AFGHANISTAN: GETTING THE SLOVAKS TO MOVE SOUTH

C O N F I D E N T I A L USNATO 000674 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/15/2016 TAGS: NATO PREL MOPS MARR AF LO SUBJECT: AFGHANISTAN: GETTING THE SLOVAKS TO MOVE SOUTH REF: BRATISLAVA 904 (NOTAL) Classified By: Ambassador Victoria Nuland, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Per request in reftel, Ambassador Nuland pushed Slovak PermRep Slobodnik on November 14 to keep working on repositioning Slovakia's engineering unit from Kabul to Kandahar in time to announce the decision at the Riga Summit November 28. The Ambassador told Slobodnik to let her know if a high-level call or letter from Washington could help move the process in Bratislava, and she would try to help. ¶2. (C) Slobodnik said he had been working this issue hard with Bratislava, but that with a soldier recently KIA in Iraq, the issue had become more difficult. He agreed with Ambassador Nuland that each Head should bring something new to Riga to create a net "up" effect, and said he had been working with Bratislava in that context. He noted he would consider their conversation a demarche and use it with his capital. ¶3. (C) Comment: While understanding the tough timing in Bratislava, PM Fico would gain big points for Slovakia if he could announce this at Riga rather than working it afterwards. Our strategy is to get as many Allies as possible to bring fresh support for Afghanistan to the Riga table to create the sense of forward momentum Kabul and NATO need now. End comment. NULAND