Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09ZAGREB572
2009-09-16 15:16:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Zagreb
Cable title:  

AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES SLOVENIA, BOSNIA, KOSOVO,

Tags:  PREL PGOV HR SI ICTY ICJ 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO7135
OO RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR
DE RUEHVB #0572/01 2591516
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 161516Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9535
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ZAGREB 000572 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/01/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV HR SI ICTY ICJ
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES SLOVENIA, BOSNIA, KOSOVO,
SERBIA AND ICTY IN INITIAL CALL WITH FM JANDROKOVIC

REF: A. ZAGREB 559

B. LJUBLJANA 286

Classified By: Rick Holtzapple, PolEcon Counselor, for reasons 1.4 (b)
& (d).

SUMMARY
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ZAGREB 000572

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/01/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV HR SI ICTY ICJ
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES SLOVENIA, BOSNIA, KOSOVO,
SERBIA AND ICTY IN INITIAL CALL WITH FM JANDROKOVIC

REF: A. ZAGREB 559

B. LJUBLJANA 286

Classified By: Rick Holtzapple, PolEcon Counselor, for reasons 1.4 (b)
& (d).

SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) The Ambassador paid his initial call on FM Gordan
Jandrokovic late in the afternoon on September 14. Most of
the hour-long meeting was spent discussing the recent
agreement with Slovenia to get EU accession talks going again
and to reach an agreement on an arbitration process for the
disputed border. Jandrokovic said the two sides were
communicating much better than in the past, and that it was
vital to stress the "win-win" nature of the agreement. He
confirmed Croatia's readiness to use the latest, June 15
draft of an Arbitration Agreement as the starting point for
new talks, and welcomed the idea that negotiations on both
accession and arbitration should re-start at the beginning of
October. The Ambassador responded that the U.S. believed an
Arbitration Agreement was achievable, but that Croatia would
need to be prepared to accept reference to the possibility of
Slovenian contact or junction with international waters, as
long as that was not a foreordained outcome. Jandrokovic
also commented on relations with Serbia, Bosnia and the ICTY.
END SUMMARY.

SLOVENIA
--------------


2. (C) Jandrokovic opened the meeting by noting his
appreciation of U.S. support for Croatia's NATO and EU
membership. The GoC sees NATO and EU membership for all the
countries of SE Europe as the only sustainable way to resolve
regional issues and bring stability to SE Europe.


3. (C) For this reason, Jandrokovic welcomed USG praise for
the September 11 agreement between PM Kosor and Slovene PM
Pahor on unblocking Croatia's EU accession talks (REFS A and
B). The talks had not been easy, but the result was
"excellent" and truly a "win-win" outcome. The atmosphere
between the two governments was much better now. The
Croatians had a better understanding of how difficult this
issue is for Pahor, and there was increasing trust on both

sides. Croatia was keen to keep pursuing "silent diplomacy"
as much as it could; indeed Jandrokovic considered
maintaining this approach critical to the ultimate success of
negotiations. He said GoC statements would avoid
"triumphalism" and would always focus on the balanced nature
of the agreement and the "win-win" result. But every day, he
warned, the media would try to provoke disagreement, using
one sides' comments to try and prod the other side into
denials or intemperate comments.


4. (C) Therefore, the Croatians hoped the process could move
forward quickly. Jandrokovic said he had spoken with Swedish
FM Bildt, and Bildt had replied that the Slovenes had
indicated they did not want to move too fast. Jandrokovic
suggested scheduling an intergovernmental conference (IGC)
for accession negotiations by the end of September. Bildt
replied he would be traveling Sept. 19 to Oct. 1, but would
look at holding in IGC soon thereafter. (NOTE: On Sept. 15,
GoC officials informed post that an IGC would be scheduled
for October 2. END NOTE.)


5. (C) Jandrokovic once again confirmed Croatia was ready to
re-start negotiations on an Arbitration Agreement for the
border on the same day as an IGC, and to use the June 15
draft from Rehn as the starting point. He said the challenge
would be to find language regarding the arbitrators'
consideration of Slovenia's "junction" with the High Sea that
could be acceptable to both sides. Croatia would be able to
accept any decision the Arbitral Tribunal might make. What
Croatia could not accept, however, was an Arbitration
Agreement that would virtually require the Tribunal to give
Slovenia territorial contact with international waters. That
decision needed to be left open for the arbitrators to
decide. Given the improved atmosphere, he said he was
confident an agreement was achievable. "We have a much
better understanding of the Slovenes' fears," he said. "We
both need an agreement that we can explain to our publics."


6. (C) Regarding the timing of the process, Jandrokovic said
that it was in Croatia's interest to reach an Arbitration
Agreement as soon as possible and "finish this story." He
also claimed that both Croatia and Slovenia had already
agreed that the actual decision of the Arbitral Tribunal on
the border should only be announced after Croatia's EU
accession process was complete and the Accession Treaty
ratified.

ZAGREB 00000572 002 OF 003




7. (C) The Ambassador noted that Washington was very pleased
that Croatia and Slovenia had reached agreement on unblocking
the EU talks and re-starting the process of negotiating an
Arbitration Agreement. Both sides had done an excellent job
maintaining "silent diplomacy", and we hoped this could
continue as much as possible. When it came time to negotiate
the Arbitration Agreement, the Ambassador emphasized that
Croatia needed to find a way to accommodate explicit
reference to junction or contact with the High Sea as a real
possible outcome of the arbitration. At the same time, he
noted that Croatia's need to ensure that such an outcome was
not presupposed or foreordained would also have to be
accommodated in the text.

SERBIA, KOSOVO AND THE ICJ
--------------


8. (C) Jandrokovic told the Ambassador that Croatia has
already notified the ICJ Registry of its intent to offer an
oral argument in the Serbia-Kosovo case in December. Croatia
expected this to prompt a negative reaction from Belgrade,
and Jandrokovic looked to the US to help explain to the Serbs
why Croatia's step was not a hostile action. At the same
time, Croatia would be looking for other avenues of
cooperation with Serbia to try and "cool down" relations.
Croatia had recently agreed with Hungary's proposal to host a
trilateral (Croat, Serb, Hungarian) conference on economic
development in Budapest this fall, and would look for similar
opportunities to engage with Belgrade.


9. (C) Jandrokovic also noted the continuing difficulties
regarding Kosovar participation in regional meetings and
cooperation. He suggested that all the partners who support
Kosovar participation should do a better job of coordinating
their approach to such sessions, so that common positions
could be reached on how to handle the Serbs and when to stay
away from or downgrade attendance at events where Kosovo is
not represented.

BOSNIA
--------------


10. (C) Jandrokovic observed that the situation in Bosnia was
not good, and was not improving. Croatia needed a
functioning state there, in part because of the requirements
of the long border and the management of the port of Ploce.
But "we can't even find anyone who is in charge of decisions
there." Jandrokovic mentioned that he would soon be visiting
Sarajevo to speak at a meeting with one hundred or so ethnic
Croatian business people. His message to the Croatian
community there would be consistent -- your capital is
Sarajevo, and you need to fight for a functioning state in
B-H that respects your national identity as well.

ICTY
--------------


11. (C) The Ambassador noted that, with the Slovene blockade
being lifted, the issue of whether Croatia was fully
cooperating with the ICTY would assume renewed urgency and
importance. The U.S. understood Croatia's frustration that
it had been unable to convince ICTY Prosecutor Brammertz that
the outstanding documents requested had either never existed
or been destroyed or purloined in the intervening years. The
need, however, for Croatia to satisfy the ICTY's requirements
was unavoidable. Jandrokovic replied that Brammertz would be
coming to visit Croatia at the end of September. (NOTE: The
visit is scheduled for Sept. 28. END NOTE.) "But it is
impossible to persuade him," Jandrokovic complained. Croatia
has asked Brammertz for proposals on further steps that
Croatia should take to demonstrate its good will and prove
that no documents are available, but had not been given
specific ideas. Croatia would continue to engage with
Brammertz, but felt that he was unlikely to bend. Therefore,
the GoC was also seeking to get the ICTY bench to rule on
whether or not Croatia's efforts to find the documents had
been sufficient. The Ambassador reiterated that Croatia
needed to think anew and think creatively such that by the
end of the process all conceivable opinions and remedies had
been exhausted.

COMMENT
--------------


12. (C) Throughout this introductory call, Jandrokovic
repeatedly expressed appreciation for Croatia's relationship
with the U.S., and showed an interest in hearing our advice
on issues facing the country. (NOTE: On September 15,
Jandrokovic's Ministry issued a press release explicitly
stating that the June 15 draft of the Arbitration Agreement
would be the starting point for further talks, thus helping

ZAGREB 00000572 003 OF 003


Slovene PM Pahor's position in his domestic debates, even at
the risk of negative reaction from within Croatia. END
NOTE.) We will continue to stress to the Croatians that they
should be able to accept a reference to the possibility of
Slovenian maritime contact with international waters in an
Arbitration Agreement, as long as the Agreement does not
presuppose such an outcome. If that double message is
understood and accepted in both Zagreb and Ljubljana, we
believe conclusion of an Arbitration Agreement is definitely
achievable. END COMMENT.
FOLEY