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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 000115 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PLEASE PASS TO EUR/SCE AND H 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/22/2020 
TAGS: PREL PGOV HR OVIP
SUBJECT: SENATORS VOINOVICH AND SHAHEEN DISCUSS REGIONAL 
POLITICS WITH SENIOR CROATIAN LEADERSHIP 
 
REF: A. 09 ZAGREB 691 
     ¶B. ZAGREB 00055 
 
Classified By: PolOff Peter D'Amico, Reasons 1.4 B/D 
 
¶1. (C) Summary.  On February 15 Senators Voinovich and 
Shaheen met with PM Kosor, Foreign Minister Jandrokovic, 
Defense Minister Vukelic, then-President Mesic and 
President-Elect Josipovic.  Prime Minister Kosor described 
the GoC's key goals as completing EU accession negotiations, 
strengthening the economy, and fighting corruption.  FM 
Jandrokovic said the dialogue between Belgrade and Zagreb 
that began in December had "stagnated" following President 
Tadic's decision not to come to Josipovic's inauguration. 
Nevertheless, he hoped the talks would soon be relaunched. 
Josipovic described the situation in Bosnia as a "big mess" 
and criticized the BiH Croats' desire for a third entity. 
Mesic said he wanted to see all the countries in Southeast 
Europe join the EU and NATO.  Senators Voinovich and Shaheen 
said they shared this vision for the region.  End Summary. 
 
PM Kosor's Key Domestic and Foreign Policy Priorities 
 
¶2. (C) Prime Minister Kosor said her key goals are completing 
EU accession negotiations, strengthening the economy, and 
fighting corruption.  Kosor thanked the Senators for the U.S. 
role in supporting Croatia's EU accession process, especially 
the U.S. efforts to end the Slovenian blockade of their 
negotiations.  Her top priority is now to complete EU 
negotiations this year.  Senators Voinovich and Shaheen 
congratulated Kosor on her progress with EU accession and 
anti-corruption efforts.  Senator Voinovich noted that he 
wanted all of the countries that once made up Yugoslavia to 
eventually be members of the EU and NATO. 
 
¶3. (C) On the region, Kosor said Croatia would not give up on 
the fundamental principles of Dayton for BiH.  Even though 
the Croatian constitution requires Zagreb to assist Croats 
outside of Croatia, Bosnian Croats must recognize that their 
state is Bosnia and their capital is Sarajevo.  The Bosnian 
Croats must rely on themselves for solutions rather than 
Zagreb.  Regarding Serbia, she said Croatia will continue to 
build bridges for the sake of both countries' common European 
future.  She and Slovenian PM Pahor are jointly-sponsoring a 
regional conference next month to assist neighboring 
countries on the EU path.  The conference would demonstrate 
how two countries that recently had problems can join forces 
to work toward mutual goals.  Commenting on Croatia's global 
role, Kosor reaffirmed the GoC's support for the ISAF mission. 
 
¶4. (C) Kosor characterized the fight against corruption as 
part of her effort to improve the economy.  While she 
acknowledged the poor state of the economy and the need for 
strong recovery efforts, she repeatedly emphasized that 
Croatia's problems were the result of the global crisis, 
rather than a crisis of the government's economic policies. 
(Comment:  While the global crisis has had an impact on 
Croatia's economy, domestic factors such as the unfriendly 
business climate and the excessive share of government 
spending in GDP also contribute to sluggish growth.  Post 
plans to engage the PM directly on this issue in the near 
future.  End Comment.) 
 
FM and DefMin On Croatia's Regional Politics, EU Bid, and ISAF 
 
¶5. (C) At lunch with Foreign Minister Gordan Jandrokovic and 
Defense Minister Branko Vukelic, Senators Voinovich and 
Shaheen reviewed key regional and bilateral issues.  The FM 
stressed the GoC's unequivocal support for BiH's sovereignty 
and territorial integrity.  The main challenge was assuring 
the equal rights of the three constituent peoples, while also 
establishing an effective and functioning government. 
Political reform had to take place in order to preserve 
stability in BiH, and Jandrokovic noted the GoC's efforts to 
engage Bosnian Croats constructively in the political reform 
process (ref A). 
 
¶6. (C) Regarding Serbia, Jandrokovic noted that a dialogue 
between Belgrade and Zagreb began before Christmas (ref B), 
but the talks "stagnated" following President Tadic's 
decision not to come to the Josipovic inauguration. 
Jandrokovic hoped the talks would be relaunched soon after 
the February 18 inauguration since improving relations with 
Serbia remains a priority for the GoC.  Jandrokovic said that 
Croatia will "probably negotiate" with Serbia over the 
competing genocide suits at the ICJ.  However, Jandrokovic 
raised concerns about the GoS's efforts to make resolution of 
bilateral problems, such as the refugee issue, pre-conditions 
for Croatia's EU accession.  Jandrokovic characterized 
Serbia's role in the region as "ambiguous."  For example, the 
 
ZAGREB 00000115  002 OF 002 
 
 
GoS says the right things about territorial integrity for BiH 
but then works with RS PM Dodik without consulting Sarajevo, 
which sends mixed messages. 
 
¶7. (C) In reference to Croatia's cooperation with the ICTY, 
Jandrokovic noted that "four countries (Great Britain, 
Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands) now understand that the 
GoC is working in good faith."  He said the GoC had no reason 
to hide the documents and added that "our main goal is to get 
into the EU and we have no desire to jeopardize that." Asked 
about EU enlargement fatigue, Jandrokovic argued EU member 
states were "positive" regarding Croatia, but many were 
"negative" regarding enlargement in general.  He added that 
Croatia must work to persuade EU member states that the GoC 
is on the level of European standards.  "We are not perfect," 
the FM concluded, but the GoC would do its best to meet the 
EU requirements. 
 
¶8. (C) Speaking about Croatia's ISAF contribution, DefMin 
Vukelic said the GoC wanted to increase troop numbers in 
Afghanistan but "budget cuts are making it difficult."  The 
FM added that more political groundwork was needed.  (For 
more details see septel on Deputy Secretary Lew's meeting 
with the FM.)  The Senators expressed strong appreciation for 
Croatia's engagement in Afghanistan. 
 
Josipovic Discusses Regional Politics 
 
¶9. (C) At dinner then President-Elect Josipovic characterized 
the situation in BiH as a "big mess."  The Dayton Accords 
stopped the war but also laid the seeds for a destructive 
political situation.  The "asymmetrical relationship" between 
the three constituent peoples in BiH was a major cause for 
concern.  The Bosnian Croats recognize that government 
structures are not working, and believe they have no 
alternatives.  Josipovic was critical of BiH Croats' desire 
for a third entity, however, and stated that it was "driven 
by money and nationalism." 
 
¶10. (C) Josipovic said the international community needed to 
do what it could to change the mentality in BiH.  The 
international presence is a significant deterrent against 
violence in Bosnia. Furthermore, as long as Croatia and 
Serbia made it clear they will not tolerate extremism, 
Josipovic believed stability would prevail.  He also 
expressed the hope that the upcoming elections in BiH would 
bring about positive change. 
 
¶11. (C) On ISAF, Senator Shaheen urged that Croatian endeavor 
to increase its contribution in line with increased U.S. 
efforts in Afghanistan. 
 
Mesic Supports SE Europe Joining Euro-Atlantic Institutions 
 
¶12. (C) President Mesic thanked the U.S. for its assistance 
in getting Croatia into NATO and moving the country closer to 
EU membership.  Mesic wanted to see all the countries in 
Southeast Europe join the EU and NATO.  The European project 
would not be complete until Southeast Europe was part of 
Euro-Atlantic institutions.  The process of joining the EU 
and NATO was key to improving the way people approached 
political issues in the region.  Senators Voinovich and 
Shaheen said they shared this vision for Southeast Europe. 
Mesic hoped that the global economic crisis would not stop 
Euro-Atlantic expansion from moving forward. 
 
¶13. (C) Comment: Croatian officials greatly appreciated the 
visit of Senators Voinovich and Shaheen, and viewed it as an 
important sign of continued high-level U.S. interest in their 
country.  The visit also reinforced our key bilateral, 
regional, and multilateral priorities with Croatia, including 
continued cooperation on regional stability, EU accession, 
economic reform, anti-corruption efforts and Croatia's ISAF 
contribution.  Post thanks Senator Voinovich for his 
long-standing support and looks forward to working with 
Senator Shaheen on the way ahead for Croatia and the region. 
 
¶14. (U) CODEL Voinovich did not have the opportunity to 
review this message. 
FOLEY