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                  ------------------B15164  150853Z /38
R 150848Z SEP 09
FM USMISSION USNATO
TO AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO
SECSTATE WASHDC 3368
SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
INFO AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
NATO EU COLLECTIVE
AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
CIA WASHDC
DIA WASHDC
NSC WASHDC
JOINT STAFF WASHDC
USNMR BRUSSELS BE
USDELMC BRUSSELS BE
HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL

UNCLAS USNATO 000390 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: NATO PGOV PREL MOPS MCAT BK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA'S FOREIGN MINISTER WANTS 
MAP SOONER RATHER THAN LATER; POSSIBLE AFGHAN CONTRIBUTION 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH) Foreign 
Minister, Sven Alkalaj, said in a courtesy call with 
Ambassador Daalder on September 11 BiH intends to submit its 
application to join the Membership Action Plan (MAP) in the 
coming weeks, immediately after the United Nations General 
Assembly (UNGA) meetings in New York.  Ambassador Daalder 
cautioned BiH to submit its application when it had a strong 
chance of success.  He pressed BiH to generate further 
positive reforms, while also taking greater steps to 
demonstrate to all Allies that Bosnia has moved firmly into 
the category of an international security provider.  In an 
effort to demonstrate that BiH can be a reliable provider of 
security, Alkalaj hinted that BiH might consider making a 
contribution of up to 100 troops for operations in 
Afghanistan.  END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
BiH's foreign policy goals - and where MAP fits in 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Foreign Minister Alkalaj stated that BiH had three 
main foreign policy goals for this year: (1) to be elected to 
a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council 
(UNSC); (2) to achieve visa liberalization with the EU; and 
(3) to be granted entrance into NATO's Membership Action 
Plan.  Alkalaj said that BiH's election to a non-permanent 
seat on the UNSC woud exemplify validation from the 
international community on the progress it has made during 
the last few years.  On EU visa liberalization, he admitted 
that BiH's denial had been hard to swallow, but that BiH had 
"gotten the message" and hoped to demonstrate compliance with 
ninety-five percent of the roadmap's conditions by the end of 
September.  On MAP, Alkalaj said that it is in the interest 
of the Allies to have BiH "in its arms," and spoke of his 
intent to officially apply for MAP at the conclusion of the 
UNGA meetings in New York.  Alkalaj intimated that BiH's 
decision to apply for MAP this fall was partially influenced 
by introduction of U.S. Senate Bill S.1559, which calls for 
support for the people and government of BiH in reaching its 
eventual goal of NATO membership.  Foreign Minister Alkalaj 
explained that he interpreted the Senate Bill as a signal of 
U.S. support, leading BiH to the conclusion that now is the 
time to apply for MAP.  He also pushed for BiH to submit its 
MAP application soon because he wants its application to 
proceed in parallel with Montenegro's application (NOTE: 
Montenegro officially applied to join MAP in November 2008). 
Ambassador Daalder said that it would be nice to see the two 
countries' application proceed in parallel, but cautioned 
that NATO Allies believe Montenegro is reforming more 
quickly. 
 
----------------------- 
Making the case for MAP 
----------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Alkalaj told Ambassador Daalder that BiH public 
approval to join NATO remains at about sixty percent.  While 
readily admitting that BiH continues to face problems and 
that the pace of reform could probably be quicker, Alkalaj 
steadfastly declared that his country was beginning to show 
progress and must continue to move forward on the path of 
Euro-Atlantic integration.  He stated that he hoped that 
BiH's application for MAP might serve as a stabilizing 
influence in the western Balkans region, and might even 
eventually persuade Serbia to seek closer ties to NATO. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Ambassador Daalder said that U.S. policy for many 
years had been to further integrate BiH into Euro-Atlantic 
structures.  At the same time, he warned that getting the 
necessary Allied consensus to move BiH further along the 
membership path could likely require further reforms by, and 
political stability in, Sarajevo.  Ambassador Daalder stated 
that the inability to resolve the issue of defense property 
was troubling and progress on constitutional reform might be 
necessary.  He cautioned Foreign Minister Alkalaj to apply 
for MAP only when it was clear that BiH would succeed in its 
goal, adding that the time might not yet be right.  Alkalaj 
admitted that he was hoping for a more positive response from 
the U.S. and argued that granting MAP for BiH would provide 
 
 
stability for BiH's ethnic populations, much like EU 
stability has done for Belgium. 
 
------------------------------------ 
Future contribution for Afghanistan? 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (SBU) Ambassador Daalder told Alkalaj that BiH needs to 
conclusively demonstrate that BiH has made the transition to 
being a contributor to, and not just a consumer of, security. 
 Alkalaj responded that the Minister of Defense, having just 
returned from a trip to Afghanistan, was preparing a report 
that could recommend a contribution of up to 100 soldiers to 
operations in Afghanistan. 
HEFFERN