VZCZCXRO4453
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBW #0896/01 1760634
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 250634Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1055
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC 1361
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHMFISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 000896 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PBTS KPAO SR MW YI
SUBJECT: KOSOVO WEEKLY UPDATE: STATUS DELAY GAMES 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Serbian officials, confident that a 
Kosovo status decision will be delayed considerably, 
augmented diplomatic overtures to Russia and European 
countries with the aim of isolating the USG in the push for 
independence.  The GOS reacted quickly to the new draft 
UNSC resolution by echoing Russia's opposition and calling 
on its drafters to withdraw the resolution.  The GOS 
indicated it had drafted a new Kosovo plan for Russia in 
advance of the President's summit with Russian President 
Putin in Kennebunkport.  The GOS has refused to reveal any 
details either to the media or through our diplomatic 
requests, with Kosovo Minister Samardzic saying only the 
plan reflects that "it is very important [for Serbia] to 
have the process restart in the right way."  Samardzic also 
assessed that Pristina would only be willing to engage in 
new talks with "encouragement from the United States." The 
Ambassador, in comments to the press, lamented the utter 
lack of realism in the GOS approach and reminded Belgrade 
that the current UNSCR draft was a final opportunity for 
additional input into the Ahtisaari Plan.  Summary. 
 
GOS strategy: delay through more talks 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Belgrade focused its efforts this week on securing 
more international support for a delay on a status 
decision, attacking the draft UNSC resolution and renewing 
a call for fresh talks with Pristina.  The GOS also 
revealed it drafted a new Kosovo plan for the Russians, but 
would not come forward with any details. 
 
¶3. (U)  On 6/19, after bilateral meetings with the Foreign 
Ministers of France, Portugal, Slovenia and the 
Netherlands, Deputy PM Djelic told Serbian media that he 
assessed "growing support" for further negotiations on 
Kosovo.  Similarly, on a visit to Greece, FM Jeremic said 
on 6/20 that Athens also supports more talks "without 
conditions." 
 
¶4. (SBU) Serbian leaders seized on ICTY prosecutor Carla 
Del Ponte's support for a delay in Kosovo status 
resolution.  Rather than the usual denouncement of 
international representatives for overstepping their 
mandate in discussing Kosovo status, GOS officials here 
defended Del Ponte's statements.  ICTY Cooperation Chair 
Rasim Ljajic said on 6/20 that Del Ponte was "entitled to 
point out to the UNSC anything that could contribute to 
Serbia's cooperation with ICTY."  Ljajic also told 
reporters that Serbia believes Del Ponte's obligation was 
"to provide conditions" for cooperation with ICTY - 
implying that in such a context her remarks were within her 
authority.  (Note: This is a disappointing but unsurprising 
assessment from a government that previously lambasted Del 
Ponte for calling on the EU to stall SAA talks due to lack 
of cooperation with ICTY. End note.) 
 
 
PM attacks draft UNSCR, offers plan to Russians 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶5. (U) Even before the new draft UNSCR was tabled at in New 
York; a GOS attack on "predetermined negotiations" had been 
underway since Sarkozy's original announcement at the end 
of the G8 Summit.  On 6/19, PM spokesperson Srdjan Djuric 
rejected a call for more talks with the automatic result of 
Kosovo independence at the end as unacceptable to Serbia. 
Djuric reiterated Serbia's call for "real negotiations and 
instead of political force."  Belgrade heightened attacks 
on the idea after the formal submission of the new draft 
UNSCR on 6/20 and Russia's subsequent rejection.  Building 
on Russian PermRep Churkin's assessment of the draft as 
"unacceptable", Djuric said on 6/21 that the GOS welcomed 
Russia's decision as a "continuation of principal policy 
and cooperation between Belgrade and Moscow based on the 
respect of the international law and UN Charter." 
 
¶6. (U) In an official statement released on 6/21, Kostunica 
called on "Western nations" to withdraw the draft UNSCR 
because it "robs" Serbia of its territory and violates the 
UN Charter.   Kostunica also assessed that any draft 
resolution based on the implementation of Ahtissari's plan 
that was "doomed" and would not pass the UNSC.  Referring 
to the Serbian parliament's appeal to the UN Secretary- 
General for more talks, Kostunica said that "there has been 
no explanation...why negotiations were severed or why new 
and substantial talks on Kosovo have not been launched 
pursuant to Belgrade's initiative."  Kosovo Minister 
Samardzic told the press that it would be incumbent on the 
USG to "encourage" the Kosovo Albanians to participate in 
new discussions. 
 
BELGRADE 00000896  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) Kosovo Minister Samardzic confirmed on 6/21 that 
the GOS had drafted a new plan for Kosovo and submitted it 
to the Russians, but refused to reveal its contents. 
Samardzic told reporters on 6/21 that he gave Russian 
Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Alekseev a document 
presenting Serbia's proposals for further negotiations. 
He said only that the document draws from Serbia's national 
platform on Kosovo status (a wide autonomy plan). Samardzic 
added that Putin could use the document in his discussions 
with the President in their upcoming Kennebunkport summit 
in early July.  When pressed by reporters on the document's 
content, Samardzic said that he "cannot discuss the 
content...it is [secret] in terms of form" but the "purpose 
of the document is to stimulate the Russian side and brief 
them on our ideas and positions." He added that the 
document includes specific proposals regarding "negotiation 
procedure" and that Serbia wants a quick restart to talks 
in the "direction of compromise."  Official Embassy 
requests to the Kosovo Ministry have thus far been refused, 
but we understand informally that the so-called new plan is 
little more that a reiteration of "substantial autonomy." 
 
¶8. (U) Serbian parliament Speaker Oliver Dulic expressed 
dissatisfaction on 6/21 over the GOS' refusal to share the 
plan.  Dulic said that he was "impatiently waiting for the 
negotiating team or the Ministry for Kosovo to give some 
kind of document" for MPs to study and respond to.  He 
stressed that it was "very important that the MPs should be 
informed about the situation in Kosovo and progress in our 
negotiations and our present situation." 
 
 
Diplomatic Activity 
------------------- 
 
¶9. (U) Denmark: Belgrade wires reported on 6/18 that Danish 
Defense Minister Gade said, during his visit to Kosovo, 
that the process of determining the future status of Kosovo 
had been postponed. 
 
¶10. (U) Russia: According to local press reports, Serbian 
President Tadic and Putin will meet on June 24 in Zagreb as 
Croatia at the Southeast European Energy Summit. 
 
¶11. (U) Slovenia:  Serbian media reported Slovenian FM 
Rupel's comments that decision on Kosovo status might be 
postponed until Slovenia's EU chairmanship in 2008.  He 
said that he would propose postponing the Kosovo solution 
by several months due to disagreement among UNSC members. 
He added that the international community could use the 
postponement to make adjustments toward improving the 
position of Serbs in Kosovo while not going against the 
province's independence. 
 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) Belgrade is triumphant with the change of tone 
among internationals from uniform insistence on a speedy 
resolution of Kosovo status to an increasing call for delay 
and more talks.  The GOS is eagerly shaping new European 
calls for fresh talks -- along with what they consider 
unshakable Russian support -- into a sense of inevitable 
victory of Serbia's Kosovo policy and the death of the 
Ahtisaari Plan.  Kostunica and his deputies' tone has 
evolved slightly vis--vis the USG, adding to outright 
attacks on our policy the brokering of an understanding 
between us and the Russians that more talks are needed, and 
that we are responsible for delivering the Kosovo 
Albanians.  Kostunica has found an ally in this in Foreign 
Minister Jeremic, who keeps lamenting that Kosovo is now a 
"big power" issue, in which an innocent Serbia is squeezed 
-- through no action of its own -- between the titans. 
Meanwhile, Belgrade is relishing the intrigue around its 
"secret plan" for the Russians to use at the titans' 
encounter in July. 
 
POLT