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O R 291856Z JUL 09
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TO RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE IMMEDIATE 2416
INFO ORG FOR SECURITY CO OP IN EUR COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS STATE 079182 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OSCE PREL PGOV MD
SUBJECT: OSCE/PERMANENT COUNCIL: RESPONSE TO HIGH 
REPRESENTATIVE FOR BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 
 
¶1. (U) Post is authorized to present the following statement 
at the July 30, 2009 Permanent Council meeting in Vienna. 
 
Begin text: 
 
Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. 
 
The United States welcomes High Representative Valentin Inzko 
to the Permanent Council. Thank you for your comprehensive 
report. We appreciate the constructive cooperation between 
your office and the OSCE mission, and look forward to a 
continuing good relationship. 
 
Vice President Biden's visit to Sarajevo in May was a clear 
signal of the United State's commitment to a peaceful, 
successful Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Vice President was 
frank and direct in his remarks to the BiH parliament: the 
path to a secure and prosperous future is through 
Euro-Atlantic integration, and in recent years progress on 
reforms necessary for this integration has slowed.  The 
greatest dangers to the country's stability and future 
prosperity come from efforts to undermine the State and to 
roll back the successful reforms of the past 14 years. To 
move ahead, the country's leaders will have to look beyond 
narrow ethnic and political interests and focus on shared 
goals. Setbacks such as the delay of EU visa liberalization 
should not be viewed as cause for discouragement, but should 
be taken as reason to redouble efforts on what are 
well-defined, achievable goals that will bring tangible 
benefit to all the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 
 
The United States fully supports the work of the Office of 
the High Representative. The leaders of Bosnia and 
Herzegovina should renew their focus on completing the 
objectives and conditions identified by the Peace 
Implementation Council as essential for enabling OHR's 
transition to an EU Special Representative mission. The EU 
has made clear that this transition is essential if the 
country is to advance further on its path to eventual EU 
membership. The United States looks forward to working with 
the Bosnia and Herzegovina authorities, the High 
Representative, and the OSCE to ensure that all objectives 
are meaningfully implemented prior to transition. We are 
confident in the High Representative's abilities to assist 
Bosnia and Herzegovina's leaders toward achieving this goal. 
 
We again thank High Representative Inzko for his helpful 
report and the support he has given the OSCE. We wish him all 
the best in his work. 
 
Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. 
 
End text. 
CLINTON