SLOVENIA: PRIME MINISTER ON BOARD WITH U.S.ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 LJUBLJANA 000822 SIPDIS SIPDIS EUR/NCE MNORDBERG, EUR/SCE E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/19/2016 TAGS: PREL SI SUBJECT: SLOVENIA: PRIME MINISTER ON BOARD WITH U.S.ON KOSOVO,TURKEY Classified By: COM Thomas B. Robertson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: DURING A SHORT ONE HOUR LUNCH DECEMBER 19 WITH COM ONE-ON-ONE, SLOVENIAN PRIME MINISTER JANSA EXPRESSED SUPPORT FOR SPECIAL ENVOY AHTISAARI'S WAY FORWARD ON KOSOVO, SAYING HE HAD ARGUED AT THE EUROPEAN SUMMIT LAST WEEK THAT THERE WAS NO REASON TO DELAY INTRODUCING THE PLAN ONCE SERB ELECTIONS TOOK PLACE JANUARY 21. IN DISCUSSING HIS IRAQ TRIP LAST MONTH, HE SAID PM MALIKI COMPARED AN IRAQ WITHOUT INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE TO THE ETHNIC CONFLICTS IN BOSNIA BEFORE INTERNATIONAL INTERVENTION. JANSA AGREED THAT THE EU NEEDED TO BE MORE SUPPORTIVE OF TURKEY'S EU BID, BUT NOTED FRENCH INTRANSIGENCE WAS LIKELY INSURMOUNTABLE IN THE SHORT TERM. HE LAID OUT SLOVENE PLANS TO PRIVATIZE KEY SECTORS OF THE ECONOMY AND INDICATED HIS SUPPORT FOR MOVING FORWARD ON THE HARRAH'S INVESTMENT, WHILE ARGUING THAT INCIPIENT OPPOSITION AND THE UPCOMING SLOVENIAN CHAIR OF THE EU MEANT THAT THE GOVERNMENT AND HARRAH'S NEED TO MOVE QUICKLY TO FINISH THE DEAL. JANSA RAISED CONCERNS ABOUT CROATIA'S ENFORCING A FISHERIES AND ENVIRONMENTAL ZONE IN THE ADRIATIC IN VIOLATION OF ITS OBLIGATIONS TO THE EU. ON BILATERAL ISSUES, HE CLAIMED IGNORANCE ABOUT THE DETAILS OF TWO RECENT MILITARY PROCUREMENT DECISIONS, WAS SUPPORTIVE OF A DISNEY PLAN TO FILM IN HIS HOME AREA, AND AGREED TO LOOK INTO THE ECONOMIC MINISTRY'S UNWILLINGNESS TO ACCEPT THE U.S. TRACKER EXPORT CONTROL SOFTWARE. HE WAS IN THE LOOP ON A MAJOR US DENATIONALIZATION CLAIM THAT HAS GONE SOUR, BUT CLAIMED, WHILE SYMPATHETIC, THAT THE COURTS WOULD BE DEALING WITH THE ISSUE. END SUMMARY -------------- -------------- JANSA STILL OPTIMISTIC ABOUT LONG TERM TURKISH EU MEMBERSHIP, DESPITE THE FRENCH -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) COM OPENED CONVERSATION BY ASKING JANSA ABOUT THE EUROPEAN SUMMIT IN BRUSSELS LAST WEEK, NOTING THAT THE PAPERS HAD A PICTURE OF HIM WITH A BROAD SMILE ON HIS FACE SPEAKING TO CHANCELLOR MERKEL. JANSA RESPONDED THAT IT WAS AT THE END OF A MORE DIFFICULT DISCUSSION ON TURKEY. JANSA SAID HE HAD SPOKEN OUT STRONGLY IN PUBLIC REMARKS TO REUTERS AND BLOOMBERG THAT THE EU NEEDED TO SUPPORT TURKEY'S EU BID. WHILE HE THOUGHT SUPPORTERS OF TURKEY COULD WORK WITH THE GERMANS ON THIS ISSUE, THAT COULD NOT BE SAID OF THE FRENCH. SARKOZY, IN MEETINGS WITH EUROPEAN LEADERS, HAD BEEN NO MORE READY TO SUPPORT TURKEY'S ROAD TO THE EU IN PRIVATE THAN HE WAS PUBLICLY. FURTHERMORE, FRANCE HAD PASSED A LAW REQUIRING A REFERENDUM BEFORE THE ENTRY OF EACH NEW MEMBER. ADDITIONALLY THERE WAS THE FACT THAT CYPRUS WAS NOW A PART OF THE EU, MAKING TURKISH ENTRY EVEN MORE PROBLEMATIC. STILL, JANSA WAS OPTIMISTIC THAT IF TURKEY CONTINUED TO WORK ON FULFILLING ITS MEMBERSHIP TASKS, IT EVENTUALLY WOULD JOIN. JANSA EMPHASIZED HIS COMMITMENT TO THIS, SAYING HE HAD SCHEDULED A TRIP TO TURKEY NEXT YEAR, PERHAPS IN JUNE. JANSA AGAIN EMPHASIZED THE IMPORTANCE OF EVENTUAL EXPANSION FOR THE BALKAN STATES AS WELL. (COMMENT: WHEN ASKED ABOUT FM DMITRIJ RUPEL'S COMMENT THAT SLOVENIA HAD GONE ALONG WITH THE "FAMILY'S (READ EU COLLECTIVE) APPROACH" ON TURKEY, JANSA CAME BACK, "YES, BUT THE FAMILY NEEDS TO INCLUDE ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY.") -------------- -------------- KOSOVO: SLOVENIA FULLY ON BOARD WITH AHTISAARI APPROACH -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) COM ASKED ABOUT THE DISCUSSION OF KOSOVO AT THE SUMMIT. JANSA SAID THE ROMANIANS AND OTHERS HAD SUGGESTED DELAYING AHTISAARI'S PLAN TO LAY OUT HIS KOSOVO STATUS PROPOSAL UNTIL SOMETIME AFTER THE FORMATION OF A NEW SERB GOVERNMENT, BUT THAT HE HAD OPPOSED THIS APPROACH, ASKING WHY SHOULD THEY DELAY AT ALL. HE AGREED THAT TIMING THE LAY OUT OF THE PROPOSAL FOR IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE ELECTIONS MADE THE MOST SENSE, SINCE IT WOULD TAKE WEEKS OR MONTHS TO FORM A GOVERNMENT, AND ANY EVENTUAL GOVERNMENT COULD AVOID RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE PLAN. NO SERB PARTY OR GOVERNMENT COULD SUPPORT THE PLAN IN ANY CASE. JANSA SAID GRANTING SERBIA PFP AT THE RIGA SUMMIT HAD BEEN A GOOD IDEA (SAYING HE KNEW THIS HAD BEEN A TOUGH DECISION FOR WASHINGTON). HE EMPHASIZED THAT MOVING FORWARD ON KOSOVO QUICKLY WAS IN SERBIA'S BEST INTERESTS. THEY WERE THE ONES WHO SUFFERED MOST IN EFFECT FROM THE WHOLE ISSUE. SERBIA NEEDED TO START LOOKING FORWARD INSTEAD OF BACKWARD. -------------- -------------- IRAQI PM MALAKI: IRAQ WITHOUT INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE COMPARED TO BOSNIAN SITUATION DURING WAR LJUBLJANA 00000822 002 OF 004 -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) JANSA, WHO HAD EARLIER SENT COM LETTER OF GRATITUDE FOR EMBASSY SUPPORT FOR HIS TRIP TO IRAQ, SAID HE HAD BRIEFED PRESIDENT BUSH ON SOME OF THE HIGH POINTS OF THE VISIT DURING THE RIGA SUMMIT. AMONG OTHER THINGS, HE SAID THAT PM MALAKI HAD HIMSELF COMPARED THE POTENTIAL OF AN IRAQ WITHOUT FOREIGN PRESENCE TO THE WAY BOSNIA WAS BEFORE THE INTERNATIONAL INVOLVEMENT TO STOP THAT WAR. JANSA SAID HE AGREED, BUT ADDED THAT ANY SUSTAINED INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE HAD TO HAVE A CLEAR MISSION. HE AGREED THAT THE TRAINING OF IRAQI SOLDIERS AND POLICE WAS KEY AND THAT SLOVENIA'S CONTRIBUTION WAS THEREFORE WELL SUITED. HE ADDED THAT THE SITUATION WAS NOTHING LIKE WHAT IS PORTRAYED IN THE MEDIA OR ON TELEVISION. SURE, THERE WERE BOMBS AND THE PROBLEMS WERE SERIOUS, BUT, AS ONE COULD SEE FROM THE AIR, FOR THE MOST PART IRAQIS WENT ABOUT THEIR BUSINESS. OUTSIDE OF BAGHDAD, THERE WAS CERTAINLY GREATER STABILITY. -------------- -------------- CROATIA: CROATIANS BACKTRACKING, EU ISSUES AT STAKE -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) ASKED ABOUT THE DIFFICULT ISSUES WITH CROATIA, JANSA SAID HE MAINTAINED REGULAR CONTACT WITH SANADER WITH WHOM HE CLAIMED TO HAVE A GOOD RELATIONSHIP (REFERRING TO HIM THROUGHOUT AS "IVO"). THESE ISSUES WERE MADE MORE DIFFICULT BY THE FACT THAT THE CROATIANS WOULD HAVE ELECTIONS AGAIN NEXT YEAR, MAKING IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR SANADER TO MOVE. AS ONE EXAMPLE, JANSA SAID HE HAD CALLED SANADER, AS HAD THE ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, LAST FRIDAY BEFORE HIS RECENT DECISION TO PASS THE ACT THAT WOULD ENFORCE A FISHERIES AND ENVIRONMENTAL ZONE IN THE ADRIATIC. JANSA POINTED OUT THAT THE ITALIANS HAD MUCH MORE TO LOSE THAN SLOVENIA, SINCE ITALY HAS 800 SHIPS THAT WOULD BE AFFECTED COMPARED TO SLOVENIA'S TWO SHIPS. DESPITE THE TWO CALLS URGING HIM NOT TO, SANADER WENT AHEAD. JANSA SAID THAT IT WAS THE FOURTH TIME THAT THE CROATIANS HAD BACKTRACKED ON AN AGREEMENT THEY HAD SIGNED. THIS WOULD BE A PROBLEM FOR THEM NEXT YEAR IN THEIR NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE EU. -------------- -------------- ECONOMIC POLICY: CONSERVATIVE COUNTRY, BUT MOVING FORWARD ON PRIVATIZATION, OTHER ISSUES -------------- -------------- 6.(C) JANSA ADMITTED THAT SLOVENIA WAS A CONSERVATIVE COUNTRY, MUCH CONCERNED ABOUT PROTECTING ITS CULTURE, LANGUAGE, AND VALUES. HE LAUGHED WHEN COM REMINDED HIM THAT FM RUPEL HAD TOLD SECRETARY RICE DURING JANSA'S MEETING WITH HER THAT SLOVENIA WANTED MORE TOURISM, "BUT NOT TOO MUCH MORE." JANSA ADDED THAT, IN PART, THE CONSERVATISM ABOUT ECONOMIC POLICY WAS A PRODUCT OF THE SOCIALIST PAST. IN THE OLD DAYS, PEOPLE WOULD CLAIM THAT UNDER SOCIALISM YUGOSLAVIA WAS UNDER ATTACK FROM OUTSIDE (READ: CAPITALIST, IMPERIALIST) SOURCES, THAT ALL WOULD BE BETTER UNDER COMMUNISM. NOW SOME OF THE INTELLECTUAL ELITE, AND EVEN SOME ECONOMISTS, HAVE REVERSED THE ORDER, I.E., NOW IS GOOD, BUT IT WILL GET WORSE LATER. FOR EXAMPLE, PRIVATIZATION HAS BEEN ON THE SLOVENIAN AGENDA FOR YEARS, BUT LITTLE HAS HAPPENED. THAT SAID, JANSA SAID NEXT YEAR SLOVENIA WILL MOVE FORWARD WITH PRIVATIZATION OF TELECOM, STEEL, ENERGY, AND THE NKB MARIBOR BANK. IN ADDITION, KAD/SOD'S OWNERSHIP IN 40 SMALL TO MEDIUM SIZED COMPANIES WILL BE REDUCED TO 5-10 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL. IN 2008, THIS WILL BE DONE IN ANOTHER 80 COMPANIES. HE SAID THE ORGANIZED OPPOSITION TO ECONOMIC CHANGE COULD BE SEEN IN THE HANDLING OF THE FLAT TAX ISSUE. SLOVENIAN RESISTANCE WAS MORE IN KEEPING WITH THE GERMAN EXPERIENCE AS OPPOSED TO THE ESTONIAN. ¶7. (C) ON FDI, JANSA ADMITTED THAT THERE HAD BEEN LITTLE MOVEMENT WITH THE U.S. HE SAID HE OFTEN REFERRED TO GOODYEAR'S INVESTMENT IN KRANJ AS AN EXAMPLE OF THE SUCCESS U.S. INVESTMENT COULD ENJOY. COM AGREED, NOTING, HOWEVER, THAT GOODYEAR WAS A GOOD EXAMPLE FOR GOOD AND BAD REASONS, I.E., GOODYEAR WAS TAKING ADVANTAGE OF SLOVENIA'S HIGHLY SKILLED LABOR AND ITS ACCESS TO THE BALKANS, WITH SIGNIFICANT GROWTH AND INCREASED INVESTMENT EACH YEAR, WHILE ON THE NEGATIVE SIDE, THE INFLEXIBILITY IN THE LABOR LAWS HAD PUSHED GOODYEAR TO MOVE ITS MANAGEMENT TO PRAGUE. JANSA SAID THAT ONE OF HIS KEY PRIORITIES THIS YEAR WOULD BE TO DRAFT NEW LABOR LEGISLATION TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM, WITH IT TO BE PASSED AND GO INTO FORCE BEFORE SUMMER 2007. HIS "DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP," A GROUP REPRESENTING ALL PARLIAMENTARY PARTIES MINUS THE MAIN OPPOSITION LIBERAL LJUBLJANA 00000822 003 OF 004 DEMOCRACY (LDS),WAS IN AGREEMENT WITH THE APPROACH. WHILE HE SAID HE DID NOT EXPECT THE OPPOSITION SOCIAL DEMOCRATS (SD) TO AGREE ON ALL POINTS, HE THOUGHT PROGRESS COULD BE MADE, ALTHOUGH HE EMPHASIZED AGAIN THE STRENGTH OF THE UNIONS IN SLOVENIA. JANSA SAID HE WAS AWARE THAT DISNEY WAS PLANNING TO FILM PART OF ITS NEW NARNIA FILM IN THE SOCA VALLEY NEAR BOVEC, AS THE MAYOR HAD KEPT HIM BRIEFED ABOUT IT (NOTE: JANSA HAS A HOME IN BOVEC). TOLD THAT MOD AND MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT OFFICIALS HAD BEEN RETICENT ABOUT DISNEY'S PLANS, JANSA SAID HE WOULD PURSUE, EMPHASIZING THAT HE SHARED THE MAYOR'S ENTHUSIASM FOR THE PROJECT. ASKED WHY HE HAD BROUGHT GROUPS OF BUSINESSMEN ON HIS TRIPS TO KUWAIT AND SAUDI ARABIA, BUT NOT THE STATES, JANSA WAS QUICK AND CLEAR: IN THE MIDDLE EAST, AND IN RUSSIA, HE ADDED, PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD YOU NEEDED SPECIAL ENTREE IN ORDER TO GET INTO BUSINESS NEGOTIATIONS THERE, SINCE THE GOVERNMENT OVERSAW TRADE AND INVESTMENT. SLOVENIAN BUSINESSMEN, ON THE OTHER HAND, GO TO THE US ALL THE TIME. IT'S A FREE ENTERPRISE ENVIRONMENT AND THEY CAN MAKE ANY DEALS THEY WISH WITHOUT GOVERNMENT PROMOTION. -------------- -------------- HARRAH'S: BRIEFED, AND POSITIVE, BUT NEED TO MOVE QUICKLY -------------- -------------- ¶8. (C) ON THE NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN HARRAH'S ENTERTAINMENT AND THE GOS, JANSA WAS CLEARLY UP TO SPEED. ON THE PROPOSAL FOR THE GOS TO MAINTAIN 51 PERCENT CONTROL, WHILE HARRAH'S WOULD HAVE MANAGEMENT CONTROL, JANSA SAID THAT THAT WAS AN IMPORTANT POSITION TO EASE SLOVENIANS' CONCERNS AND THEIR TYPICAL CONSERVATISM ABOUT SUCH A BIG INVESTMENT. HE NOTED PRESIDENT DRNOVSEK'S CRITICAL REMARKS RECENTLY ABOUT A GAMING INVESTMENT OF THIS TYPE AND SIZE, SAYING IRONICALLY THAT "DRNOVSEK SHOULD KNOW SINCE HE STARTED THE GAMING INDUSTRY IN SLOVENIA." HE SAID HIT'S NIKO TROST HAD POINTED OUT IN RESPONSE THAT ONLY 10 PERCENT OF THE INVESTMENT WOULD BE FOR GAMING, THE REST FOR TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE AND SUCH. BUT DRNOVSEK'S COMMENTS UNDERSCORED THAT SLOVENIA AND HARRAH'S NEEDED TO MOVE QUICKLY, BEFORE OPPOSITION TO THE DEAL SOLIDIFIED. MOREOVER, THE CLOSER SLOVENIA GOT TO ITS EU CHAIRMANSHIP, THE LESS TIME THE FINANCE MINISTRY WOULD HAVE TO WORK ON THIS DEAL. JANSA SAID HE HOPED THAT THE PLAN TO HAVE AN AGREEMENT SIGNED BY THE END OF FEBRUARY WOULD BE MET. -------------- -------------- MILITARY PROCUREMENT: JANSA OUT OF THE LOOP ON PATRIA, MILES DETAILS -------------- -------------- ¶9. (C) COM RAISED HIS CONCERNS ABOUT TWO RECENT TENDERS THAT THE U.S. HAD LOST. ON THE 8X8 TRANSPORT VEHICLE, DECIDED LAST SUMMER IN FAVOR OF FINNISH CONCERN PATRIA, COM MENTIONED THAT WE HAD LEARNED THAT IN NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN PATRIA AND GOS ON THE DETAILS, COST OVERRUNS WERE RUNNING AT ABOUT 40 PERCENT OVER THE ORIGINAL PROJECTED COST. FURTHERMORE, IT WAS CLEAR THAT THE GOS WOULD HAVE TO EITHER DO WITHOUT VERY IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF THE VEHICLE (E.G., FLOTABILITY, RADIO ENCRYPTION) OR REDUCE THE NUMBER OF VEHICLES FROM THE ORIGINAL 135 TO ABOUT 55 TO MEET THE COST LIMITATIONS. JANSA CLAIMED NOT TO HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THIS, SAYING IT WAS DEFENSE MINISTER ERJAVEC'S RESPONSIBILITY. COM COMMENTED THAT THE RECENT DECISION BY VIATOR VEKTOR TO SELL ITS OWNERSHIP IN SISTEMSKA TEHNIKA, THE FIRM ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED TO FILL THE 8X8 ORDER FOR THE U.S.'S GENERAL DYNAMICS, TO GORENJE, THE LEAD SUBCONTRACTOR FOR THE PATRIA COMPANY, SOUNDED "VERY BALKAN" AND BEGGED THE QUESTION OF HOW THIS WHOLE DECISION WAS MADE. JANSA AGAIN DEMURRED, SAYING IT WAS THE DEFENSE MINISTER'S JOB TO MAKE SURE THIS ALL TRANSPIRED IN A VERY TRANSPARENT MANNER, AND COM AGREED THAT HE HOPED IT WOULD COME OUT CLEARLY WHEN THE FINAL DOCUMENTS WERE SIGNED. JANSA COMMENTED THAT THIS WAS A DEAL WITH THE FINNS, WHICH MEANT THAT EU STANDARDS FOR THE TENDER WOULD HAVE HAD TO APPLY. COM MENTIONED WRYLY THAT IT WAS TOO BAD FINLAND WAS NOT ALSO A NATO MEMBER SO THAT IT COULD ALSO COMPLY WITH NATO STANDARDS. ON CUBIC'S FMS TENDER, JANSA CLAIMED NOT TO KNOW THE PARTICULARS, ASKED WHEN THE TENDER HAD BEEN AWARDED, AND AGREED THAT IT SOUNDED PECULIAR THAT SLOVENIA WOULD BE THE ONLY COUNTRY TO GO WITH SAAB WHEN 37 OTHER COUNTRIES HAD TAKEN THE CUBIC FMS DEAL. COM EXPLAINED THAT THE SAAB SYSTEM WHICH THE GOS HAD SELECTED WOULD MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO BE INTEROPERABLE WITH OTHER NATO ALLIES, AND ESPECIALLY THE US, WHEN THEY DO JOINT TRAINING. (COMMENT: JANSA DID NOT REALIZE OR REMEMBER THAT COM HAD SENT HIM A LETTER OCTOBER 10 URGING HIM AND THE GOS TO GIVE CUBIC PROPER CONSIDERATION, AND REITERATING ITS STRENGTHS. WE HAVE FAXED HIM ANOTHER COPY.) LJUBLJANA 00000822 004 OF 004 -------------- TRACKER: YES, WE PROBABLY NEED IT -------------- ¶10. (C) COM MENTIONED THAT THE U.S. HAD CONSISTENTLY OFFERED TO SLOVENIA OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS THE TRACKER COMPUTER SOFTWARE SYSTEM FOR EXPORT CONTROL PURPOSES. ALL OF THE NEW EU STATES BUT SLOVENIA HAD ACCEPTED THE U.S. OFFER. TO OUR KNOWLEDGE, THE MFA SUPPORTED THIS, BUT THERE HAD BEEN RESISTANCE TO IT IN THE MINISTRY OF ECONOMY. THE MFA REPORTED THAT THEY WERE NOW HAVING INCREASING CLEARANCE REQUESTS, ALMOST ONE A WEEK. THE SYSTEM WAS FULLY COMPATIBLE WITH THE SYSTEM USED IN OLDER, WESTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES. JANSA AGREED THAT IT SOUNDED LIKE SOMETHING SLOVENIA SHOULD HAVE, AND ACCEPTED A COPY OF A LETTER COM HAD SENT ECONOMY MINISTER VIZJAK AND FOREIGN MINISTER RUPEL LAST FEBRUARY 10. -------------- -------------- HOHN SARIC DENATIONALIZATION: LET'S TAKE A LOOK, THIS HAPPENED A LOT -------------- -------------- ¶11. (C) COM HANDED THE PM A NON-PAPER ON THE HOHN-SARIC PROPERTY DENATIONALIZATION CASE, ONE IN WHICH A FORMER YUGOSLAV CITIZEN HAD BEEN DENIED THE RETURN OF HIS PROPERTY, WHERE THE VALUABLE RADENSKA MINERAL WATER FACTORY NOW STANDS. JANSA LOOKED AT HIS NOTES AND COMMENTED THAT HE UNDERSTOOD THE COURTS WOULD RULE ON THIS ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22. COM LAID OUT THE DISINGENUINITY OF THE INTERIOR MINISTRY IN REDEFINING CITIZENSHIP TO THE DETRIMENT OF THE AMERICAN CLAIMANT. JANSA COMMENTED THAT THE REASON HIS GOVERNMENT HAD NOT BEEN ABLE TO COMPLETE DENATIONALIZATION AS THEY HAD ORIGINALLY INTENDED WAS IN PART DUE TO THE SLOWNESS OF THE COURTS. COM GAVE JANSA ANOTHER COPY OF EARLIER LETTER SENT TO HIM ON THIS CASE. JANSA ADMITTED THAT SUCH TREATMENT OF PEOPLE WHO HAD LOST THEIR PROPERTY HAD NOT BEEN UNUSUAL, AND HE AGREED TO LOOK INTO IT ONCE AGAIN, ONCE THE COURT HAD MADE ITSD DECISION. INTERESTINGLY, ON A SEPARATE DENATIONALIZATION CASE INVOLVING THE CITY OF LJUBLJANA, JANSA VOLUNTEERED THAT THE NEW MAYOR OF LJUBLJANA, ZORAN JANKOVIC, WOULD LIKELY BE MUCH MORE RESPONSIVE THAN HIS PREDECESSOR. ¶12. (C) COMMENT: JANSA HAD A TIGHT SCHEDULE, SO SOME OF THE ISSUES--THE ERASED, ROMA, HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT, SLOVENIA'S TIP RECORD, DISCUSSION OF SLOVENIA'S AFGHAN AND KOSOVO DEPLOYMENTS--WERE NOT COVERED. JANSA IS PROBABLY THE MOST STRATEGIC THINKER IN HIS GOVERNMENT, AND HE WAS MOST COMFORTABLE TALKING ABOUT THE EU SUMMIT HE HAD JUST RETURNED FROM AND OTHER FOREIGN POLICY ISSUES ON HIS PLATE. HIS IGNORANCE ABOUT THE DETAILS OF THE TWO DEFENSE PROCUREMENT DECISIONS WAS A BIT DISINGENUOUS, ESPECIALLY SINCE WE KNOW THAT AS SLOVENIA'S FORMER DEFENSE MINISTER HE FOLLOWS THESE ISSUES. FURTHERMORE, BOTH COM AND FORMER COM AND GENERAL DYNAMICS ADVISOR VIC JACKOVICH HAD RAISED THE PATRIA DEAL WITH HIM SHORTLY AFTER THE DECISION WAS ANNOUNCED. THE ENTIRE PATRIA DEAL HAS SMELLED FISHY FROM THE GET-GO, AND NOW, WITH THE MOST RECENT SELLING A LARGE PART OF SISTEMSKA TEHNIKA TO THE MAIN SUBCONTRACTOR FOR PATRIA, IT LOOKS PARTICULARLY SUSPICIOUS. WE WILL WAIT TO LEARN, ONCE THE DETAILS ARE OUT, WHAT IN FACT THE TWO SIDES HAVE AGREED TO. END COMMENT. ROBERTSON