SWISS RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR ORAL STATEMENTS FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L BERN 000381 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/SCE (M.TOUSSAINT/P.PFEUFFER) AND EUR/CE (Y.SAINT-ANDRE) E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/11/2019 TAGS: AORC PREL ICJ KV SZ SUBJECT: SWISS RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR ORAL STATEMENTS FOR ICJ ADVISORY OPINION ON KOSOVO'S DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE REF: STATE 90199 Classified By: Acting POLE Counselor Chris Buck; reasons 1.4(b) and (d) . ¶1. (C) Poloff delivered reftel talking points on September 3 to Didier Chassot, Regional Coordinator for South-Eastern Europe at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). Chassot noted that Switzerland was still considering whether to deliver an oral statement supporting Kosovo at the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) hearings in December. He added that the decision would be made at the highest levels of the Swiss government. In response to reftel talking points regarding the progress Kosovo has made in its first year and a half of independence, Chassot said that Switzerland agreed that Kosovo had made "great strides" and that the trends were "quite favorable," but added that there was still a lot of work to do. Chassot emphasized that Switzerland supports Kosovo's independence and already has submitted two written statements to the ICJ on the subject. ¶2. (C) Prior to this discussion with Chassot, Poloff coordinated with Ruth Millard of the British Embassy, who had also delivered very similar points to the FDFA on behalf of the United Kingdom. Millard informed poloff that she received the same message from Chassot. On September 10, Millard informed poloff that Chassot subsequently had informed Millard that the GoS has decided not to participate in the ICJ's oral hearing. Chassot described this decision as consistent with Switzerland's general practice of not taking part in such hearings. He reiterated that the GoS already has submitted two official notes to the ICJ in support of Kosovo independence (being one of 37 countries to do so in April, and one of 15 countries to provide additional observations in July). BEYER