VZCZCXRO7639
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBW #1086/01 2130711
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 010711Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1268
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 001086 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
EUR/PPD RCABRAL; EUR/SCE DAVID SCHROEDER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PBTS PGOV KPAO SCUL SR MW YI
SUBJECT: NATIONWIDE MEDIA APPEARANCES IN SERBIA BY 
OUTGOING AMBASSADOR MICHAEL C. POLT 
 
 
¶1.  Summary: From July 17-26 outgoing U.S. Ambassador 
to Serbia Michael C. Polt conducted a series of 
interviews with a broad spectrum of Serbian media in 
which he forcefully conveyed messages on U.S. 
ambitions for Kosovo, Serbia and the region.  The 
Ambassador reiterated that the U.S. supports 
supervised independence for Kosovo and a Serbia fully 
integrated into the Euro-Atlantic community.  The 
interviews reached huge numbers of the viewing and 
reading public in Serbia, ensuring that critical USG 
messages, especially on Kosovo and future bilateral 
relations, could not be misinterpreted.   End Summary. 
 
¶2. During his last weeks at post, Ambassador Polt gave 
a series of interviews to a spectrum of Serbian media 
outlets, including local Radio Velika Plana, 
Vojvodina-based daily Gradjanski List, wide 
circulation Belgrade daily Blic, wire service BETA, 
national broadcaster TV B92 and influential daily 
Danas.  Excerpts of the interviews were subsequently 
carried by other Serbian print media and news agencies 
(RTS, TV Pink, TV Avala, TV Vojvodina, Politika, 
Vecernje Novosti, Blic, Kurir, Dana, etc) ensuring 
that the Ambassador's message of the need for a final 
resolution on Kosovo and a future path towards 
integration with the West for Serbia was multiplied 
many times over.  Highlights of the coverage follow. 
 
MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS 
---------------- 
 
¶3.  In an extensive interview with Novi Sad-based 
daily Gradjanski List titled "People are More 
Important than a Piece of Land," Ambassador Polt 
explained that Kosovo is not a precedent that will 
trigger a domino effect in other breakaway regions 
throughout the world and stressed that Kosovo is a 
unique case.  He stated that he very much respected 
the significance Serbia attaches to Kosovo in 
historical and religious terms as well as in the 
context of the nation's ancestral heritage.  He also 
said that the unresolved status of Kosovo prevents 
Serbia, Kosovo and the entire region from making 
progress.  Ambassador Polt reiterated that he hopes 
Kosovo will have the status of supervised independence 
by the end of the year and assessed that such an 
outcome will lead to a stronger and more successful 
Serbia, fully integrated in the Euro-Atlantic family 
of nations. He added that RussiaQs backing of the 
Serbian governmentQs position on Kosovo did not 
contribute to reaching an agreement. 
 
¶4.  In a farewell interview with daily Blic, 
Ambassador Polt described his mandate in Serbia as 
"intensive."  The daily wrote that the Ambassador said 
a new resolution on Kosovo is not possible in the UNSC 
because Russia, on behalf of Serbia, has blocked the 
process in spite of many offered draft resolutions. 
"Kosovo's status has to be resolved and if that is not 
possible within the UNSC, we will find another way to 
reach a solution," said the Ambassador. 
 
¶5.  In an interview with BETA news agency that was 
also carried by RTS, Fox, TV stations Kosava, Pink and 
Avala and dailies Politika, Vecernje Novosti and 
Kurir, Ambassador Polt said that the U.S. will work 
with the EU and Russia, if the latter wants to 
cooperate, to ensure that after 120 days of 
negotiation Kosovo status will be resolved.  The U.S. 
believes that independence is the best solution for 
Kosovo and intends to see it implemented, if not 
through a UNSC resolution, then in some other way, the 
Ambassador told BETA, adding that even though the U.S. 
backs independence, it does not agree with Kosovo 
unilaterally declaring independence. 
 
¶6.  In his farewell interview with TV B92, aired 
during prime time on July 26, Ambassador Polt said 
that the upcoming negotiations between Belgrade and 
Pristina would be the final phase in determining the 
future status of Kosovo. The Ambassador said that 
while he had no high hopes for making any significant 
progress, but that we should  give the negotiations 
one more try before wrapping up the process. 
QKosovo's status will be resolved in one way or 
another,Q the Ambassador stated, adding that the U.S. 
continues to insist that independence is the best 
solution for Kosovo.  Ambassador Polt said he would 
grade bilateral relations at the end of his 
ambassadorial term as "B+" from the U.S. side.  He 
 
BELGRADE 00001086  002 OF 002 
 
 
stated thatthe GOS would no doubt give a lower grade," 
but added that Washington was striving to make the 
grade an "A." 
 
¶7.  On July 27, Ambassador Polt visited editors and 
journalists of Belgrade daily Danas.  The Ambassador, 
in his last public appearance in Serbia, said that he 
is still an optimist regarding Serbia's future as a 
productive member of Euro-Atlantic organizations.  He 
also said that he was the "luckiest ambassador" 
because he had had an opportunity to work with an 
excellent team in the Embassy Belgrade and to meet 
many average citizens across Serbia. 
 
¶8.  Daily Danas last week published an op-ed by 
columnist Natasa Odalovic who in an interesting and 
positive way described why she is sorry that 
Ambassador Polt is departing.  Odalovic saw the 
Ambassador "as rare among ambassadors who had 
difficult dealings with the government but who made 
himself very available to the media, and elegantly 
refused to underestimate the intelligence or hurt the 
feelings of the average citizen of Serbia." 
 
¶9.  Comment: Ambassador Polt's "farewell statements" 
received significant media coverage in Serbia. The 
message clearly picked up by the local media is that 
while the U.S. agreed to the resumption of 
negotiations on the future status of Kosovo, the U.S. 
position on independence had not changed. The 
Ambassador repeatedly stated that "the U.S. is a 
friend, not an enemy of Serbia" despite its 
disagreements on the Kosovo issue.  The Ambassador's 
messages strongly reflected and repeated recent 
statements by President Bush, the Secretary, U/S 
Burns, A/S Fried and other senior USG officials on 
Kosovo's status and U.S.-Serbia relations. 
Nonetheless, the Serbian media and the general public 
continue to cling to their emotional understanding of 
the Kosovo issue ("K-Albanians are trying to rob 
Serbia of 15% of its territory with the help of the 
Americans.") We will therefore continue public 
outreach efforts with optimistic and future-oriented 
messages 
 
POLT