SLOVENIAN PRESIDENT DRNOVSEK REQUESTS MEETING WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L LJUBLJANA 000030 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR MARK PEKALA, EUR/NCE, AF/E; NSC FOR DAMON WILSON, JUDY ANSLEY AND MARY HAINES E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/12/2016 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL EAID SU SI DARFR USUN SUBJECT: SLOVENIAN PRESIDENT DRNOVSEK REQUESTS MEETING WITH PRESIDENT BUSH ON DARFUR JANUARY 19 Classified By: COM Thomas B Robertson for reasons 1.4 B and D ¶1. (C) President Drnovsek told COM January 13 that he intends to travel to New York Jannuary 18 and, if possible, to Washington January 19 to galvanize international assistance for Darfur. He will meet with UN Secretary Kofi Annan in New York and would like to meet with President Bush on the 19th. He will be accompanied by a delegation tentatively including Prince Albert of Monaco, former Spanish Defense Minister Eduardo Serra, Prime Minister Halldor Asgrimsson of Iceland, and former German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher. In response to a question from COM, Drnovsek made clear he has discussed this initiative with Slovenian Prime Minister Jansa and has his support. ¶2. (C) Drnovsek also mentioned that he has called many prominent figures around the world (including former Presidents Giscard d'Estaing, Gorbachev and Yeltsin, former Spanish Prime Minister Asnar and former EU Commissioner Prodi) and is gaining support for his proposal that a Darfur peace conference be organized in February and that the UN Security Council hold a special meeting on the conflict in the near future. Drnovsek reported that he spoke with Annan and has his support, but that Annan "needs help with the Security Council." Drnovsek said he intends to call President Putin early next week and will meet with the Chinese Ambassador in Ljubljana to gauge Chinese willingness to support additional international intervention in Sudan, including a possible contribution of Chinese peacekeeping forces. ¶3. (C) Drnovsek reiterated his deep concern that the situation in Darfur is worsening and emphasized that the international community has to redouble its efforts to stabilize the region and provide humanitarian assistance. Slovenia, he said, is contributing EUR 50,000 and may also provide demining assistance and possibly a mobile hospital. Drnovsek intends to travel to Sudan in February and will meet with the President of Sudan and possibly the President of Chad and the Secretary General of the Arab League. ¶4. (C) Comment: Drnovsek believes the U.S. will support his initiative. He mentioned that POTUS said recently he receives 10,000 letters a day expressing concern about Darfur. He also said he understood that USUN Ambassador Bolton had recently met with Annan urging more UN action on Darfur. While COM explained the difficulty of arranging such a visit with such short notice, Drnovsek believes that waning world public interest about Darfur must be reawakened and that his high-powered delegation's visit to New York and Washington might help do that. If, as we suspect, a visit to POTUS is impossible, we expect Drnovsek to ask for a meeting with the Secretary or the Deputy Secretary. End comment. ROBERTSON NNNN