SLOVAKIA WILL FOLLOW EU ON IGAD DEPLOYMENT PLAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRATISLAVA 000228 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/18/2015 TAGS: PREL SO LO SUBJECT: SLOVAKIA WILL FOLLOW EU ON IGAD DEPLOYMENT PLAN REF: STATE 47850 Classified By: CDA Scott N. Thayer for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Poloff delivered reftel points to Roman Gal of the MFA's Department for Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Gal stated Slovakia will likely follow the EU common policy regarding the recent Intergovernmental Authority on Development's (IGAD) proposal to deploy troops (without contributing much to the discussion). He could not offer any information about a possible EU position because the issue was not discussed at the last meeting in Brussels. In his opinion, EU-African affairs are now being dealt with in a different manner than under the Dutch presidency, which had more experience working with African nations and leaders. He commented that these decisions are occurring at a higher level than in working groups with more of an emphasis on negotiating official agreements. Overall, Gal stated that the interests of Italy and those that prioritized support for Sudan will impact the outcome of the EU position. ¶2. (C) Note: Slovakia maintains peacekeepers in Africa and shares international concerns about the on-going demilitarization process in Somalia. The GOS recently evaluated its ability to participate at a greater level in Africa. The outcome of that evaluation was a decision that more could not be offered at this time because of budgetary constraints and other factors, such as language proficiency. THAYER NNNN