VZCZCXRO0663
OO RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR
DE RUEHC #8900/01 0281927
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 281920Z JAN 10
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUEHBW/AMEMBASSY BELGRADE IMMEDIATE 1237
INFO EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
NATO EU COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHIGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 STATE 008900 
 
SIPDIS 
NOFORN 
BELGRADE PASS TO PODGORICA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/20/2020 
TAGS: OVIP CLINTON HILLARY PREL NATO MW
SUBJECT: (U) Secretary Clinton's January 20, 
2010 Meeting with Montenegrin Prime Minister 
Milo Djukanovic 
 
¶1.  (U)  Classified by:  EUR A/S Nancy 
McEldowney, Acting, Reason 1.4.(d) 
 
¶2.  (U)  January 20, 2010; 3:00 p.m.; 
Washington. 
 
¶3.  (U) Participants: 
 
U.S. 
The Secretary 
A/S Philip Crowley, Public Affairs 
DAS Stuart Jones, EUR 
Jeff Hovenier, NSC Director for Central and 
Eastern Europe 
Joe Macmanus, Executive Assistant to the 
Secretary 
Roksana Houge, EUR/SCE (Notetaker) 
 
Montenegro 
Milo Djukanovic, Prime Minister 
Igor Luksic, Deputy Prime Minister and 
Minister of Finance 
Milan Rocen, Foreign Minister 
Miodrag Vlahovic, Ambassador to the U.S. 
Vojin Vlahovic, Chief of Prime Minister's 
Cabinet 
 
¶4.  (C/NF) Summary. Montenegrin Prime Minister 
(PM) Milo Djukanovic delivered two messages to 
the Secretary:  Montenegro is moving steadily 
towards membership in NATO and the European 
Union (EU), and Montenegro will continue to 
support efforts to achieve peace and stability 
in the Balkans.  Calling the U.S. a strong 
partner, the PM reiterated that the U.S. can 
count on Montenegro as a responsible partner 
and ally in the region and in Afghanistan.  He 
also pledged to continue with rule of law 
reform in order to improve the quality of life 
for Montenegrin citizens and also meet NATO-EU 
standards.  The Secretary expressed support 
for Montenegro's NATO-EU aspirations.  She 
thanked Djukanovic for Montenegro's upcoming 
ISAF contributions, for establishing 
diplomatic relations with Kosovo, and for his 
positive role in the region, especially in 
Bosnia.  She urged Djukanovic to intensify 
rule of law efforts and encouraged him to 
establish a taskforce to fight organized crime 
and corruption.  End Summary 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
Montenegro on the Right Path Towards NATO/EU 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C/NF) Thanking the Secretary for the 
strong U.S. support for Montenegro's Euro- 
Atlantic aspirations, Djukanovic assured her 
that Montenegro is on the right path and that 
Montenegro will work hard to meet NATO-EU 
standards.  He thanked her personally for her 
support for MAP for Montenegro at the December 
2009 NATO Ministerial and expressed his strong 
belief that Montenegro will be the next member 
of the Alliance.  Noting that only 3 1/2 years 
after independence Montenegro has managed to 
get MAP, he predicted Montenegro will get EU 
candidate status in 2010.  The Secretary 
responded that there are challenges ahead such 
as fighting organized crime and corruption and 
creating a rule of law environment that 
attracts foreign investors.  This is all part 
of the NATO-EU integration processes.  She 
assured the Prime Minister that the U.S. will 
work with Montenegro to help it reach full 
membership in NATO-EU. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
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STATE 00008900  002 OF 003 
 
SUBJECT: (U) Secretary Clinton's January 20, 
2010 Meeting with Montenegrin Prime Minister 
Milo Djukanov 
Montenegro Committed to Regional 
Stability/Bosnia 
--------------------------------------------- - 
--- 
¶6. (C/NF) Djukanovic expressed his concern 
about stability in the region and offered his 
views on Bosnia.  He had reached out to 
Bosnian Serb leader Dodik to encourage him to 
be constructive on constitutional reform.  He 
noted that the only cure for Bosnia and the 
region is integration into Euro-Atlantic 
institutions.  He expressed regret Bosnia was 
not invited into MAP in December and said that 
it is vital that the U.S. encourage the EU 
partners to keep the NATO-EU doors open for 
the Balkan countries. 
 
¶7.  (C/NF) Djukanovic also noted that despite 
the outcome of the Butmir process, the effort 
sent a strong signal to the region about the 
U.S. interest in the Balkans.  He predicted 
that further outside efforts in Bosnia will 
have no effect until after the October 
elections, and he urged that partners like 
Russia and Turkey be included to avoid any 
secret deals.  Achieving a minimal level of 
functioning of the Bosnian central government 
is crucial, he said, for Bosnia's stability 
and its path to NATO and the EU.  For Butmir 
to work, he added, it is imperative that we 
remain united and educate the Bosnian people 
on the benefits of constitutional reform.  The 
Secretary thanked Djukanovic for reaching out 
to Dodik to encourage him to reconsider his 
path and stressed that the U.S. wants to work 
closely with Montenegro in order to get the 
support needed to move forward on 
constitutional reform.  Djukanovic once more 
expressed his commitment to remain actively 
engaged. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
---------- 
Montenegro Committed to Global Peace and 
Stability/ISAF 
--------------------------------------------- - 
---------- 
 
¶8. (C/NF) The Secretary thanked Djukanovic for 
his commitment to send Montenegrin troops to 
Afghanistan with ISAF in March.  Djukanovic 
noted that while this was Montenegro's first 
infantry platoon deployment with ISAF, 
Montenegro is a regular contributor to peace 
keeping operations in Cyprus and Somalia.  He 
also offered to consider assistance on Haiti. 
 
------ 
Kosovo 
------ 
 
¶9.  (C/NF) The Secretary praised Montenegro's 
decision to recognize Kosovo and establish 
diplomatic relations on January 15 despite 
vocal opposition from the large Serb minority 
in Montenegro.  She said that Montenegro's 
steps were significant to the U.S. and 
important for the region.  Djukanovic said 
that despite protests from Belgrade, 
Montenegro took these steps in its national 
interest and to promote regional stability. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Rule of Law and Economic Reform/Assistance 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶10. (C/NF) The Secretary commended the PM's 
efforts in fighting corruption.  She urged the 
PM to establish an interagency task force to 
fight organized crime and corruption and 
stressed that as Montenegro prepares to 
fulfill NATO-EU entry requirements, its 
actions in improving transparency and the rule 
of law will be monitored closely.  Djukanovic 
thanked the Secretary for her suggestion and 
 
STATE 00008900  003 OF 003 
 
SUBJECT: (U) Secretary Clinton's January 20, 
2010 Meeting with Montenegrin Prime Minister 
Milo Djukanov 
agreed that more challenges lie ahead.  He 
promised that he would do everything needed to 
fulfill the remaining obligations.  The 
reforms, he noted, will also improve 
Montenegro's economic comparative advantage 
and attract more investors.  The Secretary 
agreed and recognized the efforts of the 
Montenegrin Embassy in Washington, the U.S. 
Embassy in Montenegro, and U.S. - Montenegro 
Business Council in working to create a level 
playing field.  She also announced to the PM 
an increase in USG assistance to Montenegro in 
2010 from USD 9 million to USD 10 million and 
noted that some of this assistance will be 
used for programs designed to help the 
Montenegrin government create a better rule- 
of-law environment. 
 
------------------- 
Visit to Montenegro 
------------------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Djukanovic extended an invitation 
to the Secretary to visit Montenegro during 
future trips to Europe.  The Secretary 
responded that she was delighted to receive 
the invitation and would look for an 
opportunity.  The Secretary and Djukanovic 
announced a possible visit in a statement to 
the press immediately following the meeting. 
CLINTON