VZCZCXRO2534
PP RUEHIK RUEHPOD RUEHTRO RUEHYG
DE RUCNDT #0298/01 0941645
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 031645Z APR 08
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4042
INFO RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBW/AMEMBASSY BELGRADE PRIORITY 0011
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PRIORITY 1170
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO PRIORITY 1543
RUEHPS/USOFFICE PRISTINA PRIORITY 1196

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000298 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL UNMIK YI UNSC KV
SUBJECT: GUEHENNO SAYS DPKO WILL LIMIT SAMARDZIC TRAVEL TO 
KOSOVO MORE AS ELECTIONS APPROACH 
 
REF: MARIZ/SCHUFLETOWSKI E-MAIL 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000298  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Quint mission representatives delivered to 
UN U/SYG Guehenno demarche points (ref) on Kosovo transition 
issues.  Guehenno said any dialogue UNMIK conducts needs to 
include key stakeholders and that DPKO takes preventing 
violence seriously, but called for practical engagement in 
recognition of the limits to what force can do.  He 
speculated that it may be necessary to blur to some degree 
the relationship between UNMIK and the EU, especially if 
UNMIK is unable to fade away.  He stated that Serbian 
Minister for Kosovo Samardzic's trips to Kosovo could become 
more harmful as Serbian parliamentary elections approach and 
that DPKO is considering limiting them more than previously. 
Ambassador Wolff called for giving careful thought to how to 
deal with Serbian elections with a view to avoiding actions 
that might enhance Samardzic's credibility or play into 
Belgrade's effort to establish parallel institutions.  In a 
pull-aside with Ambassador Wolff and other Quint principals, 
Guehenno said that on UNMIK staffing issues, the status quo 
will be maintained for now.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) In an April 1 meeting, the Quint delivered to U/SYG 
for Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) Jean-Marie Guehenno 
demarche points on Kosovo transition issues (ref). 
Participants included Ambassador Wolff, French PermRep 
Jean-Maurice Ripert, UK Deputy PermRep Karen Pierce, Italian 
Permrep Marcello Spatafora, German Charge Martin Ney, A/SYG 
Secretary General Edmund Mulet, DPKO political officers Marco 
 
SIPDIS 
Bianchini, Christina Koch-Avran and Dennis Besedic and USUN 
poloff. 
 
¶3. (SBU) In responding to the Quint demarche, Guehenno 
concurred that dialogue is needed because matters in Kosovo 
"are not unfolding as expected."  He said the SYG's key 
objectives are to minimize violence and preserve the UN's 
legacy.  Guehenno stated that the UN will protect law and 
order and not allow Serbian elements to take illegal actions 
such as the recent occupation by force of the courthouse in 
North Mitrovica.  Guehenno warned, however, that limits to 
what force can do mean the best approach to resolving 
problems in Kosovo is political dialogue.  He continued that 
as dialogue proceeds Russia will hopefully "send signals to 
Belgrade" that make it easier "to reach understanding on 
practical issues."  Guehenno dismissed Serbian Minister for 
Kosovo Samardzic's recent proposal that would appear to 
sanction de facto partition as "clearly unacceptable to the 
UN," but said dialogue with Serbia is necessary on areas 
including police, justice, customs, administrative boundaries 
and religious and cultural matters.  Guehenno agreed on the 
need to distinguish between practical and institutional 
issues in any UN-Serbia discussion but feared that as 
dialogue unfolds some practical and institutional issues 
could become harder to distinguish. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Guehenno said de facto partition needs to be 
avoided through approaches that clarify the distinction 
between northern Kosovo and Serbia and minimize distinctions 
between northern and southern Kosovo.  He said DPKO takes 
preventing violence seriously, but there is a limit to what 
force can do.  Political engagement remains the best option. 
Guehenno warned that the international community cannot rely 
completely on UNMIK and KFOR standing their ground in the 
north. 
 
¶5. (SBU) On visits by Serbian officials to Kosovo, Guehenno 
said that DPKO thinks Samardzic's trips could become more 
harmful as Serbian parliamentary elections approach and thus 
DPKO will exercise greater caution in allowing Samardzic to 
come in during the electoral campaign.  DPKO's Bianchini also 
said UNMIK is thinking through how to deal with Serbian 
municipal elections in northern Kosovo because, unlike 
parliamentary elections where UNMIK has always had a 
"do-not-stop/do-not-facilitate approach," municipal elections 
would represent a break from past practice. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Guehenno also said we need to think through what the 
role for UNMIK will be if it cannot just fade away as was 
hoped for.  He said the UN would prefer "a clean break" but 
needed to protect stability and its legacy "so adjustments 
may be needed."  Being present only in the north would seem 
to bless de facto partition. On the other hand, being present 
also in the south would "require the understanding of all key 
stakeholders."  He added that it will also be necessary to 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000298  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
fudge the relationship between the UN and EU to some degree. 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) French Permrep Ripert called for avoiding tensions 
with Belgrade during the pre-election period.  German Deputy 
Permrep Ney called Samardzic's proposal dangerous because it 
implies the practical division of Kosovo and thus has 
institutional importance.  On visits, Ney said that 
benchmarks would help avoid the appearance that any policy is 
ad hoc and one benchmark should be "hate speech."  Ambassador 
Wolff called for giving careful thought to how to deal with 
municipal elections and asked whether DPKO had thought about 
how to deal with the issue.  Wolff said we should give 
thought to the best way to avoid enhancing Samardzic's 
credibility in the context of the upcoming elections in 
Serbia and also how best to avoid any acquiescence in 
Serbia's efforts to establish parallel institutions. 
KHALILZAD