AMBASSADOR RICE'S INTRODUCTORY CALL ON THE

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000077 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV UNSC HR SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR RICE'S INTRODUCTORY CALL ON THE CROATIAN PERMREP ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. Croatian PermRep Neven Jurica told Ambassador Rice during a January 29 introductory meeting, that Croatia considered the United States to be a strong ally and friend, and that he would continue his practice of closely coordinating Croatia's Security Council positions with the United States. In the Council, Jurica said Croatia is interested in ensuring stability in Southeastern Europe, including Bosnia and Kosovo; is participating in discussions with the Georgia Group of Friends over the new mandate for UNOMIG; and is eager to work toward a final two-state solution for the Middle East. He said he thought there needed to be a new approach to the Kyoto agreements, and mentioned Croatia's efforts to combat proliferation along the Adriatic coast. On Georgia, Jurica asked Rice about the U.S. position on an Arria-format meeting as a way to hear from Abkhaz de facto authorities. Rice said the U.S. had not yet taken a final position. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) Ambassador Rice paid an introductory call on Croatian PermRep Neven Jurica on January 29. Jurica set the context for the meeting by describing Croatia as a small country which had recently passed a painful process of gaining independence. Croatia hoped to accomplish its internal tasks as soon as possible, according to Jurica, and had already become an established and full democracy. Croatia was now focused on NATO and EU accession. He said over half of the Croats in the world live outside Croatia, including 2.5 million in the United States. Croatians see the United States as the promised land, he said, and consider the U.S. to be among its strongest allies and friends-- a fact which he believed was visible in Croatia's actions in the Security Council. Ambassador Jurica praised Ambassador Rice's first statement in the Council, which she had given earlier in the day on the topic of International Humanitarian Law. ¶3. (SBU) Ambassador Rice reviewed her priorities at the UN, including addressing climate change, non-proliferation, and renewing the U.S. lead role on development and combating disease. She added that the U.S. wanted to extend an outstretched hand to others to make progress on issues such as non-proliferation, and hoped others would reciprocate. Rice invited Jurica to provide his thoughts on the dynamics of the Council and on how best to advance our shared agenda. ¶4. (SBU) Ambassador Jurica said Croatia's main area of interest as a member of the Security Council was to ensure the stability of Southeastern Europe. He said the U.S. efforts to bring about Kosovo's independence was an excellent move, because it narrowed the area for instability. Croatia is also interested in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he said, as Croats are one of the constituent peoples. He said that Croatia was concerned about climate change and had signed the Kyoto protocol. He believed a new approach to Kyoto should be attempted in the near future, but did not go into specifics. Croatia was active in its cooperation on non-proliferation, and had established interdiction mechanisms all along the Adriatic coastline. Turning to the crisis in the Middle East, Jurica said Croatia wanted to see a final two-state solution. He mentioned that Croatia would be supportive of U.S. efforts in Afghanistan, Burma and North Korea as well. He admitted Croatia had very little experience with African issues and that he had not had a good grasp of Africa before he joined the Council. ¶5. (SBU) On Georgia, Ambassador Jurica acknowledged that Croatia was not a "player" in the Group of Friends, but said Croatia would support the consensus of the Western Friends. He asked Ambassador Rice for her views on the Russian threat to block action on a rollover resolution unless Abkhaz representatives were invited to participate in the session under Rule 39 of the Security Council's provisional rules. Rice said that a Rule 39 appearance would not be acceptable to the United States, as there were fundamental principles to protect. She added that the United States did not want gratuitous confrontation with Russia over UNOMIG. Ambassador Jurica asked her if the U.S. was prepared to grant visas for an Arria-format meeting, and she replied that we had not yet taken a final position. Rice