SLOVAKIA FIRM ON IRAQ MANDATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRATISLAVA 000357 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/19/2015 TAGS: PREL MARR LO IZ SUBJECT: SLOVAKIA FIRM ON IRAQ MANDATE REF: (A) STATE 72115 (B) WARSAW 2000 (C) STATE 75184 (D) BRATISLAVA 135 Classified By: CDA SCOTT N. THAYER FOR REASONS 1.4(B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. Prominent Slovak defense policy players have recently raised publicly whether the GOS should reopen the parliamentary debate on the Slovak troops in Iraq. State Secretary at the MOD Martin Fedor stressed publicly the SIPDIS importance of a renewed UN Security Council mandate, while opposition MP and Chair of the Security and Defense Committee Robert Kalinak has asked when Slovak soldiers will return home. Nevertheless, all sides have stressed the importance of keeping Slovak soldiers in Iraq for now and emphasized no unilateral decisions on drawdowns will be made. END SUMMARY. Government Policy: Stay the Course in Iraq -------------- ¶2. (U) State Secretary at the MOD Martin Fedor said publicly April 13 that, &Our presence in Iraq is determined by three starting points -- the resolution of the UN Security Council (1546) calling on member states to engage themselves, the invitation from the Iraqi Government, and the mandate from the National Council of the Slovak Republic (parliament). These conditions apply not only to the Defense Ministry, but also to the entire Slovak political representation.8 Fedor continued that, &it is important to us how the international community and the Iraqi Government approach the new situation, as well as the standpoint of the allies. According to our assessment, the work carried out by Slovak engineers is still justified.8 Slovak Ambassador to the U.S. Rastislav Kacer made similar comments at the Secretary's April 12 Iraq Forum (ref A). ¶3. (C) Fedor's foreign policy advisor Mario Nicolini told poloff April 22 that Fedor's comments were an outgrowth of similar comments from Poland (ref B) and did not represent a dramatic shift in Slovak policy. He reaffirmed several times the GOS is "not wavering in its support" for its mandate in Iraq. He said Fedor's comments were not the most diplomatic in that the State Secretary did not intend to express any lack of resolve to keep Slovak troops in Iraq. He said Fedor painted himself into a corner with the journalists. Nicolini reiterated the Slovaks will not make any unilateral decisions on withdrawal or drawdowns, but they want to see the UNSC renew the Iraq mandate in June. Fedor's comments do not suggest the MOD is requesting an official invitation from the Iraqi government to remain in Iraq; the MFA's assessment that the Iraqi government wants the Slovak troops to remain is sufficient. ¶4. (C) Director of the MFA's Security Policy department Lubomir Cano told Charge May 3 that Slovakia closely monitors allies' moves in Iraq. Slovak security and defense planners want to make sure Slovak deminers in Iraq are properly defended, and the elected government of Iraq and the UN continue to authorize military involvement in Iraq. Cano said the GOS will watch the actions of its allies and will not be the last country to leave. ¶5. (C) Speaker of Parliament Pavol Hrusovsky (KDH) told U/S Nicholas Burns that Slovak troops would stay in Iraq and inquired about the type of troops needed (ref C). Nicolini also expressed to poloff a growing interest in supplying troops other than deminers. He said the MOD is evaluating the type of troops it can supply to play a more significant role in the GWOT within the Slovak Armed Forces' limited financial capacity. Opposition: When will the Slovak Troops Come Home? -------------- -------------- ¶6. (C) Responding to Fedor,s comments in the media, Chairman of Parliament,s Security and Defense Committee and opposition MP Robert Kalinak (Smer) said, "Parliament should again deal with this. The election has already taken place in Iraq and the situation should stabilize. At issue is not the withdrawal or remaining of our troops, but the setting of rules for their operation in Iraq and the duration of their mission.8 Kalinak reiterated this position in his meeting with U/S Burns, adding the pending logistical support gap resulting from the Polish drawdown may jeopardize the safety of Slovak troops. However, Kalinak noted that political support remains for the Iraq deployment, citing parliament's February 10 decision to contribute to the NATO Training Mission - Iraq (ref D). Kalinak told Charge May 5 (septel) that Hrusovsky's visit to Washington (ref C) has been especially valuable in shoring up political support for the deployment among all parliamentary groups who accompanied him (including Kalinak himself). COMMENT -------------- ¶7. (C) There is no serious momentum within parliament to change Slovakia's unlimited mandate in Iraq, and it is highly unlikely the MOD will spearhead such an effort. Absent a failure to secure an extension of UNSCR 1546, we consider the GOS' commitment to Iraq as firm through the 2006 parliamentary elections. Current opposition candidates are likely to criticize the coalition government's contribution to the war in pre-election campaigns but stop short of advocating withdrawal. Smer Chairman Robert Fico is likely to lead the pack in criticizing the Dzurinda government. Only the marginalized Communist party (KSS) -- consistently polling under the five percent threshold to get into parliament -- advocates withdrawal. 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