VZCZCXRO5255
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBW #0280/01 0901529
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 311529Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1131
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0071
RHEHNS/NSC WASHDC
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 000280 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/SCE (P. PETERSON) 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KV SR
SUBJECT: SERBIA: KOSOVO MINISTER BOGDANOVIC CALLS FOR DIALOGUE AND 
FLEXIBILITY 
 
REF: 3/26/09 Pristina Bullets 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Serbian Minister for Kosovo Goran Bogdanovic told 
Ambassador March 27 that dialogue is the only way to address and 
eventually resolve everyday problems faced by Kosovo Serbs, singling 
out his recent talks with EULEX Head Yves de Kermabon and Kosovo 
Electric Company representatives.  Bogdanovic told the Ambassador 
that the GOS is committed to avoiding politicization of issues and 
finding practical solutions on issues such as electricity and the 
Kosovo Property Agency outside of the public eye, but that this 
required greater flexibility on the part of the authorities in 
Pristina.  Regarding recent comments by State Secretary Zvonimir 
Stevic that Kosovar Albanians were preparing a "pogrom" against 
Kosovo Serbs, Bogdanovic said that the statements were "bad for 
Kosovo Serbs and even worse for me."  End Summary. 
 
Cooperation with EULEX 
---------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Minister Bogdanovic told the Ambassador that he was 
pleased with his "long-awaited" March 19 meeting with European Rule 
of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) Head of Mission Yves de Kermabon. 
He said that the visit, which also included successful meetings with 
the Finance, Interior, and Justice Ministers, represented a step 
forward toward discussions on technical issues such as police, 
customs, and the judiciary.  Bogdanovic told us that he had 
encouraged de Kermabon to use his credibility with various 
communities in Kosovo, developed during his past duty with KFOR, to 
visit the north and open up a dialogue. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Ambassador responded by urging Bogdanovic to build on this 
momentum by engaging actively with Peter Sorenson, the personal 
representative of EU High Representative for Common Foreign and 
Security Policy Javier Solana. Bogdanovic replied that his Ministry 
is in frequent contact with Sorenson and believes that opening of 
the EULEX office in Belgrade would further facilitate this process. 
He used this opportunity to stress, for the first of many times 
during the conversation, that he and the GOS are committed to calm, 
low-key dialogue that avoids unnecessary politicization of issues. 
 
Plea for Greater Flexibility 
---------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Emphasizing that his top priority was helping Kosovo Serbs 
and thereby preventing a "humanitarian catastrophe," Bogdanovic told 
the Ambassador that differences over Kosovo status should not hinder 
efforts to find solutions to problems like electricity and education 
that "would not harm the Kosovar Albanians."  As an example of his 
commitment to helping Kosovo Serbs, Bogdanovic seized upon ongoing 
efforts to address corruption in north Kosovo.  Ambassador noted 
that we had pressed the Serbian government to arrest Kosovo-Serb 
troublemakers in Mitrovica.  Bogdanovic confirmed Belgrade was 
trying to ease these troublemakers out of positions in which they 
had misused Serbian funds.  Ambassador said their eliminator would 
be an important confidence-building measure for Serbs and Albanians 
alike. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Bogdanovic insisted, however, that Serbia would not 
moderate its stance on Kosovo's status, emphasizing that the GOS 
would continue to demand that Pristina attend regional meetings such 
as CEFTA as "UNMIK-Kosovo."  He nevertheless claimed that 
differences over Kosovo would not impact Serbia's efforts, led by 
President Tadic, to improve relations with its neighbors, even if 
recognitions by "family members" (that is, former Yugoslav 
countries) were hard to swallow. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Bogdanovic criticized as unhelpful recent electricity 
outages in Kosovo Serb communities and the new GOK policy of denying 
entry to GOS officials who attempt to travel to Kosovo.  He focused 
on Belgrade Mayor Dragan Djilas's March 23 attempt to visit Kosovska 
Kamenica, saying that GOK inflexibility had prevented the delivery 
of humanitarian aid and hurt common people.  The Ambassador said 
there needs to be a well-defined policy in place that would allow 
reasonable differentiation between provocative and constructive GOS 
visits. 
 
Possibilities for Progress- KEK and KPA? 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The Minister spoke very positively about his March 25 
meeting with representatives of the Kosovo Electric Company (KEK) 
(ref).  Reiterating that dialogue is the key to addressing this 
 
BELGRADE 00000280  002 OF 002 
 
 
technical issue, Bogdanovic emphasized that it is clear that Kosovo 
Serbs need to pay for electricity but that the modalities require 
further consideration. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) He told the Ambassador the GOS discussed electricity at 
its March 26 cabinet meeting and agreed to seek a solution while 
avoiding a "hubbub" in the press.  In particular, the government 
intends to form a working group with representatives from the 
Ministries of Energy, Foreign Affairs, and Kosovo to explore the 
possibilities of donating energy to KEK.  He also touted the GOS 
proposal to allow Electro Kosmet, the branch of the state-owned 
Serbia Electric Company (EPS) that operates in northern Kosovo, to 
receive a license to serve as a second electricity distributor. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Regarding the Kosovo Property Agency (KPA), Bogdanovic's 
adviser Vladimir Jovicic confirmed that the Ministry has received 
and is studying a proposal from UNHCR to take over the entire KPA 
process in Serbia, including employing KPA staff as UN employees. 
He termed the proposal, which would resolve an impasse that occurred 
when Serbia closed all KPA offices on its territory in mid-2008, 
"very constructive," adding that "it is in our interest to solve 
this problem." 
 
Stevic Remains a Problem 
------------------------ 
 
¶10.  (SBU) The Ambassador pressed Minister Bogdanovic on comments by 
GOS officials in connection with the March 24 tenth anniversary of 
the NATO air campaign, emphasizing that the GOS public message had 
failed to acknowledge the historical context that preceded this 
decision.  The Ambassador also objected to public comments by Kosovo 
Ministry State Secretary Zvonimir Stevic that Kosovar Albanians were 
preparing a "pogrom" against Kosovo Serbs, telling Bogdanovic that 
the GOS should either provide proof this was the case or 
specifically disavow Stevic's statements. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Bogdanovic rolled his eyes and grimaced at the mention of 
Stevic, a holdover Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) official in his 
ministry.  He initially argued that the tabloids Kurir and Glas 
Javnosti had twisted Stevic's words, who, according to Bogdanovic, 
had only repeated parliamentary testimony by Security Information 
Agency (BIA) head Sasa Vukadinovic. (Press reports of the public 
portion of Vukadinovic's testimony refer only to the possibility of 
violence in Kosovo due to a faltering economic situation.) 
Bogdanovic then distanced himself from Stevic's comments, telling 
the Ambassador that they were "bad for Kosovo Serbs and even worse 
for me." Elaborating on this last point, Bogdanovic explained that 
he had called Stevic shortly before the meeting to ask "how am I 
going to respond to the Ambassador?"  Ambassador responded that such 
statements reflected badly on the Ministry and the Minister himself, 
undercutting his avowed commitment to low-key progress. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Minister Bogdanovic was clearly trying to focus on 
practical issues of greatest importance to Kosovo Serbs and on 
dialogue as the means to achieving progress.  If he sticks to his 
pledge to follow a low-key approach that avoids politicization, 
coming on the heels of his positive talks with EULEX Head de 
Kermabon and KEK representatives, we can only welcome such a 
development.  We must hold Bogdanovic firmly to his commitment to 
engage constructively on issues such as electricity and property. 
To do that, the EU's Peter Sorenson in Belgrade and EULEX in 
Pristina must move forward quickly and decisively with expert-level 
discussions, seizing the agenda on the full spectrum of open issues. 
 End Comment. 
 
 
MUNTER