SLOVENIA: DEMARCHE DELIVERED ON NATO IN AFGHANISTAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L LJUBLJANA 000011

SIPDIS


DEPT FOR EUR/RPM AND EUR/NCE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/06/2014
TAGS: PREL MARR SI NATO
SUBJECT: SLOVENIA: DEMARCHE DELIVERED ON NATO IN AFGHANISTAN

REF: SECSTATE 2743

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Dean J. Haas for reasons 1.4(b)
and (d).


1. (C) MILITARY CONTRIBUTIONS: On 06 January, Pol-Miloff
delivered reftel talking points to MFA Deputy Head of NATO
Department Stanislav Vidovic. DATT and Pol-Miloff delivered
reftel points to MoD Director for Defense Policy Uros Krek
later the same day. Both Krek and Vidovic reiterated FoMin
Dimitrij Rupel's 09 December statement from the NATO Foreign
Ministers Meeting in Brussels that Slovenia would strengthen
its participation in ISAF during 2005. Krek said MoD
officials are consulting with the German MoD about sending
two Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) officers as observers to
join a German-led PRT. Their task would be to determine in
what ways Slovenia might contribute further to future PRTs,
including the possibility of sending civilian experts to
ISAF. Krek estimated that the two officers for the PRT would
be given their orders by 15 February and that they would
likely arrive in Afghanistan by early April. He said two SAF
officers have already been selected for the mission and are
"waiting for the green light from the Germans."


2. (C) CIVILIAN DEPLOYMENTS: The deployment of civilian
experts to PRTs presents a more difficult issue, according to
Krek, because Slovenian law does not allow sending civilians
to join a military mission. (NOTE: The Slovenian
firefighters currently guarding the Kabul airport became
contract SAF reservists before their deployment. END NOTE)
Nonetheless, Krek said legislation is now being drafted to
support voluntary civilian deployments, and he estimated that
the first Slovenian civilians - provided that any volunteer -
would be ready to join PRTs in June 2005.


3. (C) MFA INSIGHTS: Vidovic gave much more generalized
responses than Krek, saying only that a proposal for
increased ISAF contributions was "in the consideration phase"
and required coordination with MoD and the Slovenian Mission
to NATO. Vidovic said that MoD and MFA would meet during the
third week of January to discuss a proposal before forwarding
it to the Government cabinet for action. Vidovic did,
however, offer his opinion that PM Janez Jansa's new
center-right coalition government had a "clear vision" about
how to fulfill NATO Allies' expectations, "especially those
of the United States." Vidovic very straightforwardly said
that the former government lacked both the capacity and the
will to live up to its responsibilities within NATO. He said
the new government represents a "big hope" for ministry
staffers working on NATO-related issues.
ROBERTSON


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2005LJUBLJ00011 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL



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