Journalicious Dots from Switzerland

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/RPM (C.DAVY) AND EUR/CE (C.HODGES)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2019
TAGS: PREL MARR NATO KPKO KV SZ
SUBJECT: NATO KFOR MISSION: SWISS NOT PLANNING ANY CHANGES  IN FORCE CONTRIBUTION

REF: STATE 26179

Classified By: Acting Political-Economic Affairs Counselor Chris Buck;
reasons 1.4(b) and (d).

Classified By: Acting Political-Economic Affairs Counselor Chris Buck;  reasons 1.4(b) and (d).

——————————————— –  SWISS PLANNING NO CHANGES IN KFOR CONTRIBUTION  ——————————————— –

¶1. (C) Acting POL-ECON Counselor and DAO representative  delivered the reftel message on March 19 to Marlene Odermatt,  Policy Advisor for International Relations and Strategy at  the Swiss Federal Ministry of Defense. Odermatt said that  Switzerland has no plans to change its current force  contribution to KFOR. In collegial but appropriately  cautious fashion, she referred to the fact that current Swiss  DefMin Ueli Maurer generally espouses his Swiss People’s  Party (SVP) aversion to foreign deployments. However,  Odermatt underlined that DefMin Maurer is well aware of the  importance of Balkan security to Swiss interests, given the  region’s proximity to Switzerland and the large Kosovo expat  population living in Switzerland. She further emphasized  that the DefMin is taking a fact-based (i.e.,  non-ideological) approach to foreign deployment issues as  they are discussed within the MOD. In that context, Odermatt  mentioned that DefMin Maurer on his own initiative was in the  early stages of considering travel to Kosovo, to visit the  Swiss KFOR contingent (SWISSCOY) and Kosovo officials.

¶2. (C) Also on March 19, A/POL-ECON Counselor passed the  message (reftel, para 5) via telephone to Didier Chassot,  Swiss MFA Regional Coordinator for South-Eastern Europe;  Chassot was not available to meet, due to pending travel out  of Bern. In a follow up meeting at the MFA on March 20,  Chassot informed A/POL-ECON Counselor that the MFA concurred  with the USG’s views and concerns with regard to the KFOR  posture — the “job is not yet done.” Responding to  A/POL-ECON Counselor’s query regarding the Swiss government’s  current position with regard to the Kosovo Security Force  Trust Fund, Chassot said that, although Switzerland is  strongly committed to Kosovo’s future, he does not believe it  likely that Switzerland will make a contribution to the  Kosovo Security Force Trust Fund, due to domestic political  considerations. (Note: Though the Swiss arms industry  routinely is permitted to make foreign commercial sales to a  range of countries, the Swiss generally are more reluctant to  provide foreign security assistance other than in ways that  clearly have only humanitarian or civil-military  applications, such as the types of training provided at the  Swiss Geneva Center for Security Policy. End Note)

———————————————  QUICK REFERENCE: SWITZERLAND AND KOSOVO/KFOR  ———————————————

¶3. (U) Switzerland recognized Kosovo independence on February  27, 2008 — ten days after Kosovo’s declaration. In March  2008, Switzerland became one of the first countries to open  an embassy in Pristina. FM Calmy-Rey traveled to Pristina  for the opening. The Swiss government pledged CHR 77 million  (USD 69 million) in development assistance over three years  at the July 2008 international donors’ conference for Kosovo.  Approximately 150,000 Kosovo Albanians reside in  Switzerland, most on long-term residency permits.

¶4. (U) The Swiss government made its initial decision to  participate in KFOR in June 1999. Switzerland’s  participation in KFOR is based on UNSCR 1244 and a mandate  from the Swiss Parliament. The parliamentary mandate was  renewed last July through the end of 2011. Up to 220 Swiss  military personnel (all volunteers only) serve in the  SWISSCOY, which is composed of support and infantry  companies, and an aviation detachment with two Superpuma  transport helicopters. The SWISSCOY is stationed in  Multinational Task Force South (MNTF-S), but can be employed  throughout Kosovo. The Swiss personnel are co-located with  Austrian personnel at Camp Casablanca. The Swiss MOD’s  budget for its KFOR deployment in 2008 was CHF 37.5 million   BERN 00000127 002 OF 002    (USD 33.5 million).  CARTER

XTAGS: XTAGPREL, XTAGMARR, XTAGNATO, XTAGKPKO, XTAGKV, XTAGSZ 09BERN127