VZCZCXRO1520
PP RUEHBZ RUEHIK RUEHPOD RUEHYG
DE RUCNDT #1048/01 3241851
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 201851Z NOV 07
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3146
INFO RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PRIORITY 1105
RUEHVJ/AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO PRIORITY 0730
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 USUN NEW YORK 001048 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV BK UNSC
SUBJECT: HIGH REPRESENTATIVE LAJCAK WARNS UNSC BOSNIA IS AT 
TURNING POINT 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: In a November 15 Security Council meeting 
on Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), High Representative Miroslav 
Lajcak told members that reform progress in the country had 
been stalled and this was holding back a European and 
Euro-Atlantic future.  Lajcak defended his use of Bonn Powers 
on October 15 as an effort to compel officials to participate 
in government.  Nikola Spiric, who recently resigned as Prime 
Minister but is serving under a technical mandate, criticized 
Lajcak's measures, saying non-participation was caused by 
international community partisan interference.  Spiric spoke 
despite letters to Council members from elements of the 
Bosnian Presidency making it clear that he would not be 
presenting a consensus view of that complicated entity.  The 
session was closed to the public over Russian objections. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Ambassador Wolff met on November 16 with Spiric and 
stressed our support for the Highrep and disappointment with 
Spiric's decision to resign.  Spiric defended himself as a 
supporter of BiH's territorial integrity and Euro-Atlantic 
integration whose efforts to foster inter-ethnic dialogue had 
been stymied by the Highrep.  Spiric said only the US among 
international actors had the capacity to move Bosnia forward. 
   End summary. 
 
Lajcak: Bosnia Last In Line For SAA With EU 
 
¶3.  (SBU) In a November 15 private meeting on BiH (no press, 
General Assembly members and EU by invitation), High 
Representative Miroslav Lajcak reviewed for Security Council 
members the analysis contained in his latest bi-annual 
report.  Lajcak said that BiH's course toward Euro-Atlantic 
integration was in jeopardy because recent 
ethnically-divisive rhetoric and actions by some leaders in 
BiH were delaying progress.  He said BiH continues to 
struggle with serious economic problems and corruption.  He 
defended his October 15 use of Bonn Powers to make a voting 
quorum for passage of legislation be based on actual 
attendance at meetings as within the constitution and 
necessary to prevent a blockage of BiH's functions of 
government.  Bosnia now stood at a turning point of either 
escalation or deflation of its problems and needed compromise 
and reform, which had been demonstrated to be possible by the 
October 28 Mostar agreement to unblock police reform.  Lajcak 
also stressed ICTY cooperation as a necessity for EU 
integration.  Lajcak called on Bosnia's leaders to do what is 
needed to meet the conditions for an EU Stabilization and 
Association Agreement (SAA.) 
 
Spiric: Need Internal Dialogue, Not Dialogue With 
International Community 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Speaking next, Nikola Spiric, who is serving under 
a technical mandate as prime minister, averred that he had 
taken over chairmanship of the Council of Ministers hopeful 
that progress could be achieved in Bosnia but that political 
developments had not allowed that.  (Note: Spiric spoke 
despite letters received by British and Indonesian Permreps 
from the Bosnian Presidency making it clear that he did not 
present the consensus views of that complicated entity.  He 
spoke in a private session (no press, General Assembly 
members and EU by invitation) after lengthy consultations 
where Russia argued for a public meeting.  End note.)  Spiric 
continued that the only solution for BiH to move forward on 
needed reforms was dialogue, but he stressed this should be 
an internal dialogue, not a dialogue between the 
international community and BiH elements currying its favor. 
He said that the Highrep's October 15 use of the Bonn Powers 
to change rules for passage of legislation discouraged 
dialogue and amounted to an unstated amendment to the 
country's constitution.  Spiric insisted  he supported 
European and Euro-Atlantic integration and wanted progress 
toward an SAA.  He also expressed support for renewing 
EUFOR's mandate. 
 
Russia: Bonn Powers Should Not Be Used For Any Non-Dayton 
Agenda 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Offering support for many of Spiric's assertions, 
Russian Ambassador Churkin said recent events in BiH were 
alarming.  The Highrep's recent use of the Bonn Powers did 
not have the agreement of all three of the Bosnian peoples 
and violated the spirit of Dayton.  The views of Republika 
Srpska (RS) should not be ignored and the Bonn Powers should 
not be used for any non-Dayton agenda such as accelerating 
reform toward European integration, charged Churkin.  Lajcak 
should weigh future steps carefully and avoid unlimited use 
of the Bonn Powers.  Churkin protested also that 
 
USUN NEW Y 00001048  002 OF 003 
 
 
international community elements bent on independence for 
Kosovo should not deal with the consequences of its plans by 
"turning the screws on Bosnia." 
 
Statements Of Other Security Council Members And The EU 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  UK Permrep Sawyers underscored that there was no 
threat to the existence of the RS and the international 
community would uphold Dayton.  The Highrep's recent efforts 
to increase functionality through use of the Bonn Powers were 
constructive as Bosnia would not progress toward the EU 
unless its government could take and implement decisions, 
which was blocked by manipulative use of parliamentary rules. 
 The Bonn Powers are still essential, stressed Sawyers. 
 
¶7. (SBU)  Speaking for the US, Ambassador Wolff said the US 
supported the Highrep and his recent actions to strengthen 
Bosnia's institutions and that we expected Bosnia's political 
leaders to respect those measures and implement them.  Wolff 
said the U.S. regretted that Prime Minister Spiric had 
decided to resign rather than advance Bosnia's reform agenda 
and that, having resigned, his comments to the Security 
Council represented his personal views.  Progress toward 
Euro-Atlantic integration had, unfortunately, stalled because 
of irresponsible rhetoric.  Wolff welcomed the October 28 
Mostar Agreement. 
 
¶8. (SBU) French Permrep Ripert expressed support for the 
Highrep's work and regret that the actions of some BiH 
leaders were betraying the aspirations of the people. 
Belgium lamented that lack of progress toward reform and 
desire of some leaders to move away from Dayton and argued 
continued use of the Bonn Powers was necessary.  Italy stated 
that continued work toward police reform and a European 
future was necessary. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Slovak Permrep Burian underscored that Spiric's 
comments before the Council had been private and not 
official, noting representatives of other ethnic communities 
in Bosnia were not present.  Burian also said Bosnia is 
falling behind its neighbors on progress toward European 
integration and police and constitutional reforms are 
necessary. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Speaking on behalf of the EU, Portuguese Mission 
Ambassador Godinho stated that the situation in BiH was now 
of the utmost concern to the international community. 
Progress toward an SAA would depend on implementing police 
reform but also on building up public administration, 
implementing public broadcasting legislation and ICTY 
cooperation, Godinho said.  Bosnia's leaders should set aside 
polemics and focus on progress toward the EU. 
 
Lajcak Responds To Criticism Regarding Bonn Powers 
 
¶11. (SBU) Speaking again at the end of the meeting, Lajcak 
stated that his recent use of the Bonn Powers had been 
consistent with the Dayton Agreement and BiH's constitution. 
The Bonn Powers had been used 334 times since Dayton and the 
recent use had been timely and balanced.  Lajcak added he 
intended to offer a legal interpretation of his recent usage 
that could not be misused.  The Bonn Powers exist to 
implement the Dayton Agreement and when OHR's mandate was 
extended the last time all parties were aware the use of 
those powers was part of it, Lajcak stressed. 
 
Ambassador Wolff's Meeting With Spiric 
 
¶12. (SBU)  On November 15, Ambassador Wolff met with Spiric 
and stressed our support for the Highrep and disappointment 
in Spiric's decision to resign.  Wolff also defended the 
Highrep's October 15 use of Bonn Powers as aimed at fostering 
engagement by all of Bosnia's stakeholders in Bosnia's 
political future.  Spiric cast himself in the meeting as a 
strong supporter of BiH's territorial integrity and 
Euro-Atlantic integration.  Wolff pointed to the chorus of 
Euro-Atlantic voices in the previous day's meeting that had 
supported the Highrep while Russia and Serbia had not and 
asked Spiric if he saw Lajcak as having ulterior motives. 
Spiric responded that BiH was a small country and did not 
want to get caught in the middle of disputes involving larger 
countries as this always ends in tragedy; the Highrep had 
"blocked me from doing my job" through his October 15 use of 
the Bonn Powers, Spiric alleged, adding that he did not think 
either himself or Lajcak personally to be the problem, but 
dialogue is necessary and has to be bi-directional.  Wolff 
concluded by querying Spiric on whether he saw a role for the 
 
USUN NEW Y 00001048  003 OF 003 
 
 
US in defusing the situation.  Spiric responded that he 
thought only the U.S. had the ability to help and that it 
would be necessary for the U.S. to sit down with Bosnia's 
local leaders and help understand what in the Highrep's 
decision had produced such "hysteria" and then later to 
"amend elements of the decision" in a way that would allow 
all parties in Bosnia to move forward. 
 
 
Khalilzad