GUIDANCE REQUEST: SLOVAKS BUYING MILITARY SUPPLIES

UNCLAS BRATISLAVA 000939 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PARM PM LO BO SUBJECT: GUIDANCE REQUEST: SLOVAKS BUYING MILITARY SUPPLIES MADE IN BELARUS ¶1. SUMMARY AND GUIDANCE REQUEST. The Slovak Ministry of Defense has signed contracts with a Slovak firm to purchase replacement military parts made in Belarus. Embassy Bratislava requests guidance on the USG's view of a NATO ally indirectly purchasing military supplies from Belarus. END SUMMARY AND GUIDANCE REQUEST. ¶2. Local media reported November 8 that the MOD had signed contracts to purchase components for the S-300 (SA-10) missile system from Ralas s.r.o., an incorporated domestic firm specializing in imports and exports. Ralas s.r.o., according to the same reports, will purchase those parts from a private supplier in Belarus. ¶3. The MoD and the MFA have defended publicly the decision to buy military supplies made in Belarus, pointing out there is no embargo on trade with Belarus, and that the beneficiaries of this deal are private firms. Only one other firm, Chemica spol s.r.o., (a Slovak subsidiary of the original Russian supplier of the S-300 (SA-10) missile system),submitted a bid to supply the parts, and that bid was 15 million Slovak crowns (US$495,000) higher. ¶4. To date, Embassy Bratislava has not offered nor been asked for an opinion on this issue. Slovakia generally shares USG concerns related to Belarus. Slovak NGOs and political parties actively work with Belarusian civil society and opposition parties to promote democracy. VALLEE NNNN