VZCZCXRO3992
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBW #1480/01 3041223
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 311223Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1690
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 001480 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL BH SR
SUBJECT: Serbia:  President and Foreign Minister Defend Dayton 
Accords 
 
Refs:  (A) Sarajevo 2266 and previous, (B) State 149183 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  Both President Tadic and Prime Minister Jeremic, in separate 
meetings on October 30 reaffirmed Serbia's support for the Dayton 
Accords as one of the "guarantors," and criticized High 
Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina Miroslav Lajcak for taking 
measures in Bosnia contrary to the accords.  They defended Bosnian 
Serb Prime Minister Milorad Dodik's actions saying he represented 
the "will of the people of Republika Srpska."  Jeremic cautioned 
representatives of the Quint (UK, U.S, Italy, France and Germany) 
that the situation in the region was explosive.  Tadic's Foreign 
Policy Advisor Markovic told Charge that "every single action (in 
the former Yugoslavia) is interconnected" and that the international 
community had to be especially cautious in the upcoming months. 
Markovic added that even though 99% of the population of Republika 
Srpska saw their destiny within Serbia, the Serbian Government's 
staunch policy was to defend the unity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 
End Summary. 
 
Quint Demarche 
-------------- 
 
¶2.  With the UK Ambassador Wordsworth in the lead, representatives 
of the Quint demarched Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic on 
Serbia's inaccurate and inflammatory statements regarding recent 
actions of Bosnia's High Representative Miroslav Lajcak. 
Furthermore Wordsworth urged Jeremic to use Serbia's influence in 
Bosnia and Herzegovina to defuse tensions and help the country 
progress in line with Dayton. 
 
¶3.  Noting he would study the Quint demarche in detail, Jeremic said 
Serbia also was strongly concerned about recent events in Bosnia and 
Herzegovina and in the region as a whole.  He said he wanted to work 
together with the Quint and the international community to defuse 
tensions, in particular in advance of the "delicate" weeks and 
months ahead.  Jeremic emphasized that Serbia remained committed to 
EU and European-Atlantic integration, but that Serbia's and the 
Quint's ideas of pace were perhaps different. 
 
¶4.  The Republika Srpska (RS), he said, was defined by the Dayton 
Accords and RS institutions were democratic institutions 
representing the will of the people who lived there.  Jeremic warned 
the Quint that during an October 29 vote in the RS Assembly, 
deputies had overwhelmingly supported Dodik, 71-6. 
 
¶5.  Nevertheless, Jeremic said, the policy of the Serbian Government 
was to support unity in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Serbia, as a 
guarantor of Dayton  was worried about developments there, including 
Lajcak's recent actions.  "We don't want to get into the core of 
Bosnian politics," he said, but Lajcak's actions were impossible to 
ignore.  "The last thing we want to do is inflame tensions," Jeremic 
said. 
 
¶6.  Jeremic further warned the Quint that all in the region were 
faced with a serious threat to stability in the coming weeks and 
that the Serbian Government would do all in its power to prevent 
future negative developments. 
 
¶7.  Following Wordsworth's defense of Lajcak's actions on the 
grounds that they were warranted in the face of complete paralysis 
of Bosnian institutions, Jeremic said that the basis of Dayton was 
for all three constituent groups to agree to any action.  Jeremic 
said there was complete agreement among Bosnian Serbs that Lajcak's 
actions were directed exclusively against them.  Jeremic agreed, 
however that Bosnian Serb withdrawal from Bosnia's institutions 
would be unhelpful and said the Serbian Government would encourage 
Dodik to "reach out" to Lajcak. 
 
¶8.  When Quint representatives were asked to participate, Charge 
noted that the USG was in complete agreement with the UK-drafted 
demarche and that Washington remained highly engaged on this issue. 
She added that she had no doubt Jeremic fully understood the 
demarche and encouraged him to balance rhetoric on Bosnian issues 
with the bigger picture of achieving peace and stability in the 
Balkans. 
 
Tadic Gives Same Message to German Foreign Ministry Political 
Director 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶9.  The Quint demarche coincided with the visit of German Foreign 
Ministry Political Director Volker Stanzel.  According to 
Presidential Foreign Policy Advisor Jovan Ratkovic, with whom Charge 
spoke following an Israeli Embassy event honoring Serbs who helped 
save Jews during WWII, Tadic gave Stanzel the identical message: 
 
-- Serbia was committed to Bosnian unity, 
 
 
BELGRADE 00001480  002 OF 002 
 
 
-- Lajcak's actions were ill-timed and ill-advised, and 
 
-- Given the current climate absolutely nothing could happen in the 
former Yugoslavia without implications elsewhere in the region. 
 
BRUSH