ADRIATIC

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000674 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MARR NATO PREL MK HR AL SR MW BK SUBJECT: CROATIA SUPPORTIVE OF THE EXPANSION OF ADRIATIC CHARTER REF: A. STATE 100723 B. ZAGREB 000620 ¶1. (SBU) PolOff on September 23 discussed ref A points on the expansion of the Adriatic Charter with Marina Rozic, Head of the NATO Department at the Croatian Foreign Ministry. Rozic said that Croatia wanted to continue with the Adriatic Charter with Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) as full participants as well as with an open door policy towards Serbia. The Adriatic Charter was a "great" mechanism that had delivered good results. Rozic stated that the Charter also provided an opportunity for Croatia to play a leadership role in the region, which it could not do with some other regional issues. For all these reasons the GoC was excited about the future of the Adriatic Charter. Rozic noted that the GoC had already begun cooperation with their Montenegrin counterparts on issues related to Adriatic Charter and NATO both in the MFA and MOD (ref B). She said that they had not yet heard anything from BiH regarding the Adriatic Charter. ¶2. (SBU) Rozic said that an exchange of diplomatic notes might be the most elegant way to expand the Adriatic Charter. Nevertheless, she believed that some kind of stronger framework could possibly be needed after an exchange of notes. It might be necessary to clarify Macedonia's status as a mentor in the Charter since despite having fulfilled the requirements, Skopje had still not received an invitation to join NATO. She hoped that Macedonia and Greece would find a mutually acceptable compromise so Skopje could receive a NATO invitation. Rozic also said that she would consult with the MFA legal department to see if they thought something other than an exchange of diplomatic notes would be required. Regarding the time frame, Rozic agreed that updating the Charter and having a meeting of the expanded Adriatic Charter countries should be done before the end of 2008. Rozic said that the information from the discussion would be passed to Croatian FM Gordan Jandrokovic in advance of the scheduled A3 meeting in New York. Bradtke