VZCZCXRO9000
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHVB #0173 0461448
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 151448Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7308
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000173 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
FOR EUR, EUR/SCE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV ETRD CASC HR AF NATO KIDE
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES NATO, PROPERTY RESTITUTION, 
ISAF, AND COMMERCIAL ISSUES WITH CROATIAN PRESIDENT 
 
(U) Sensitive but unclassified; please handle accordingly. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Ambassador met July 13 with Croatian President 
Stjepan Mesic to discuss Afghanistan, NATO, property 
restitution, and commercial issues.  Their discussion of 
Kosovo and the Italy-Croatia dispute on Italian victims of 
Partisan atrocities during WWII are covered septel. 
 
NATO Preparations 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The Ambassador noted positively increased 
high-level GOC participation in the effort to prepare the 
country for NATO membership.  In particular, constituting a 
State Committee consisting of the president, the prime 
minister, and the speaker of parliament would help ensure 
that defense reform efforts did not flag and the public 
education campaign about NATO would make progress.  The 
Ambassador promised to work closely with Croatia's NATO 
Ambassador Davor Bozinovic to support the GOC's efforts. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Mesic noted that NATO membership will bring Croatia 
numerous military, security, and economic benefits.  The 
State Committee's efforts to make the public more aware of 
these benefits was a vital task.  For too long the media in 
Croatia have had a critical attitude about NATO that has 
engendered public skepticism.  The GOC has to take part of 
the blame for this since it has not worked aggressively in 
the past to counter these arguments; with the State Committee 
this time is past, the various institutions of the GOC are 
united and progress is being made. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Mesic noted that in his view a referendum on NATO 
membership would not be necessary under the constitution 
since joining the alliance would not cede Croatian 
sovereignty. 
 
Croatian contributions to ISAF 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The Ambassador noted USG appreciation for the GOC's 
plan to increase the contribution of Croatian troops in ISAF 
from the current level of 150, to 200 in 2007 and 300 in 
¶2008.  Croatian participation in this multilateral effort is 
a vital contribution to the future of Afghanistan and its 
ability to transition to a modern, democratic state free from 
the Taliban's reign of terror. 
 
Property Restitution 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The Ambassador raised the issue of property 
confiscated by the Communist Yugoslav government; he noted 
that there were a number of American citizens who were 
currently ineligible to apply for restitution under Croatian 
law, although Croatian citizens can do so.  He told Mesic 
that he would be meeting again with the Justice Minister 
shortly to address this issue, and he hoped the president 
would be able to support some kind of resolution for these 
claimants, must of whom were now very old.  He left with the 
president a short paper with illustrative examples of 
Americans who would benefit from a claims procedure. 
 
Armored Personnel Carriers 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The Ambassador noted that the US company General 
Dynamics was bidding on a contract to supply the Croatian 
armed forces with 126 armored personnel carriers; working 
with GD would not only help the army fill a critical gap in 
its capabilities, but would also bring benefits to the 
Croatian company that would be GD's partner.  Mesic noted the 
importance of offset arrangements in GOC consideration of APC 
bidders and said that a decision had already been reached in 
principle to split the APC contract between GD and its 
Finnish competitor Patria. 
BRADTKE