Serbia: Ambassador's First Meeting with President Tadic

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 05 BELGRADE 000019 SIPDIS AMEMBASSY ANKARA PASS TO AMCONSUL ADANA AMEMBASSY ASTANA PASS TO AMCONSUL ALMATY AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL LEIPZIG AMEMBASSY BELGRADE PASS TO AMEMBASSY PODGORICA AMEMBASSY HELSINKI PASS TO AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG AMEMBASSY ATHENS PASS TO AMCONSUL THESSALONIKI AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PASS TO AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PASS TO AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/01/29 TAGS: PREL PGOV SR KV SUBJECT: Serbia: Ambassador's First Meeting with President Tadic CLASSIFIED BY: Mary Warlick, Ambassador, State, EXEC; REASON: 1.4(B), (D) Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) In a January 28 meeting with Serbian President Tadic, the Ambassador emphasized her desire to expand bilateral cooperation on defense and economic issues, as well as to increase high-level contacts between our governments. Tadic welcomed the intent but expressed frustration that he had not been able to visit Washington for over four years. Echoing comments made in his public remarks during the Ambassador's credentialing ceremony (para. 12),Tadic warned that U.S. policy toward Kosovo threatened democracy in Serbia by strengthening the nationalist opposition. The Ambassador reiterated U.S. support for Serbia's EU aspirations and urged continued strong cooperation with the ICTY. Tadic expressed appreciation for U.S. support on EU integration and explained that Serbia was pursuing the remaining ICTY indictees because it was in its own interest to do so. Similarly, as a Dayton guarantor Serbia would continue to support the territorial integrity of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Tadic said. He told the Ambassador that he would work with Croatian President-elect Josipovic, an old acquaintance, to address the many difficult issues dividing Serbia and Croatia. On Kosovo, Tadic emphatically stated that Serbia would not change its position on its own territorial integrity. He expressed the desire to pursue a dialogue after the International Court of Justice renders its advisory opinion, as the current situation was untenable. The Ambassador responded that the dialogue should begin now in order to find the best way to manage reaction to the ICJ's opinion and move forward on the many pressing issues related to Kosovo. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) After presenting her credentials on January 28, the Ambassador had a 45 minute working meeting with President Boris Tadic. Tadic was accompanied by his foreign policy advisor Jovan Ratkovic and MFA State Secretary Mirko Stefanovic. Bilateral -------------- ¶3. (C) The Ambassador told Tadic that she was eager to work with him to build on the strong foundation created by her predecessors, noting that Vice President Biden's May 2009 visit to Belgrade had opened a new chapter in our bilateral relations. She said that the military-to-military relationship was strong, but it was time to take it to the next level through increased joint training and exchanges, Serbian contributions to peacekeeping missions, and participation in NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP) activities. The Ambassador also told Tadic that she would focus on expanding economic and business ties, including new investments, and supporting the completion of Serbia's WTO accession. She also emphasized her commitment to seek opportunities for additional high-level contacts between our governments. She noted President Tadic's visit to UNGA last fall, the recent visits of Defense Minister Sutanovac and Foreign Minister Jeremic to Washington, and Interior Minister Dacic's meetings this week. The Ambassador pointed to two upcoming congressional delegations to Serbia and the February 10 groundbreaking for the New Embassy Compound (NEC) in Belgrade as early opportunities to continue our engagement and further highlight the relationship publicly. ¶4. (C) Tadic said he was pleasantly surprised to hear about the scheduled groundbreaking event, as he had worked with four different U.S. ambassadors going back to his tenure as Minister of Defense to identify a suitable location for the new U.S. Embassy BELGRADE 00000019 002 OF 005 and facilitate the sale. He commented that he was encouraged to see countries such as the U.S. and China investing in modern diplomatic facilities in Belgrade. He also stated that it was time for the Serbian government to reconstruct its own buildings damaged during the 1999 NATO intervention. ¶5. (C) Shifting topics abruptly, Tadic voiced a complaint that despite all the talk of expanding the bilateral relations and the strong ties between Serbia and the U.S., he himself had not visited Washington in over four years. (Note: To our knowledge this is the first time that Tadic has expressed an interest in doing so in several years.) He commented that concrete results of high-level engagement were lacking, and cautioned that U.S. policy toward the Balkans, in particular on Kosovo, had implications for democracy in Serbia. Recalling his own early involvement in the democracy movement and the month he had spent in jail for his activism, Tadic said that his government was committed to continued democratic reform; it had to contend with a significant nationalist opposition, however. The Ambassador reiterated the USG's commitment, following on the Vice President's May 2009 visit, to sustained bilateral engagement with Serbia on all issues, including those areas where we do not agree. She offered to continue to explore possibilities for high-level visits on both sides to keep our bilateral channels open. European Integration and ICTY Cooperation -------------- ¶6. (C) The Ambassador recalled Vice President Biden's expression of support for Serbia's European aspirations and congratulated Tadic on his government's recent achievements with the EU, including visa liberalization, implementation of the Interim Trade Agreement, and submission of its membership application. The U.S. saw the integration of the Western Balkans into the European Union as a key priority and remained prepared, working with the EU, to support this process. She underscored the importance of continued engagement with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and U.S. readiness to support the hunt for Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic. ¶7. (S) Tadic expressed appreciation for U.S. help with the EU accession process. On ICTY cooperation, he explained that Serbia was working intensively to capture Ratko Mladic "for our own reasons," not due to pressure from the international community or the ICTY, but to demonstrate its own resolve to capture war criminals. He emphasized Serbia's commitment to reconciliation in the region, pointing to its responsibilities as a guarantor of Dayton. He also underscored Serbia's commitment to cooperation with the U.S. on a range of threats, including organized crime, corruption, terrorism, and narcotics, pointing to the success of several recent joint counternarcotics operations. Tadic stated that undertaking such sensitive operations was politically risky and Serbia would continue to do the right thing; in return, however, Serbia hoped for similarly strong bilateral engagement in other areas and expected support from the U.S. on these efforts with other countries in the region. The Ambassador expressed U.S. appreciation for Serbia's strong cooperation in these important areas and said she would be glad to discuss any areas of specific concern. Regional Cooperation -------------- BELGRADE 00000019 003 OF 005 ¶8. (C) The Ambassador noted the important role that Serbia can and needs to play on regional relations and stability, particularly with regard to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. She conveyed appreciation for the Serbian government's constructive support of the Butmir process and urged Tadic to remain engaged with the parties, including RS leader Milorad Dodik, in particular. She expressed USG concern about the prospect of any referendum moving forward in the Republika Srpska. Tadic said that Serbia believed the preservation of BiH's territorial integrity was paramount; as a guarantor of the Dayton Accords, Serbia sought a peaceful solution on constitutional reform that would be consistent with Dayton principles and preserve the model of two entities, three constituent peoples. Tadic noted that he was seeking a parliamentary resolution on Srebrenica to recognize the gravity of the crimes committed there. ¶9. (C) With regard to Croatia, Tadic said that he had known President-elect Ivo Josipovic for a long time and wanted to work with him to address the many different open issues such as the "huge problem" of refugees and property rights. He said he expected the U.S. to support Serbian efforts to improve that relationship and address the outstanding issues. Tadic told the Ambassador that he would soon visit Albania and commented on the enormous organized crime problem facing Montenegro, where he also requested U.S. support. He emphasized that Serbia supported the independence and territorial integrity of its neighbors in the region, but many issues needed to be addressed. ¶10. (C) Turning to Kosovo, Tadic told the Ambassador "I must be as clear as possible with you - Serbia will not change its views on its territorial integrity. I want to be direct with you, as I have with your other colleagues. After the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issues its advisory opinion, we want to pursue dialogue and find a way to address the issues related to Kosovo, as the current situation is untenable." The Ambassador responded that despite our clear differences, the U.S. and Serbia needed to keep the channels of communication on Kosovo open. While the Vice President had conveyed our agreement to disagree on Kosovo, it was important for Serbia to focus on practical ways to improve the lives of Serbs in Kosovo and on resolving outstanding issues. She emphasized the need for Serbia to take a responsible and forward looking approach after the ICJ opinion, consistent with President Tadic's own forward looking approach toward European integration, that would not do harm to stability in the region nor to the other important work on our bilateral agenda. She recommended both sides begin a dialogue now about how to manage the way forward and said she hoped to continue discussions with Tadic's foreign policy advisor, Jovan Ratkovic, on this subject as early as next week. Comment -------------- ¶11. (S) Comment: President Tadic made clear during the meeting and in his public statement that he does not intend to back down on Kosovo. At the same time, he demonstrated that he is open to dialogue and told us what he wants: a warm reception in Washington and continued high level engagement across the U.S. interagency, cooperation on sensitive security issues, public support for Serbia's efforts to improve regional relations, and sensitivity to the domestic political constraints he faces on Kosovo policy. Now is the opportune moment to lay out for Tadic and his key foreign policy advisors what we expect of him, namely a constructive and coordinated response to the ICJ's upcoming advisory opinion accompanied by increased pragmatism in establishing a modus vivendi BELGRADE 00000019 004 OF 005 with Kosovo, and continued forceful engagement with Milorad Dodik to preserve stability in BiH. In the coming months, high-level Washington engagement with Tadic will be essential to drive these messages home. The other sine qua non is a strong, consistent message from the European Union that continued antagonism and inflexibility on Kosovo after the ICJ opinion will hamper Serbia's progress toward membership. End Comment. ¶12. (U) Text of President Tadic's remarks (translation provided by the Presidency): ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY MR. BORIS TADIC, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA, ON THE OCCASSION OF THE PRESENT A TION OF THE LETTERS OF CREDENCE BY HER EXCELLENCY MRS. MARY WARLICK, AMBASSADOR EXTRAORDINARY AND PLENIPOTENTIARY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA Belgrade, 28 January 2010 Excellency, It is my great pleasure to receive the Letters by which the Honorable Barack Obama, President of the United States of America is accrediting you as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Serbia. May I ask you, Excellency, to convey to President Obama my cordial greetings and the assurances of my highest consideration. The relationship with the United States of America is one of the pillars of the foreign policy of the Republic of Serbia. Ever since the times when the interests of our country in the United States of America were represented by the diplomat and the well-known scientist of Serbian origin Mihailo Pupin, the bilateral relations between our two countries have been characterized by friendship and alliance at all turning points in the world's history of the twentieth century. Such relations and all-round cooperation were damaged at the time of the regime of Slobodan Milosevic. Following the democratic changed in Serbia, we have restored our close cooperation which entered a new quality phase after the visit of Vice-President Biden. Today, Serbia is a truly democratic country. In the past ten years of the democratic transition we have successfully implemented many reforms guaranteeing the respect of human rights, minority rights, media freedoms and free elections. We are very grateful for the assistance by the United States of America in this democratization process in Serbia. We are particularly satisfied with the successful cooperation that we established with the United States of America in combating international terrorism and organized crime. BELGRADE 00000019 005 OF 005 Excellency, Large Serbian community in America has for centuries provided a link between our two countries and contributed to the creation of American society. Serbia is a sister state with the State of Illinois and the main partner of the Army of Serbia is the National Guard of Ohio. We are particularly pleased with the fact that American companies are among the biggest foreign investors in Serbia. Madam Ambassador, Becoming a full member of the European Union is the strategic goal of the Republic of Serbia. We are convinced that the European Union will not be complete until Serbia and other Western Balkan countries are integrated into it. The support of the United States of America in that regard is of exceptional importance. Madam Ambassador, Serbia will continue to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity in Kosovo by political and diplomatic means. We would like 2010 to be the year of peaceful, compromise and realistic solution of this issue, after the International Court of Justice renders its advisory opinion. Despite different positions that we have regarding the status of Kosovo, we hope that American policy will respect legitimate Serbian interests and that it will not jeopardize democracy in Serbia. At the same time, Serbia is very much concerned about the plans of Pristina to forcefully establish its rule over the majority-Serb northern Kosovo. If this strategy were to be implemented it would have unforeseen consequences for the stability of the region. Excellency, Serbia is strongly committed to strengthening the regional cooperation and good-neighbourly relations. Without a stable, democratic Serbia it is not possible to imagine the stable and prosperous Western Balkans. Serbia respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, its internal arrangements defined by the Dayton Accords as well as the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Excellency, You begin your mission at the very important time for the Republic of Serbia but also for the further development of the relations between our two countries. I wish you every success in the discharge of your responsible duties. l am convinced that with your knowledge and experience you will make an important contribution to the development of the overall cooperation between our two countries. WARLICK