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