VZCZCXRO1479
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBM #0130/01 0501555
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 191555Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY BUCHAREST
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7923
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BUCHAREST 000130 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/NCE, EUR/SCE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL RO KV
SUBJECT: ROMANIAN PRESIDENT, PRIME MINISTER, AND PARLIAMENT 
AGREE: NO TO RECOGNIZING KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: In a rare display of political unanimity, 
President Traian Basescu, Prime Minister Tariceanu, and 
Parliament met in joint session February 18 declare formally 
that Romania will not recognize Kosovo's independence. Almost 
all parties--with the exception of the ethnic Hungarian 
UDMR--also issued public statements endorsing Romania,s 
official position.  Right-extremist and mainstream parties 
alike have urged PM Tariceanu to expel the UDMR from the 
current coalition government.  The episode underscores that 
persuading Romanian authorities to change their 
"non-recognition" position will be an uphill battle, 
especially in the run-up to the election campaign later this 
year.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) In a joint session February 18, parliament approved 
a resolution declaring that Romania will not recognize Kosovo 
independence.  The resolution passed with the support of all 
parliamentary parties with the exception of the ethnic 
Hungarian Democratic Union of Hungarians from Romania (UDMR). 
 The declaration also expresses "deep concern" over the 
"unilateral proclamation" of the independence of the Kosovo 
province and stresses that the decision in Pristina and the 
potential recognition by other states of the unilaterally 
declared independence must not set a precedent for other 
areas. 
 
¶3. (SBU) In a speech before Parliament, PM Calin 
Popescu-Tariceanu insisted that the decision of the Kosovar 
authorities should not be seen as implying that international 
law somehow provides collective rights for national 
minorities or any rights to self-determination and secession. 
 Tariceanu also noted that EU continues to back the UN 
Charter and the Helsinki final act, which enshrines the 
principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.  The 
Prime Minister also noted that his government, the parliament 
and the President shared a common position on this issue, 
demonstrating the "solid functioning" of Romanian democracy 
and its institutions. 
 
¶4. (SBU) President Traian Basescu in a press conference after 
his meeting with leaders of parliamentary parties outlined 
the reasons why Romania will not recognize Kosovo's 
independence, including, inter alia: the absence of a UNSC 
resolution on the status of Kosovo; absence of an agreement 
between Serbs and Kosovars on this issue; Romania's 
principled objection to the granting of "collective rights" 
to ethnic minorities; and the international community's 
"infringement" of Serbia's sovereignty and territorial 
integrity.  Basescu stressed that Romania's position on 
Kosovo was well known since 2005, and that he had reiterated 
these points publicly during two visits to the United States. 
 In this context, he said, the existence of a strategic 
partnership with the United States should not prevent Romania 
from adopting contrary positions when the country is obliged 
to defend its national interest.  Basescu also announced that 
the Foreign Ministry will cease all activities of its office 
in Pristina. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The only mainstream political party that welcomed 
the decision of the Kosovar authorities was the ethnic 
Hungarian UDMR, which urged Romanian authorities to recognize 
Kosovo,s independence.  In a press release February 17, the 
UDMR noted that Kosovo,s declaration of independence was a 
natural consequence of the restructuring process that had 
taken place over the past decade in Central Europe and 
Western Balkans.  The UDMR noted that two World Wars broke 
out in Europe because of unresolved ethnic and national 
tensions, and urged authorities not to delay the recognition 
of the newly formed state.  The UDMR statement also stressed 
that the European countries' search for solutions in Kosovo 
had "created a precedent.8 Other Romanian parties disavowed 
the UDMR position and urged the Prime Minister to eject the 
UDMR from his government.  (Note: Removing the UDMR from the 
current Tariceanu cabinet is unlikely, since it would lead 
automatically to a vote of confidence and probably to 
election of a new Prime Minister.) 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Mainstream press comments also evinced criticism of 
Kosovo's proclamation of independence, with a headline in the 
independent centrist daily "Ziua" reading "Kosovo is Born; 
the UN is Dead."  The article noted that in the final 
analysis, both the international legal framework and the UN 
counted less than the support of "powerful" countries, and 
predicted that the Republic of Kosovo will not be an end, but 
an unhappy prelude.  Similarly, the independent daily 
"Cotidianul" in a headline reading "A Kosovo in Transylvania" 
evinced concerns that Kosovo could become a precedent for 
separatist solutions in Cyprus, Nagorno-Karabakh, and even 
Transylvania. 
 
BUCHAREST 00000130  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment: Opposition to Kosovo's independence is a 
touchstone for most mainstream (and right-extremist) 
political parties.  Given the upcoming electoral campaign, 
the nationalist stance of most of the mainstream Romanian 
parties is not unexpected, as political parties seek to 
appeal to a nationalist electorate that has perennially 
confronted the ghost of ethnic Hungarian secessionism.  The 
near-unanimity of all mainstream political actors on this 
issue underscores that getting Romania to move from its 
non-recognition stance regarding an independent Kosovo will 
be an uphill challenge. End Comment. 
TAUBMAN