US embassy cable - 05ZAGREB155

C O N F I D E N T I A L ZAGREB 000155 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NP/RA:SONTAG; EUR/SCE:KABUMOTO 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/25/2015 
TAGS: KNNP, KTIA, PARM, MNUC, PHSA, PREL, HR, Defense Reform (Mil & NATO) 
SUBJECT: PSI: CROATIA SOON READY TO CONSULT ON OPERATIONAL 
AND LEGAL ISSUES 
 
REF: STATE 8961 
 
Classified By: Poloff Justin Friedman, reasons 1.4 (b) & (d) 
 
1. (C) Poloff and DATT delivered reftel demarche to MFA North 
America Office Director Andrea Bekic and Multilateral Affairs 
Office Director Marina Vasilj on January 19.  Bekic responded 
that the legal review of the draft bilateral shipboarding 
agreement was near completion and that interministerial 
consultations would begin shortly.  Bekic stressed that the 
GoC fully supported completing the shipboarding agreement; 
the only issue would be the time to complete the 
interministerial process.  Vasilj had told us previously that 
the draft text was largely acceptable; the only issue that 
needed work was how to accommodate Croatia's declaration of 
an exclusive economic zone. 
 
2. (C) Bekic said that the GoC saw many potential 
opportunities for military cooperation, both with PSI and 
bilaterally with the U.S.  She said that the GoC interagency 
PSI coordination group would meet in the coming week to take 
initial steps to clarify PSI operational points of contact. 
She and Vasilj urged that the U.S. recognize Croatia's 
broader efforts on non-proliferation, including the creation 
of a dual-use export control legal and regulatory mechanisms, 
in reviewing Croatia's requests to join multilateral 
non-proliferation regimes like Wassenaar, MTCR, and the 
Nuclear Suppliers Group. 
 
3. (C) Poloff and DATT also delivered reftel demarche the 
same day to Assistant Minister of Defense for Policy Jelena 
Grcic-Polic.  Grcic-Polic was more cautious about the time 
needed to complete interagency review of the shipboarding 
agreement.  Although she acknowledged that she was not well 
versed on the issue, she cautioned that accommodating the 
differences between Anglo-Saxon and Continental legal 
traditions could delay the interagency review of the 
agreement.  COMMENT: Although we take the MFA's optimistic 
projection for completing the shipboarding agreement review 
as well-intentioned, Grcic-Polic may be correct about the 
time required for the key action Ministries' lawyers to 
prepare for negotiations. 
FRANK 
 
 
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