SLOVAKIA CONSIDERING SMALL CONTRIBUTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRATISLAVA 000616 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/17/2009 TAGS: PGOV MARR PREL LE IS LO SUBJECT: SLOVAKIA CONSIDERING SMALL CONTRIBUTION TO LEBANON ISF Classified By: Ambassador Rodolphe Vallee as per E.O. 12958 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. Post has heard from several government sources that Slovakia is considering a small contribution to an International Stabilization Force (ISF) for Lebanon. Slovakia would be unlikely to contribute more than a platoon, and likely even fewer. Slovakia is thought to prefer a deployment with a mandate approved by the UN Security Council. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Tomas Valasek, the Acting Director of the Defense Policy Department at Slovakia's MoD, told DATT that Slovakia is considering its ability to contribute to an ISF for Lebanon in the context of its membership on the UNSC and its general obligations as a UN member state. Valasek said Slovakia would prefer a UN mission but would probably be willing to take part in a NATO-led mission as well. An authorizing resolution from the UNSC is probably a requirement, however, and a final decision would naturally be dependent on the exact mission of the ISF. ¶3. (C) Ambassador Vladimir Lomen, head of Slovakia's UNSC Coordination Unit, told Poloff on July 21 that he hoped a UNSCR authorizing an ISF in Lebanon could be agreed soon and expressed his opinion that Slovakia would likely contribute since it has good experience in this area from its deployment of 95 Peacekeeping troops in Syria's Golan Heights. (Comment. We also wonder if Slovak military expertise in de-mining, now being used in Iraq, could be useful to a future international force in southern Lebanon. End comment.) ¶4. (C) Comment. Emboffs have been hearing from various sources over the past week that Slovakia would consider contributing troops to an ISF in Lebanon. Such comments have often - but not always - come in discussions about how Slovakia could continue to contribute to international security if it began withdrawing forces from Iraq. DATT estimates that a Slovak contribution would likely be small, and certainly not larger than a platoon. End comment. VALLEE