VZCZCXRO7579
RR RUEHAG RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR
DE RUEHBW #0023/01 0361408
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 051407Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0709
INFO EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 BELGRADE 000023 
 
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E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/05 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR SR KV
SUBJECT: SERBIA: AMBASSADOR'S FIRST MEETING WITH DEFENSE MINISTER 
SUTANOVAC 
 
REF: 08 BELGRADE 1231 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Deborah Mennuti, Political Counselor, State, POL; 
REASON: 1.4(B), (D) 
 
Summary 
 
------- 
 
 
 
¶1.  (C) In a February 2 conversation with the Ambassador, Defense 
Minister Sutanovac welcomed the opportunity for increased bilateral 
engagement and identified his top goals for 2010 as 
professionalization of the military, sending troops to peacekeeping 
operations in Lebanon and Cyprus, and increasing public support for 
NATO.  He spoke of his support for eventual Serbian membership in 
NATO but was non-committal when pressed to increase activities 
within the Partnership for Peace framework.  Sutanovac emphasized 
the importance of relaxing the Kumanovo Agreement in recognition of 
Serbia's status as a partner rather than an adversary of NATO, 
explaining that a request for revisions was being forwarded through 
military channels as he could not directly approach the North 
Atlantic Council for political reasons. The Minister discussed the 
importance of defense reform, including professionalization of the 
military and cost-cutting, and described plans to create a regional 
peacekeeping training facility at Serbia's new South Base.  End 
Summary. 
 
 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The Ambassador paid an introductory courtesy call on 
Minister of Defense Dragan Sutanovac on February 2.  Sutanovac was 
accompanied by MOD State Secretary Dusan Spasojevic, MOD Chief of 
Staff BGEN Milan Bjelica, and MAJ Dalibor Ogrizovic. The Ambassador 
was accompanied by the DCM, Acting DATT, and Polcouns. 
 
 
 
Bilateral Cooperation 
 
---------------------- 
 
 
 
¶3.  (C)  Sutanovac welcomed the Ambassador to Serbia, noting that 
the lengthy period without a U.S. ambassador or DATT had hampered 
efforts to strengthen the bilateral partnership.  He expressed 
appreciation for the good meetings he'd had in Washington in 
December and explained that his high-profile engagement with the 
United States had led to renewed attacks at home by anti-NATO 
activists pushing for a referendum on membership.   He told the 
Ambassador that his primary goals for 2010 were the 
professionalization of the military, sending troops to peacekeeping 
operations in Lebanon and Cyprus, and increasing public support for 
NATO. 
 
 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The Ambassador highlighted the importance of security and 
defense cooperation to the overall bilateral relationship and said 
she was particularly pleased with the results of the Ohio National 
Guard's work through the State Partnership Program (SPP).  She 
urged Sutanovac to take the relationship to the next level through 
additional exercises and training opportunities, particularly those 
which draw on the expertise of neighboring countries such as the 
Hungarian offer.  The Ambassador said that she would work to 
support enhanced cooperation and regular consultations such as 
Joint Staff Talks and Bilateral Defense Consultations, mentioning 
the planned February 11-12 visit of SACEUR and EUCOM CDR ADM James 
Stavridis.   Sutanovac said he was looking forward to hosting ADM 
Stavridis at Serbian Armed Forces Day celebrations on February 12. 
He mentioned that he hoped to return to the U.S. in April or May 
for meetings with Congress and a speech at West Point on defense 
reforms. 
 
BELGRADE 00000023  002 OF 004 
 
 
Relations with NATO; Kumanovo Agreement 
 
--------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶5.  (C) Sutanovac informed the Ambassador that late 2009 polling 
data showed that 27% of the Serbian public favored NATO membership. 
He described the number as relatively high given that 2009 saw both 
a visit by Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev to Belgrade and the 
tenth anniversary of the NATO intervention.  The Minister said his 
goal was to increase public support for eventual membership in 
order to create a better environment for joint activities with 
NATO, even though "we won't join in the next one or two years."  He 
added that he had to work for eventual NATO membership for the good 
of the country because he was convinced that "Serbia would move 
faster inside of NATO rather than out."  In response to the 
Ambassador's question about the impact of recent Russian government 
comments discouraging Serbia from considering NATO membership, 
Sutanovac complained that pro-Russian news outlets could easily 
obtain anti-NATO quotes from high-level sources in Moscow, but 
NATO members were reluctant to make the counter argument.  He added 
that he had not been invited to Wehrkunde this year, which he said 
further undermined the perception of Serbia's partnership with NATO 
allies. 
 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Asked about plans to increase participation in PfP and 
the status of Serbia's NATO Mission, Sutanovac explained that both 
issues were linked to the implementation of the Security Agreement, 
which was now the MFA's responsibility. 
 
 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  Turning to the Military-Technical Agreement (aka the 
Kumanovo Agreement) with NATO, Sutanovac said he had raised 
Serbia's desire for modifications during  a December 24 meeting 
with ADM Fitzgerald in Naples.  The Ground Security Zone (GSZ) and 
Air Security Zone (ASZ) do not cause operational difficulties for 
Serbia but are a problem symbolically; it is difficult for him to 
explain to the public why he has to seek COMKFOR permission to fly 
to a destination within the GSZ to visit his troops.  If Serbia is 
truly a partner with NATO, and if the security situation in Kosovo 
is improving to the point where KFOR can now draw down its forces, 
the GSZ is no longer needed, Sutanovac emphasized. 
 
 
 
¶8.  (C) Sutanovac stressed that he did not want to repeat the 
experience of late 2008 when former CHOD Zdravko Ponos spoke 
prematurely to the media about Serbia's desire to revise the MTA, 
"derailing" the idea temporarily (reftel).  The Minister said that 
the current CHOD Miloje Miletic had prepared a letter to ADM 
Fitzgerald which would be forwarded to ADM Stavridis and then on to 
NATO SYG Rasmussen in the next "5 to 10 days."  The letter would 
lay out the Serbian request for revisions to the MTA.  Sutanovac 
said his hope was that SYG Rasmussen would visit Serbia in the near 
future and announce that it was time to relax the MTA.  (There are 
no current plans for a Rasmussen visit, Sutanovac said; he planned 
to visit Brussels soon for meetings with both the EU and NATO, 
however.)  Sutanovac explained that he could not write directly to 
the North Atlantic Council with the request for fear that it would 
leak and set off another domestic political firestorm.  The 
Ambassador welcomed the news that Serbia had laid out its request 
in writing. 
 
 
 
¶9.  (C) Asked when the CHOD would reestablish regular 
communications with COMKFOR, Sutanovac said only that Miletic had 
met with COMKFOR in Naples on December 24 and there were no 
problems with communication.   He indicated that former CHOD Ponos 
had unilaterally decided to cut off communications with COMKFOR in 
response to the decision to have NATO train the Kosovo Security 
 
BELGRADE 00000023  003 OF 004 
 
 
Forces.  Sutanovac added that SYG Rasmussen's recent statement in 
favor of Peter Fieth's plan for northern Kosovo had made the 
situation "tougher" for Serbia now. 
 
 
 
Defense Reform - South Base 
 
--------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Underscoring his commitment to defense reform, Sutanovac 
identified professionalization of the military as the main task in 
that area and said he was committed to achieving it in 2010.  He 
described full professionalization as a tough but achievable goal 
which 80% of the public supported.  Sutanovac lamented the fact 
that after President Tadic's tenure as defense minister, there had 
been a lull in reforms from 2005 to 2007.  Sutanovac pointed to 
high public approval ratings of the army as proof that his reform 
efforts were paying off.  Among government institutions the army 
was now seen by the public as the most popular and least corrupt, 
which was a complete reversal of the situation just a few years 
ago.  Much work remained to cut the fat from MOD's extensive 
operations, which included everything hospitals to schools to 
hotels, Sutanovac said; 80% of the budget now went to personnel 
costs.  In December he had dismissed 450 people from loss-making 
commercial enterprises belonging to the military.  He was also 
working to right-size the officer corps and had recently cut the 
number of colonels from 1600 to 800, which had led to a surge in 
press criticism.  Sutanovac also highlighted his efforts to 
increase arms sales, mentioning discussions with Kuwait, Libya, 
Algeria, and Egypt. 
 
 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Sutanovac told the Ambassador that Serbia's new South 
Base was the first facility built to NATO standards.  Planning had 
begun before he became minister, he said; if it had been his 
decision he might have spent the money differently rather than 
constructing facilities to house 1000 people.  MOD now wanted to 
develop the base as a regional peacekeeping training facility in 
order to use it fully and avoid the appearance of militarization of 
southern Serbia, given the sensitivities of the ethnic Albanian 
minority living there.  The base commander has been reaching out to 
local communities to inform them of the opportunities the base 
presents.  The facility is currently 35 hectares; MOD is purchasing 
an additional 65 hectares to create a sufficiently large training 
range.  They hoped to bring in foreign trainers to give the 
facility a true multi-national character, Sutanovac said. 
 
 
 
Peacekeeping Operations 
 
----------------------- 
 
 
 
¶12.  (C) Sutanovac informed the Ambassador that Serbia had recently 
contributed a medical team to a Norwegian-lead peacekeeping mission 
in Chad.  The mission was the first deployment requiring 
parliamentary approval under the 2006 Constitution; it required 
heavy lifting with Parliament as Norway is not a member of the EU 
and has recognized Kosovo.  Serbia is now working to send troops to 
Lebanon in cooperation with Spain and Italy.  Sutanovac added that 
he also hoped to send troops to a mission in Cyprus this year, as 
requested by Hungary; it would be a "good, easy mission" that would 
help increase the interoperability of Serbian troops.  Sutanovac 
commented that the Cyprus mission was also a good fit because 
Hungary and Serbia were both SPP partners with the Ohio National 
Guard, and because Slovakia (a non-recognizer and thus palatable to 
the MFA) also participated.   Serbia was seeking the support of the 
Turkish government before making a final decision. 
 
BELGRADE 00000023  004 OF 004 
 
 
Comment 
 
------- 
 
 
 
¶13.  (C) Sutanovac was true to form, making no effort to disguise 
his political ambitions and painting a vivid picture of the 
political sacrifices he claims to make in the name of defense 
reform and partnership with the West.   He was also quite frank 
about his feeling that his Western partners did not adequately 
reciprocate his efforts, rattling off a list of complaints 
including not being invited to Wehrkunde (while FM Jeremic and 
Presidential Foreign Policy Advisor Ratkovic were) , a lack of 
rhetorical support from EU partners, the U.S. decision to send a 
transport plane rather than a fighter to the 2009 air show, 
insufficient international support for the Military Hospital, and 
even the fact that the Vice President did not have time to address 
the officer corps during his May 2009 visit to Belgrade.   More 
substantively, Sutanovac revealed a simplistic approach to defense 
reform, equating it solely with professionalization and 
cost-cutting, and a lack of enthusiasm to take on more challenging 
international missions and joint activities.  For all his 
shortcomings, however, Sutanovac is an influential figure in the 
Serbian government who is moving the Serbian military slowly in the 
right direction and can be counted on to continue to advocate for 
partnership with NATO as long as the political cost-benefit 
analysis remains in his favor.  End Comment. 
WARLICK