US embassy cable - 05ROME1980

C O N F I D E N T I A L  ROME 001980 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/10/2015 
TAGS: PREL, EU, SR, IT, KOC, UN, NATO 
SUBJECT: SERBIAN PRIME MINISTER KOSTUNICA IN ROME; TAKES A 
HARD LINE ON KOSOVO STATUS 
 
REF: A) ROME 1966 B) JUNE 8 ROME SIPRNET DAILY REPORT 
 
Classified By: POL MINISTER COUNSELOR TOM COUNTRYMAN.  REASON: 1.4 (B)( 
D). 
 
1. (C)  As reported ref a, on June 7, in anticipation of 
Serbian Prime Minister Kostunica's visit to Rome later the 
same day, EUR A/S Fried provided MFA POLDIR Terzi with an 
overview of the U.S. position on Kosovo. Fried 
asked that Italy try to persuade him to accept a definition 
of "less than independence" as being "less than unsupervised 
independence." He should be convinced to make this change in 
order to give himself a formula for success.  To keep the 
hard line on Kosovo's status will not be successful and will 
only delay Serbia's eventual integration in to European 
institutions.   He also asked Italy to work on getting 
Kostunica to encourage participation of Kosovo Serbs in the 
Kosovo political process, and to locate Mladic and hand him 
over to the ICTY. 
 
2. (C) Following Kostunica's meeting with PM Berlusconi, PM 
Diplomatic Advisor Castellaneta provided the readout below 
via a letter to the DCM: 
 
Begin (partial) text: 
 
PM Berlusconi expressed appreciation for the process of 
reform that PM Kostunica is moving forward and encouraged him 
to continue on the path of democratization and openness 
toward the international community, a path that must ) in 
the first place ) include courageous cooperation with the 
Tribunal for ex-Yugoslavia.  The moving toward the EU and 
NATO of Serbia and Montenegro ) which Italy has always 
supported and always will -- falls within this context. 
 
Kostunica underscored his special ties with Italy (Rome is 
the largest western capital that he has visited as Serbian 
PM), noting also that Italy was the first foreign country he 
visited after the democratic turnover in 2000.  I think the 
most positive aspect of the talks was the strong reassurance 
Kostunica expressed on his attachment to democracy and the 
rule of law, in which he clearly inserted an explicit 
willingness to cooperate with the Tribunal in The Hague. 
 
There seemed to be less flexibility in Serbia,s position on 
Kosovo, at least for the immediate future.  Kostunica 
underscored more than once the need to respect Serbia,s and 
Montenegro,s territorial integrity.  He said that &the 
solution can be found within existing boundaries, respecting 
the rights of individuals and minorities.8  In this regard, 
he recalled the example of the wide autonomy for Alto Adige 
in the Italian legal system. 
 
Alto Adige is probably not a good example for the situation 
in Kosovo (or at least not any more, in the current 
circumstances) and PM Berlusconi ) underscoring the need for 
a solution that takes into account a greater moving closer by 
the entire region to the EU ) invited Kostunica to assume a 
flexible attitude.  He also inquired about developments in 
Serbian involvement in Kosovar institutions and about the 
direct dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade. 
 
Kostunica noted the invitations to the Kosovar President and 
Prime Minister to meet, and underscored Serbia,s absolute 
availability for dialogue.  He also noted that the existence 
of a path of integration for the Balkans in Europe suggests 
the need to avoid developments that lead to further regional 
dissolution.  He said that it is necessary not to hasten the 
process in order to avoid errors and that it is necessary to 
believe in the possibility of coexistence between Serbians 
and Albanians, underscoring in the meantime the objective of 
guaranteeing to Serbian refugees their return to their homes 
in Kosovo.  He added that the verification under way on 
standards must be objective, because it is relevant to 
decisions on status. 
 
The conversation then moved to merely bilateral issues, with 
both leaders agreeing on the excellent state of 
Italian-Serbian relations, which can still improve greatly, 
in particular in the economic sector.  The objective is to 
bring Italy to become Serbia,s and Montenegro,s major 
commercial partner, as it already is with many other 
countries in the Balkans.  Minister of the Economy Bubalo, 
who was present at the meeting together with two other 
members of the government, said Italy has already gained that 
position in the initial months of 2005.  PM Berlusconi noted 
how economic relations also depend on the propagation in the 
western world of a vision of Serbia as a stable and 
democratic state of law, with a positive economic climate. 
This greater information could be facilitated by enhanced 
relations also among the younger generations, with a greater 
exchange of visits between the two countries. 
 
 
End Text 
 
3. (U) As reported ref b, Kostunica addressed a public 
conference chaired by Senate President Pera.   In Pera,s 
opening remarks, he commented that stability in the Baltic 
area was necessary for the stability of greater Europe.  He 
also commented on the excellent state of Italian/Serbian 
bilateral relations.  Kostunica reaffirmed Serbia,s close 
relations with Italy, agreeing that they have &rarely been 
better,8 while also affirming Serbia,s desire to become a 
full member of the EU.  Kostunica provided his views on the 
situation in Kosovo, which included a criticism of the U.N. 
peacekeeping force in Kosovo, citing its inability to prevent 
human rights violations and exile of Serbian minorities. 
However, he praised Italy,s PKO role and funding for the 
restoration of Serbian shrines and other cultural heritage 
sites in Kosovo.  Kostunica strongly opposed &any partition 
of Kosovo and Metohija,8 arguing that it would inevitably 
result in the ethnic cleansing of the Serbian population that 
currently resides there.  (In an op-ed published in a daily 
newspaper on June 7th in Italy, Kostunica took a hard line on 
"no independence" for Kosovo.) 
 
 
4. (U) Kostunica also addressed the possibility of a popular 
referendum to decide whether Montenegro would become 
independent.  He called for the referendum to be &held by 
the rules and procedure supported by the authority of the 
European Union8.  He indicated that he is certain that &the 
result of the referendum will be more than favorable for the 
state union to remain intact.8 
 
SEMBLER 
 
 
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	2005ROME01980 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL