(C) BOSNIAN AMBASSADOR URGES USG TO SUPPORT MAP

C O N F I D E N T I A L COPENHAGEN 000544 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/SCE, EUR/RPM, EUR/ERA, EUR/NB E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/01/2019 TAGS: PREL MARR BK SUBJECT: (C) BOSNIAN AMBASSADOR URGES USG TO SUPPORT MAP NOW Classified By: (U) Ambassador Laurie S. Fulton; reason 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (C) At the request of Ambassador Muhamed Hajdarevic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassador Fulton received him on short notice December 1. Hajdarevic explained that Bosnian Ambassadors were under instruction to approach their U.S. counterparts in all NATO states to urge the USG to support the MAP process (for his country to join NATO) now, and not link support for MAP to the constitutional reforms that are the subject of the Butmir process. He asserted that Bosnia meets the technical criteria for MAP now, and argued that it would be "very bad" to send a discouraging signal at a time when there is broad consensus in his country (74 percent) in favor of joining NATO. Constitutional reforms, he continued, are hostage to the veto of "part of one ethnic group"; as a result, "we are stuck." Hajdarevic indicated that Denmark was not receptive to his argument but that Lithuania and Latvia, which he covers from Copenhagen, were. ¶2. (C) Hajdarevic mentioned that his country would soon increase its military contribution in Afghanistan from two liaison officers working through Denmark to over 250 troops working with the German contingent. He added that Bosnia has over 100 troops in Iraq doing demining work. He stressed that these contributions are not conditional on MAP, but evidence of Bosnia's commitment to shared security goals. FULTON