IRANIAN PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION VISITS PRAGUE BUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L PRAGUE 001707

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

EUR/NCE FOR FICHTE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/04/2015
TAGS: EZ PREL PGOV ETRD PINR KNNP IR
SUBJECT: IRANIAN PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION VISITS PRAGUE BUT
LEAVES EMPTY-HANDED

Classified By: Pol-Econ Chief Michael Dodman for reasons
1.4 (B) and (D)


1. (C) Summary: The recent visit of an Iranian parliamentary
delegation to Prague left a trail of conflicting claims and
counterclaims between the Iranians and their Czech hosts.
Closer investigation has revealed that most Czech officials
remain skeptical about Iran, and the Iranians were
unsuccessful at engineering a warming of bilateral relations
with the Czechs. End summary.


2. (SBU) An Iranian parliamentary delegation visited Prague
November 28-December 1, on the invitation of the informal
Czech-Iran Friendship Group in the Czech Parliament. Two
Czech deputies appear to have been behind the invitation:
Vladimir Lastuvka (Social Democrat),Chairman of the Chamber
of Deputies Foreign Affairs Committee, and Stanislav Fischer
(Communist Party). The visit was a return visit from one
that Lastuvka, Fischer and other Czech deputies paid to Iran
earlier this year. The Iranian delegation was led by Majlis
Presiding Board member Hamid Reza Haji-Babaie.


3. (U) The visit generated very little press attention in
Prague, but a series of fantastic headlines in the Iranian
press, including that Czech FM Cyril Svoboda plans to visit
Tehran in early 2006, that the United States had forced the
unwilling Czechs to host the RFE broadcasting facility, and
that the Czech Republic supported Iran's right to develop
nuclear technology and would begin active cooperation. All
are incorrect.


4. (C) News that Czech Prime Minister Paroubek had met with
the group prompted the Ambassador to write to Paroubek on
December 5 indicating USG concern that the Czech government
not abandon their traditional tough position towards the
Iranian regime. DCM delivered the letter directly to
Paroubek's Foreign Policy Advisor with a request for better
and closer cooperation on such sensitive issues.


5. (C) In an effort to determine what actually took place
during the Iranians visit, Emboffs met separately with
Chairman Lastuvka; Miloslav Stasek, MFA Director for the
Middle East and Africa; and representatives from EU
embassies. The MFA assured us that there was no truth to any
of the Iranian claims: there is no change in the GOCR's
traditional policy of steps to limit Iranian nuclear
capabilities; there will be Foreign Minister visit to Tehran;
the Czechs continue to fully support the broadcasts of
RFE/RL's Radio Farda (apparently during a call several months
ago by the Iranian Charge d'Affaires on then-new Deputy FM
Basta the subject of Radio Farda was raised and rather than
simply cite the importance of freedom of the press, Basta
infuriated the Charge by giving a vigorous defense of the
importance of RFE to Czechoslovak dissidents, noting that the
Radios' mission remains important). Other specifics:

-- The "meeting" with PM Paroubek was a drop-by at a meeting
already taking place in the parliament, later described as an
"extended handshake." The MFA believes the drop-by took
place as a favor to Lastuvka, who represents the left wing of
Paroubek's CSSD party. The MFA's Middle East Department
believes that unlike some other foreign policy issues such as
the Balkans and China, there is no/no rift between PM
Paroubek and his Foreign Ministry. Both remain skeptical of
the Iranians and do not see utility in closer ties at this
stage.

-- In the end, there was no meeting between the delegation
and Deputy FM Basta. Basta was apparently called away at the
last moment, and when the delegation arrived at the MFA,
Political Director Martin Povejsil was there to receive them.
The delegation stayed only a few minutes. MFA staff had
been resistant to any meeting with the delegation, but told
us that the meeting with Basta (a CSSD appointee) had been
scheduled for political reasons. Ambassador had raised our
concerns about the call directly with FM Svoboda, who
indicated he was working to prevent a meeting. (The Iranian
delegation had canceled a visit scheduled for the previous
week precisely because they had not been granted any senior
government appointments.)

-- Aside from meetings with parliamentarians, the only other
official event in Prague was a brief meeting with Minister of
Industry and Trade Milan Urban (CSSD),also at the
parliament. With the Iranian government enforcing a
selective trade embargo on the Czechs to protest the Radio
Farda broadcasts, Urban made a pitch for improved trade
relations.


-- MFA Deputy Minister for Bilateral Relation Tomas Pojar,
reacting to the presence of the Iranian delegation in town,
announced to the press: "the visit will not change anything
in our approach to Iran. We continue to condemn the
statements of President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad about destroying
Israel. We will not do anything that would be in
contravention of the existing EU approach toward Tehran."
CABANISS