AMBASSADOR GRABER'S INTRODUCTORY CALL ON PRIME

C O N F I D E N T I A L PRAGUE 001340

SIPDIS

INFO EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
CIA WASHDC
NSC WASHDC

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/NCE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/24/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL EZ
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR GRABER'S INTRODUCTORY CALL ON PRIME
MINISTER TOPOLANEK

REF: PRAGUE 1322

Classified By: AMB RICHARD GRABER FOR REASONS 1.4 B, D


1. (C) SUMMARY: During the Ambassador's October 23
introductory call, Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek (ODS)
expressed his satisfaction with bilateral cooperation in the
fields of security and democracy promotion, his concern about
energy security in Europe, and his hope that the Ambassador
will get personally involved in the lobbying campaign to
bring new EU states into the Visa Waiver Program. Topolanek,
fresh from his party's impressive victory in the recent
Senate and local elections (reftel),was unable to predict
how the win might impact the formation of the next
government, or how long his government, which resigned
October 11 after failing a vote of confidence, would continue
to rule. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) CZECH SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRACY PROMOTION: Prime Minister
and Chairman of the Civic Democrats (ODS) Mirek Topolanek
said that the Czech Republic had worked hard and successfully
with the United States to transform regimes and promote human
rights in places such as Belarus, Burma, and Cuba. Topolanek
argued that the Czechs have the capacity and empathy to work
with countries undergoing transformation and would,
therefore, like to increase Czech cooperation with the U.S.
in this field. Topolanek was candid in admitting that this
will mean, to a large extent, U.S. funding for projects
carried out by the Czechs, such as the training of
journalists or NGO in Iraq. Topolanek said that he
personally, and his party in general, are very active in
democracy promotion, both domestically and at the EU level,
and assured the Ambassador of his continuing support on this
issue.


3. (C) TERRORISM AND SECURITY: Topolanek said that he had
followed President Bush's speech on the anniversary of 9/11
and that he felt the points in the speech had meaning for
Czechs as well. Topolanek spoke of shared threats, such as
terrorism, North Korea, and proliferation. He said his
government shares the same view as the U.S. administration on
these issues, and continues to support deployments to
Afghanistan and Iraq. His government has just submitted a
draft bill to parliament to increase the number of troops in
those missions, within the framework cooperation with NATO
and the U.S. Topolanek said ODS would like to see a small
unit in Lebanon, but pointed out that the Czech Republic
cannot carry out any more foreign missions just now. He
explained it was not just a question of money, but also of
personnel and equipment. He also said the Czechs are looking
at the creation of an EU battle group with the Slovaks, but
that his party, ODS, would prefer to do this in
collaborations with the U.S. and NATO.


4. (C) MISSILE DEFENSE: Topolanek spoke of successfully
persuading Jiri Paroubek, former Prime Minister and leader of
the rival Social Democrats (CSSD) to drop his opposition to
hosting a radar facility. He implied that there would be no
opposition to a radar facility, at least at the leadership
level, if the next government were to be some arrangement
under which ODS and CSSD share power. Topolanek said a
missile defense facility was one of his party's priorities,
though he acknowledged that he could not be sure how long his
party will control the government.


5. (C) The Ambassador asked whether Topolanek was concerned
about decreasing military budgets, as measured by the
percentage of GDP. The Prime Minister answered that he is
very concerned about the downward trend of defense budgets
over the last 3-4 years and the consequences if this
continues for several more years. Nevertheless, Topolanek
admitted that he would only be able to make minor changes for
the time being. He predicted that if the trend isn't
reversed, it will definitely have an effect on operational
capacities, something he doesn't want to see. Topolanek said
that the NATO Secretary General would be in Prague on October
30 and will want to address the issue.


6. (C) VISAS: Topolanek also raised the visa issue, calling
it "the leitmotif that runs through all our interactions."
Referring to his party's support for missile defense, and the
deployment of Czech troops to places such as Afghanistan and
Iraq, he said it is difficult to explain to Czech voters why
the Czechs support initiatives that are perceived as largely
American initiatives, when the U.S. has such an asymmetrical
visa policy. Topolanek said he hoped that the Ambassador
would, after the upcoming U.S. elections, get personally

involved in the Congressional lobbying effort recently begun
by the V-4 plus Baltic states. The Ambassador assured
Topolanek that he understood the importance of the issue.


7. (C) ENERGY SECURITY: Finally, Topolanek raised the issue
of energy security and the potential threat that Russia will
use its supply of gas and oil to demand political concessions
from European nations. The Ambassador asked about
diversification of energy sources and possible ODS support
for nuclear power. Topolanek responded that ODS was
struggling to diversify, and that there was so much
opposition from the Austrians and the Greens that increasing
the nation's use of nuclear power wasn't going to be easy.
Topolanek expressed his alarm at talk of possibly reversing
the flow of the Ingolstadt pipeline, and talk of adapting
Czech refineries to take Russian crude. (NOTE: The Ingolstadt
pipeline currently transports Norwegian and Middle East oil
east to the Czech Republic via Germany. There are reported
rumors that the Russians are pressuring the Czech Republic to
become a transit country by reversing the pipeline's flow to
allow Russian oil to flow west to Germany. End Note).
Topolanek said the cold war is still being played out in the
energy sector. He espoused the view that most international
conflict, and even war, is somehow linked to a struggle over
resources such as oil. Topolanek even went as far as to
suggest that much of the recent "turbulence" in Central and
Eastern Europe was too much to just be coincidence and that
the Russians were somehow involved. He spoke, only
half-jokingly, of a new type of Ribbentrop-Molotov pact under
which Russia's influence would be extended through central
Europe, eventually to the whole of the continent.


8. (C) COMMENT: Topolanek's party will hold its annual
congress and elections for party leadership positions in
Prague on November 17-18. ODS' undeniable victory in the
local elections and the impressive showing in the first round
of the Senate races October 20-21 have certainly strengthened
Topolanek chances of staying in the top spot. In a September
21 farewell call by outgoing Ambassador William Cabaniss,
days before Topolanek's government faced its confidence vote
which it failed, Topolanek joked about his future as an
ex-Prime Minister and hinted that he would like to visit the
U.S., as a tourist, early in 2007. In this week's visit, he
was keenly focused on the many issues at hand and gave no
sign that he might be leaving office soon. The meeting lasted
for more than an hour and covered many issues on which the
Czechs and the U.S. have, and could continue to cooperate on.
As this introductory call points out, Topolanek would be an
excellent partner for the U.S. But it is still unclear
whether the Ambassador will be paying another introductory
call on a new Prime Minister in the months ahead. END
COMMENT.
GRABER