CZECH VIEWS ON COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES INVITATIONS

UNCLAS PRAGUE 000040 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KDEM PREL PHUM EZ SUBJECT: CZECH VIEWS ON COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES INVITATIONS REF: SECSTATE 01670 ¶1. This message is Sensitive But Unclassified; not for internet distribution. ¶2. (SBU) PolCouns met with Jan Kara, Director of the Czech MFA's Department of United Nations Affairs, on January 6 to deliver reftel demarche regarding gaining European support for Community of Democracies invitations. Overall Kara said the Czech Republic is flexible on the question of membership for the countries in question. Specifically: -- Singapore: Kara said that the Czech Republic preliminarily sees no problem with maintaining Singapore at their observer status. -- The Gambia: CR agrees to maintain as an observer in light of their advances towards stable democracy -- Ukraine: Kara agreed that Ukraine is "going in a good direction" and saw no reason why it should not be invited as a participant. -- Algeria: This was the only country with which Kara expressed reservations about the U.S. position. He stated that as there seems to be a general, similar level of democratization among North African nations, he didn't see why Algeria should be treated differently than, for example, Morocco and Tunisia (who are signatories to the Warsaw Declaration). -- Taiwan: Kara recalled the CR's friendly relations with Taiwan and the CR's stated plan to support Taiwan as a participant. He said that the CR's only worry would be the impact of Taiwanese participation upon potential Community of Democracies linkage to the United Nations, since Taiwan is not a UN member. ¶3. (SBU) Kara made passing mention of several other countries, saying loosely that the CR is likely to be "flexible" about Haiti, Djibouti, Fiji, and the Solomon Islands. He feels that the MFA's regional office may side with inviting Angola as an observer, but doubted this would be a major Czech priority. He also stated that extending an invitation to Iraq would be great encouragement for them, provided their upcoming election goes well. ¶4. (SBU) Kara expressed readiness for further discussions regarding USG positions on positions in advance of the May Ministerial. HILLAS