POSITIVE ATMOSPHERE AT INFORMAL SOUTHEAST EUROPEAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 000132

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/SCE AND EUR/RPM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/09/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL NATO HR
SUBJECT: POSITIVE ATMOSPHERE AT INFORMAL SOUTHEAST EUROPEAN
DEFENSE MINISTERIAL IN ZAGREB

Classified By: Poloff Peter D'Amico for reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)


1. (C) Summary: On March 5 and 6 Croatian Defense Minister
Branko Vukelic hosted an informal meeting of Southeastern
European Defense Ministers that focused on advancing peace
and stability through Euro-Atlantic integration. Defense
Ministers from Albania, Bosnia, Macedonia, Hungary, Greece,
and Turkey attended, as well as Deputy Minister or State
Secretary level participants from Montenegro, Slovenia,
Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, and Serbia. The U.S. Ambassador
to Croatia represented the United States and an Assistant
Secretary General attended for NATO. All the participants
expressed strong support for continued Euro-Atlantic
integration in the region.


2. Summary continued. The positive atmosphere at the
meeting allowed productive consideration of the
region's problems such as the threat post by the world
economic crisis to future integration. The ministerial also
generated constructive discussion of bilateral problems
facing the region such as the name issue between Greece and
Macedonia. The participants also reviewed how countries in
the region could improve their contribution to international
peace keeping operations. NATO ASYG Sedivy embraced a
suggestion from Bosnian Defense Minster Cikotic to try to
inventory training facilities in Southeast Europe and better
coordinate their use. The Ministers agreed to have another
meeting this summer, and Albanian Defense Minister Oketa
offered to host it. End Summary.

Euro-Atlantic Integration: A Success for One is a Success
for All


3. (C) On March 5 and 6, the GOC held an informal meeting of
Southeastern European defense ministers in Zagreb that
focused on advancing peace and stability through
Euro-Atlantic integration. Croatian Defense Minister Branko
Vukelic opened the meeting by noting that the widening of
Euro-Atlantic institutions contributed to peace and stability
in the region. Croatian Deputy Prime Minister Kosor stated
in her welcoming remarks that all the countries in the region
which want to join these institutions and meet the standards
should be able to join. Hungarian Defense Minister Szekeres
said that greater cooperation and strengthening of
Euro-Atlantic institutions in the region was the best way to
deal with the potential problems that could emerge as a
result of worsening economic conditions around the world.


4. (C) The participants expressed support for Croatia and
Albania joining NATO at the upcoming April Summit. Bosnian
Defense Minister Selmo Cikotic described Croatia's and
Albania's success in achieving NATO membership as a success
for the entire region. Slovenian State Secretary Uros Krek
emphasized that the GoS looked forward to seeing Croatia and
Albania as members of NATO in April. (Note: Despite a heavy
Croatian media presence at the press conference after the
ministerial, there were no questions on the border dispute
between Croatia and Slovenia that has delayed the
ratification of Croatia's NATO accession protocol in
Slovenia. End Note.) The Ambassador stated that the USG
supported the aspirations of all the countries in the region
to join Euro-Atlantic institutions and remained strongly
committed to NATO's open door policy. The Ambassador
stressed that membership had to be earned by meeting NATO
standards and that the Adriatic Charter plays an important
role in helping countries learn the patterns of cooperation
that they will need as NATO members. All the members of the
A-5 stressed the value of the Adriatic Charter.

Name Issue Discussed in Civil Fashion


5. (C) As part of the shared vision among the participants of
a united and free Europe, Macedonian Defense Minister Zoran
Konjanovski said Macedonia should become a member of NATO as
soon as possible. Greek Minister of Defense Vagelis
Meimarakis said that even if the name issue could not be
resolved at meetings such as this one, these types of
gatherings create a better atmosphere and send a positive
signal to the public on both sides. He noted that Greek PM
Konstandinos Karamanlis had tried to show political
leadership by putting forth a proposal to accept the name
"Macedonia" with a geographic modifier, an idea that was
opposed by eighty percent of the public in Greece.

Bosnia


6. (C) Bosnian Defense Minister Cikotic encouraged the

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international community to support those in Bosnia, such as
members of the defense sector, who were trying to move the
country forward. By making progress in the defense sector,
other actors in BiH could learn to be more responsible.
Turkish Defense Minster Mehmet Gonul stressed that the
borders of Bosnia must be protected and that the
international community needed to increase its efforts in
BiH.

Kosovo


7. (C) Albanian Defense Minister Gazmend Oketa noted that the
emergence of Kosovo as an independent state contributed to
the stability of the region. Serbian State Secretary Dusan
Spasojevic said that on Kosovo, Serbia would agree to
disagree with those countries that had recognized Kosovo's
independence. However, the GoS would pursue its policy on
Kosovo only through peaceful diplomatic and legal means. He
went on to characterize NATO as a "partner" in Kosovo and
said that Serbia was ready to "fully" cooperate with KFOR.

Peace Keeping Operations


8. (C) The participants expressed their general support for
peacekeeping operations. Italian Under Secretary of State
Giuseppe Cossiga cited the value of regional multinational
peacekeeping units in increasing understanding among
countries in Southeast Europe. Bosnian Defense Minister
Cikotic noted that the region had a number of training
facilities, such as the Peace Support Operations Training
Center in Sarajevo, that should be inventoried to improve the
coordination of their use. In response, NATO Assistant
Secretary General Jiri Sedivy said the Defense Policy and
Planning Division at NATO stood ready to support the
initiative.

Let's Do This Again Sometime Soon


9. (C) The participants agreed at the end of the meeting that
such informal discussions were useful and should be
continued. Albanian Defense Minister Oketa volunteered to
host the next such informal meeting tentatively planned for
sometime this summer.

Comment


10. (C) While short on concrete result this informal
ministerial offered a useful opportunity to re-focus
attention on the importance of integration at a time of
"enlargement fatigue" and troubling linkages to bilateral
issues. The discussion of even contentious topics such as
the Macedonian name issue were constructive and open. If
plans go ahead for the next such ministerial, it would likely
be a good environment to communicate USG views to countries
in the region. It would also continue to provide a useful
forum for the participants to build personal ties with
members of other delegations that could help ease bilateral
disputes and develop a more united approach on the common
challenges that lay ahead in Southeastern Europe and beyond.
BRADTKE