VZCZCXYZ0007
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBW #0334/01 0571512
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 261512Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0948
INFO EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK

UNCLAS BELGRADE 000334 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ECON MARR SR
SUBJECT: SERBIA: CODEL VOINOVICH DISCUSSES EUROPEAN INTEGRATION, 
KOSOVO 
 
REF: BELGRADE 90; BELGRADE 130 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) During their February 17-19 visit to Belgrade, Senator 
Voinovich and Senator Shaheen expressed strong support for Serbia's 
European aspirations and urged the government to tackle remaining 
challenges including domestic reforms and finding a modus vivendi 
with Kosovo in the wake of the International Court of Justice 
opinion.  They also thanked the Serbian leadership for pursuing the 
Kosovo issue through peaceful mechanisms.  The Senators heard from 
interlocutors that NATO membership is not a near-term prospect, but 
continued participation in Partnership for Peace is seen as a 
valuable means of promoting reform.  President Tadic and Foreign 
Minister Jeremic expressed the intent to resolve outstanding 
bilateral issues with neighboring countries, including adopting a 
parliamentary resolution on Srebrenica, while Defense Minister 
Sutanovac called for a revision of the Military-Technical Agreement 
with NATO.  Prime Minister Cvetkovic emphasized the government's 
commitment to fighting organized crime and expressed the hope that 
additional U.S. investment would flow to Serbia.  Newly-elected 
Patriarch Irinej of the Serbian Orthodox Church told the Senators 
that "it would be normal" for Serbia to join the European Union, and 
expressed concern for Kosovo Serbs.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) Senator George Voinovich (R-OH, Senate Appropriations 
Committee) and Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH, Senate Foreign Relations 
Committee) visited Serbia February 17-19.  They were accompanied by 
Senate staffers Joseph Lai, Chad Kreikemeier, and Angela Youngen. 
 
President Tadic 
--------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) During a two-hour luncheon with the Senators on February 
18, President Boris Tadic repeatedly emphasized EU membership as 
Serbia's main goal, acknowledging that more work remains to be done 
to complete crucial economic and other reforms, especially with 
respect to solidifying Serbia's commitment to European values.  He 
also acknowledged that while the entire Western Balkans region shares 
the strategic goal of European integration, approaches toward NATO 
differ.  While residual public anger would make it difficult to 
advance NATO membership for Serbia before the 2012 elections, Tadic 
said Serbia fully supported NATO integration of all of its neighbors, 
including Bosnia, which he had advocated in conversations with 
Republika Srpska Prime Minister Milorad Dodik and other Bosnian Serb 
leaders.  Tadic underscored Serbia's commitment to cooperation with 
the U.S. on fighting organized crime; the Senators commended him on 
the political courage he has displayed in fighting corruption and 
implementing judicial reform.  Tadic said Europe and others would 
ultimately pay a high price if the Western Balkans and Turkey were 
not integrated into Europe in the near to medium term.  He emphasized 
Serbia's commitment to working with Greece, Macedonia, Croatia, 
Albania and other neighbors to resolve other issues in the region. 
He also confirmed his commitment to working with parliament to adopt 
a resolution on Srebrenica within the next few weeks. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  With regard to Kosovo, Tadic and his Foreign Policy 
Advisor Jovan Ratkovic called for a "realistic and sustainable 
solution" that would offset the ongoing sense of defeat and 
humiliation for Serbia and acknowledge the "facts on the ground" that 
Serbs in northern Kosovo would never accept rule by Pristina.  They 
emphasized Serbia would be very flexible and defend its interests in 
Kosovo only by diplomatic and legal means but asserted that the 
"endgame on Kosovo" remained the last danger for Serbia's EU vision. 
They called for opening quiet discussions, including with Pristina, 
on creative compromises or "win-win" solutions, stating that failure 
to find such new accommodations would be destabilizing and play into 
the hands of radical political rivals.  They also called for U.S. and 
NATO flexibility in modifying the air and ground safety zone 
restrictions embodied in the Kumanovo Agreement.  The Senators 
thanked Tadic for pursuing the Kosovo issue through peaceful 
mechanisms. 
 
 
Foreign Minister Jeremic 
------------------------ 
 
¶5.  (SBU) In a February 19 meeting, Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic told 
the Senators that Serbia had passed through its most difficult period 
in 2008 and considered EU membership  its main strategic objective. 
He expressed concern about EU enlargement fatigue, while emphasizing 
that Serbia would continue toward a future in the EU. Describing 
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo as the two main unresolved issues in 
 
 
the Balkans, Jeremic said Bosnia was more complicated to resolve than 
Kosovo and required "strategic thinking."  Serbia's approach to 
Bosnia, Jeremic continued, was focused on promoting reconciliation 
between the three constituent peoples, preserving Bosnia's 
territorial integrity, and achieving passage of a parliamentary 
resolution on Srebrenica by the largest possible margin.  He said 
that Serbia supported EU visa liberalization as well as granting 
Bosnia-Herzegovina NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP) status. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Jeremic asserted that Serbia's approach to Kosovo marked 
the first time in the history of the Balkans that a state addressed a 
territorial dispute by purely peaceful means, and that Serbia would 
not go to war over Kosovo.  Dodging Senator Voinovich's questions on 
appropriate levels of NATO troops and the need to focus on quality of 
life issues for Kosovo Serbs, Jeremic expressed concern that an ICJ 
ruling in Kosovo's favor would create a precedent that would enable 
Serbia's northern province of Vojvodina to secede.  Emphasizing 
Serbia's commitment to dealing with Kosovo through peaceful methods, 
Jeremic described Serbia's Kosovo policy by paraphrasing the late 
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin that "we will pursue compromise 
[with Kosovo] as if there were no independence, and oppose 
independence as if there were no compromise." 
 
Defense Minister Sutanovac 
-------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) In a February 18 meeting with Senators Voinovich and 
Shaheen, Minister of Defense Dragan Sutanovac highlighted his 
Ministry's very strong relationship with the United States, crediting 
the Ohio National Guard - State Partnership Program.  Sutanovac 
identified his top three goals as professionalization to create an 
all volunteer armed forces, the development of a regional 
peacekeeping training center at South Base, and the continuation of 
close working relations in the region.  Sutanovac said that along 
with peacekeepers in Chad, the Ministry of Defense was negotiating 
with the Spanish to participate with them in peacekeeping operations 
in Lebanon and was very willing to deploy with the Hungarians and 
Slovaks in Cyprus.  Sutanovac said he supported the MAP process for 
Bosnia and Herzegovina and that it should be looked at as a tool, 
rather than a reward. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Sutanovac expressed frustration with a recent campaign by 
200 intellectuals to call for a referendum on Serbia's NATO 
membership, alleging that public support for membership had fallen 
from 27% to 20% as a result.  He also said that events in Kosovo had 
a negative impact on public support for NATO membership, such as 
Secretary General Rasmussen's support for the Peter Feith plan for 
integration of northern Kosovo, as well as NATO's role in forming the 
Kosovo Security Force (KSF).  Sutanovac highlighted the full 
democratic control over the military in Serbia, boasting that under 
his leadership the military had gone from low public support to being 
the most trusted institution in Serbia. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Sutanovac appealed for more international support for the 
Serbian Military and the work he is doing; said that the MOD would 
welcome more financial support; claimed that FMF funding for 20-30 
HUMVEES would improve Serbian public opinion of the U.S; pushed for 
better U.S. participation in the next air show; and expressed concern 
about the challenges of reintegrating Serbian military students 
trained at U.S. service academies  into the Serbian military. 
 
 
Prime Minister Cvetkovic 
------------------------ 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Prime Minister Cvetkovic told Senators Voinovich and 
Shaheen on February 18 that U.S. -Serbia relations were improving, 
especially following Vice President Biden's visit to Serbia in May 
¶2009.  Cvetkovic said that the government coalition in Serbia had one 
key pillar - EU integration - and emphasized that Serbia's EU 
December 2009 membership application (Ref A) represented the formal 
decision of the government that Serbia's future was in the EU. 
Cvetkovic told the Senators that Serbia hoped to receive candidacy 
status from the EU in 2010.  Cvetkovic welcomed the $1.6 billion in 
U.S. foreign investment in Serbia and said he hoped for more.  He 
added that U.S.-Serbia military cooperation was strong, particularly 
with the Ohio National Guard, but added that NATO membership was not 
on Serbia's agenda at this time.  Cvetkovic highlighted the Serbian 
government's commitment to fight organized crime, including its 
successful cooperation with the U.S Drug Enforcement Agency. 
Senator Voinovich said that corruption was an important challenge in 
the region that needed to be addressed. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Cvetkovic said Serbia would only use diplomacy and 
peaceful means to fight for Kosovo.   The Prime Minister told the 
 
 
Senators that Serbia wanted new negotiations that would result in a 
mutually acceptable solution.  Cvetkovic said the government was 
still discussing internally its approach to Kosovo and that while 
there were signals that Serbia should put forward a proposal on 
Kosovo this would be premature. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Senator Voinovich praised the work of President Tadic and 
the government to advance Serbia's EU accession.  Voinovich 
encouraged Cvetkovic to think about Serbia's relationship with Kosovo 
following the International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion, 
noting that he had encouraged leaders in Kosovo to do the same. 
Senator Shaheen said that businesses looked at many aspects of the 
business climate, including political stability, and a solution to 
Kosovo issues would improve stability and the business environment 
for foreign investment.  Senator Shaheen said that during the 
delegation's meetings in Bosnia, leaders there had expressed 
appreciation for Serbia's statements and efforts to support Bosnia's 
territorial integrity. 
 
Patriarch Irinej 
---------------- 
 
¶13.  (SBU) Head of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) Patriarch Irinej 
met with Senators Voinovich and Shaheen on February 18.  In response 
to Senator Voinovich's comment that the SOC historically had had an 
important role to play in society, Irinej said that the SOC had 
always been part of the people through good and bad.  He emphasized 
that the SOC had never been part of the state and had always tried to 
advance democracy. Irinej said the SOC's centuries-old presence in 
Kosovo was vital and expressed concern about the safety and quality 
of life of Kosovo Serbs, asserting that none of the perpetrators of 
the 2004 vandalism of churches and monasteries had ever been 
prosecuted.  He said the timing and details of his enthronement in 
Pec in Kosovo (Ref B) were still being worked out. 
 
¶14.  (SBU) Replying to Senator Voinovich's question about the SOC's 
position on Serbia's future EU accession, Irinej replied that "it 
would be normal," as Serbia was part of Europe and European culture. 
In response to the Senators' comments on stability in the western 
Balkans, Irinej responded that the Balkans would be better off if the 
former Yugoslavia still existed.  He said "some individuals had the 
wrong desires" during the years when former Yugoslav republics had 
declared independence.   In addition to ties to the EU, Irinej noted 
the importance of U.S. support to Serbia, stating that U.S. opinions 
of Serbia and our example of freedom and democracy were essential. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶15.  (SBU) The visit of Senator Voinovich and Senator Shaheen was the 
first full-fledged congressional delegation to visit Belgrade since 
Codel Bean in July 2007.  The opportunity for dialogue with the 
highest levels of the Serbian government, as well as the positive 
press coverage, advanced our top policy goals of supporting Serbia's 
EU aspirations while pushing for a more pragmatic approach on Kosovo. 
 End Comment. 
 
¶16.  (U) This cable was cleared by Senator Voinovich and Senator 
Shaheen. 
WARLICK