VZCZCXRO9463
OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHPOD #0057/01 0631611
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O P 041611Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY PODGORICA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1199
INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO PRIORITY 0104
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHPOD/AMEMBASSY PODGORICA 1287

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PODGORICA 000057 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/RPM AND EUR/SCE; DEFENSE FOR OSD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR MOPS MW
SUBJECT: MONTENEGRO'S SPRINT TO NATO SUMMIT 
 
REF: (A) 08 STATE 83856 (B) PODGORICA 26 (C) PODGORICA 56 (D) 08 PODGORICA 289 
(E) PODGORICA 49 
 
PODGORICA 00000057  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Montenegro's government has stepped up its 
campaign to promote its NATO-related priorities.  A round of 
meetings with NAC ambassadors in mid-February indicated to GoM 
officials that most member states have a positive view of 
Montenegro's progress, but some skeptics remain.  The MFA admits 
that it has not succeeded in drawing attention to progress in 
civilian priorities, particularly the rule of law, despite some 
recent successes.  The challenge for NATO will be to encourage 
the GoM to keep up the momentum for reforms past the April 
summit. End Summary. 
 
 
 
¶2. (SBU) Charge met on 26 February with an official from the 
senior ranks of the MFA for an informal conversation on the 
progress of Montenegro's NATO integration efforts.  The 
discussion focused on Montenegro's priorities in the civilian 
sector, primarily rule of law and public opinion (Ref A).  The 
official also described the results of a GoM visit to NATO 
missions in Brussels 17-18 February, commenting that most 
missions seemed to have a positive view of Montenegro's progress 
toward NATO.   He acknowledged, however, that it had been even 
more difficult to focus attention on Montenegro than the 
delegation expected. 
 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) In addition to meeting with NATO international staff, 
the Montenegrins called on NAC ambassadors representing Italy, 
Netherlands, Luxembourg, United Kingdom, Slovenia, Greece, 
Bulgaria, Norway, Croatia and France, along with representatives 
of Germany and USNATO.  MFA officials also met with their 
counterparts at the Belgian MFA.  Charge's contact mentioned 
that Belgium, Holland and France seemed to be least supportive 
during this round of meetings. 
 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) The MFA official went on to say that the apparently 
positive IPAP and PARP assessments had strengthened Montenegro's 
hand.  The assessments, he said, identified substantive progress 
worthy of substantive recognition by NATO.  He emphasized that 
Montenegro has made considerably greater progress than other new 
aspirants and should be considered strictly on its own merits 
rather than as part of a bloc. 
 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) The official pointed out that, in strategic terms, one 
of Montenegro's greatest contributions is its continuing role in 
building regional stability.  Among the Balkan countries, he 
noted, Montenegro has the best relations with all of its 
neighbors, even with Serbia.  Without elaborating, he asserted 
that Montenegro's relations with Serbia can improve relatively 
quickly.   He also reiterated the GoM's readiness to establish 
full diplomatic relations with Kosovo soon (Ref B).  In his 
view, it is incumbent on Montenegro to build good relationships 
with all its neighbors, not just for the sake of external 
security but to contribute to stability internally, among its 
various ethnic groups. 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Regarding Montenegro's rule of law priorities, he noted 
public statements by the Ministry of Justice regarding steps to 
finalize the new Criminal Procedure Code, as well as a planned 
interagency agreement to establish an organized crime task force 
(Ref C).  He admitted that he and others in the MFA were still 
learning about these developments and that the MFA must do more 
to highlight for NATO member governments GoM actions to overhaul 
its criminal justice system and curb organized crime. 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) Regarding public opinion, the official said he believes 
support for eventual NATO membership is increasing, perhaps to 
as much as 40 percent.  He acknowledged that he had no new poll 
data to verify his claim, but commented that different polls 
have produced varying results - from 25 to over 50 percent 
support.  He believes that the GoM's publicity campaign is 
building support among younger, urban and more educated 
citizens, particularly as understanding grows of the 
relationship between standards for NATO and EU membership.  He 
added that the majority of Montenegrins either support NATO or 
remain apathetic, in the latter case because they lack knowledge 
about the Alliance.  A small minority of hard core of 
pro-Serbian opponents, he said, will likely remain for the long 
 
PODGORICA 00000057  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
term. 
 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) In discussions with the DATT the same week, the 
Ministry of Defense (MoD) agreed on timing for the airlift of 
three rotations of Montenegrin infantry to participate in ISAF, 
beginning in November 2009.  At this point, the MoD envisions 
these units will have a fixed-site security mission.  (Note: The 
Minister's public comments on the potential deployment of 
infantry units have received scarce press coverage to date.) 
In addition, the MoD is considering assigning two mid-ranking 
officers for 12-month tours as liaison to ISAF, coordinating 
support for the infantry units.  The MoD confirmed that a 
three-person medical team is expected to deploy in August after 
completing training. 
 
 
 
¶9. (SBU) Comment: As the NATO summit draws closer, the pace of 
GoM efforts has increased.  The lobbying campaign will culminate 
next week, when PM Djukanovic, accompanied by the Ministers of 
Foreign Affairs and Defense, is scheduled to meet with the NAC. 
With regard to the three rule of law reforms identified as 
priorities last fall - enactment of a new Criminal Procedure 
Code, establishment of an organized crime task force, and steps 
to crack down on conflicts of interest (Refs D and E) -- the GoM 
has addressed all three, though not flawlessly, and not yet as 
thoroughly as we would like.  It is clear that the GoM's desire 
for closer links with NATO (and the EU) has stimulated a wide 
range of actions, including progress in the USG's eleven 
priority areas.  The challenge for us, along with our NATO 
allies, will be to help Montenegro keep up this momentum.  End 
Comment. 
KONTOS