VZCZCXRO8782
OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBW #1181/01 2360842
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 240842Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1351
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 001181 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO AMBASSADOR FRANK WISNER 
 
E.O. 12958:N/A 
TAGS: PBTS PGOV PREL SR KV
SUBJECT: KOSOVO MINISTRY PREVIEWS BELGRADE'S TROIKA APPROACH 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Dusan Prorokovic, State Secretary of Serbia's 
Kosovo Ministry, told us that Kosovo Minister Slobodan Samardzic and 
Foreign Minister Jeremic will participate in August 30 discussions 
with the Kosovo Troika in Vienna and that the GOS will announce the 
names of the others in the delegation once it better understands the 
format for the talks.  Raising the matter of public statements on 
NATO and Kosovo security that various Serbian government officials 
have made recently, Prorokovic downplayed their importance and 
professed surprise that they had provoked concern in Kosovo or 
foreign capitals.  Prorokovic said that Belgrade will bring "fresh 
ideas" to Vienna, likely outlining a Serbian definition of autonomy 
for Kosovo within Serbia.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) On August 21, Dusan Prorokovic, State Secretary for 
Serbia's Ministry for Kosovo, told poloff that the GOS awaits the 
Kosovo Troika's (KT) response to its inquiries about the format of 
the upcoming talks in Vienna.  Prorokovic said that the GOS has 
formally asked about the format on two occasions, once during their 
August 10 meeting in Belgrade and, later, directly of Ischinger's 
office in Berlin.  Prorokovic said that the GOS will make decisions 
about the composition of the delegation based on the format, but 
said that KosMin Samardzic and FM Jeremic will participate, in any 
event. 
 
 
New Format 
---------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Prorokovic said that the Troika's August 10 visit to Serbia 
made a "good first impression" on the GOS and said that this new 
round of negotiations provides a "new opportunity for Serbia," since 
Ahtisaari "ignored" Belgrade during the UNOSEK process.  He said it 
was a "good sign" that the Troika "seemed ready to hear new ideas." 
Prorokovic said that the GOS turned down a request from EU Envoy 
Wolfgang Ischinger for a solo visit to Belgrade, subsequent to the 
August 10 meeting, judging it appropriate only to meet with the 
Troika, but might not object to Ischinger visiting in a non-Troika 
capacity.    Prorokovic reiterated that the GOS views the Troika's 
December 10 report to the UN Secretary General as "only an interim 
report" and not the conclusion of negotiations. 
 
 
Autonomy 
-------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Asked about possible new ideas from Belgrade, Prorokovic 
said that the GOS has some but does not want to weaken its 
negotiating position by publicizing them prior to the meeting.  He 
suggested, nonetheless, that the GOS is considering new definitions 
of Kosovo autonomy including "independent relations" with 
international financial institutions (IFIs).  He cited as possible 
models Taiwan's relations with the World Bank and IMF and Bosnia's 
Brcko district regarding "issues of citizenship, relationships with 
IFIs, and a territory without customs."  (Note: A local UN 
representative told us Prorokovic mentioned the same issues to him 
in a different meeting, and he pressed Prorokovic further, asking if 
Serbia would accept Kosovo having its own telephone, airport (ICAO) 
or banking (SWIFT) codes. Prorokovic answered "no" to each.  End 
note.)  Prorokovic hinted that the GOS has also looked at the Faroe 
Islands' relationship to Denmark and the Basques' to Spain, and may 
raise these examples at the Troika negotiations. 
 
 
Elections 
--------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Prorokovic said that the GOS is "concerned" that upcoming 
elections in Kosovo will "distract" Pristina during the negotiations 
and the sides "will lose months."  Responding to questions about a 
similar impact of Belgrade's presidential and local elections, which 
might also take place during the negotiations, Prorokovic said that 
he did not expect parliament to pass the laws necessary to hold 
elections before December. 
 
 
Defending against NATO? 
----------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Prorokovic said that the GOS will likely raise in Vienna 
their objections to efforts to establish a "NATO state" in Kosovo. 
Reiterating complaints that he and senior DSS and GOS officials made 
in the preceding days, he maintained that NATO, empowered by Annex 
XI of the Ahtisaari plan, is authorized "unregulated military 
control" of Kosovo, wants to set up a "state ...without civilian 
oversight"  Prorokovic said there are "irregularities" already 
regarding NATO's role in Kosovo and implied that there are 
"unregistered flights" into and out of Kosovo and "serious questions 
about [the legal status of] Camp Bondsteel."  He brushed aside the 
fact that NATO is comprised of democratic states with civilian 
oversight of their militaries. 
 
BELGRADE 00001181  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
 
...Against Security Threats 
--------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Prorokovic brought up Prime Minister advisor Aleksandar 
Simic's recent controversial suggestion that Serbia redeploy 
security forces to Kosovo.  The government aired this idea, he said, 
in response to KFOR Commander General Kather's warning, as carried 
widely by the press on August 14, that the security situation Kosovo 
"will deteriorate" if 120 days of talks do not lead to a status 
decision.  Prorokovic said that the GOS "had to respond" and assert 
that the GOS would be ready to step in if KFOR could not fulfill its 
mandate to ensure security in Kosovo. He said that, while this was 
the first time that the current Government had suggested such 
measures, representatives of previous Governments of Serbia (e.g. 
Deputy PM Covic) had requested authorization to return troops to 
Kosovo.  Prorokovic suggested Banjska Monastery as an appropriate 
area to "test" deployment, despite the fact that he could not 
identify security concerns for Kosovo Serbs there.  He hinted that 
Gracanica was "at risk," but that admitted a deployment there would 
be "impossible."  In the end, he retreated to UNSCR 1244 "which 
allows us to do this." 
 
 
Same Old "Fresh Ideas" 
---------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment:  Belgrade views these new talks as an inherent 
victory and the incarnation of the Ahtisaari Plan's failure. 
Prorokovic, Samardzic's mouthpiece and operations man, indicates 
that Belgrade's "fresh ideas" will simply address how to define 
Kosovo's autonomy within Serbia.  His lack of specifics about the 
Serbia's team composition and any concrete, realistic proposals 
suggests that the GOS negotiating strategy remains a work in 
progress.  Belgrade's anti-NATO vituperation and provocative 
proposals to send in the security forces, however, set the tone for 
less than constructive engagement.  End comment. 
 
MUNTER