US embassy cable - 05ZAGREB391

C O N F I D E N T I A L  ZAGREB 000391 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/SCE - KABUMOTO, BENEDICT 
DEPT FOR NEA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/10/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, XF, IR, HR 
SUBJECT: KHATAMI VISIT: MESIC HITS KEY NON-PRO AND MIDEAST 
PEACE POINTS 
 
REF: A. ZAGREB 298 
 
     B. ZAGREB 273 
     C. ZAGREB 262 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Greg Delawie for reasons 1.5 (b) 
 & (d) 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY AND COMMENT: President Mesic made good use of 
the ill-timed March 7-8 visit of Iranian President Mohammad 
Khatami (ref A) to stress that Croatia shares the 
international community's key concerns about Iran, including 
its uranium enrichment program and its support for groups 
that jeopardize the Middle East peace process.  In addition, 
Mesic expressed Croatia's first official endorsement of the 
Iraqi elections during the visit, using it to illustrate 
Zagreb's expectation that Iran will respect Iraq's 
sovereignty and not interfere in Iraqi politics. 
 
2. (C) While the focus of Khatami's 36-hour stop was 
economic, Mesic and the GoC clearly understood its political 
sensitivity, requesting our suggestions for talking points 
during preparations for the visit.  Mesic's staff worked 
closely with Post and our EU colleagues to ensure that 
Croatia's message was as consistent with US and EU views as 
possible.  This included sharing advance copies of his press 
statement and dinner speech, which clearly incorporated our 
points, and providing an open read-out after the visit. 
Khatami's meetings with PM Ivo Sanader, FM Kolinda 
Grabar-Kitarovic, and Science, Education and Sports Minister 
Dragan Primorac and the Parliament's six-member 
Croatian-Iranian Friendship Group were primarily of a 
protocol nature.  The three documents signed during the visit 
were between institutions rather than 
government-to-government, promoting cooperation between 
television stations, chambers of commerce, and customs 
services.  END SUMMARY AND COMMENT. 
 
NON-PROLIFERATION TOPPED AGENDA 
------------------------------- 
 
3. (C) The atmosphere of the bilateral meeting, according to 
Mesic's Chief of Cabinet Davor Bozinovic, was relaxed and 
open, but substantive.  Mesic initiated a discussion of 
Iran's nuclear research program, firmly supporting a policy 
of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and stressing the 
need for international control of nuclear technology through 
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 
 
4. (C) Khatami noted Iran's membership in that organization, 
asserted that his country shared international concerns about 
proliferation, and accepted the need for IAEA inspectors as 
well as the "delay" of Iran's enrichment program.  According 
to Khatami, Iran's goal is to build the capacity to produce 
7,000-10,000 megawatts of electricity, as he said was 
recommended by the USG before the Islamic revolution. 
 
CONSENSUS ON MIDDLE EAST PEACE AND IRAQ 
--------------------------------------- 
 
5. (C) Mesic also focused on the need to fight international 
terrorism and to strongly support the Middle East peace 
process.  He hailed the first moves of Palestinian PM Mahmoud 
Abbas as a good basis for renewed negotiations.  For the 
first time he saluted the recent Iraqi elections, hoping they 
will lead to stability and enable Iraqis to take their future 
into their own hands.  He also noted that Croatia is ready to 
help Iraq in cooperation with UN.  (Note: Three Croatian 
police officers will soon leave for Jordan to train Iraqi 
police there.) 
 
6. (C) According to Bozinovic, Khatami agreed that the 
Palestinian people deserve peace, and said he is ready to 
support the democratic will of the Palestinians and their 
right to an independent state.  He also welcomed changes in 
Iraq, saying it is heading toward peace, stability, and a 
democratic government.  Iran, he said, respects the 
sovereignty of Iraq.  Khatami noted that Iran has created a 
development fund for Iraq that may offer some contract 
opportunities for Croatian businesses. 
 
"DIALOGUE OF CIVILIZATIONS" RECURRING THEME 
------------------------------------------- 
 
7. (C) Khatami's "Dialogue of Civilizations" project surfaced 
as a recurring theme during his public comments, which 
included a press statement (separate from that of Mesic, in 
line with our suggestion), a speech at the Croatian Academy 
of Sciences and Arts (HAZU), a brief interview on Croatian 
National Television, and an address to members of Croatia's 
Islamic community.  He urged the use of dialogue instead of 
violence in solving the world's problems.  He also 
 
 
highlighted historic ties between Iranians and Croatians and 
praised religious tolerance in Croatia. 
 
8. (U) It was in his HAZU speech that Khatami made his most 
open criticism of U.S. policy, questioning the basis of the 
assertion that "there are two types of people ) those who 
are with us and those who are against us."  He said, "This 
kind of amoral self-sufficiency cannot result in anything but 
war, violence, and disaster."  Khatami's thinly veiled and 
predictable criticisms of the US, however, were a minor part 
of his message, though they attracted more media attention 
than they deserved as commentators tried to assess potential 
political consequences for Croatia. 
 
ECONOMICS AT THE CORE 
--------------------- 
 
9. (U) While Mesic carefully managed the political 
sensitivities of Khatami's visit, the real value for Croatia 
was clearly in potential economic benefits.  While bilateral 
trade remains relatively insignificant at $7 million annually 
(one-tenth of neighboring Slovenia's trade with Iran), the 
GoC perceives Iran as a lucrative market for Croatian 
products such as pharmaceuticals, machinery, ships, and 
consumer goods. 
FRANK 
 
 
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