DZURINDA HAS BOXED HIMSELF IN ON KOSOVO

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRATISLAVA 000169

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV YI KOC LO
SUBJECT: DZURINDA HAS BOXED HIMSELF IN ON KOSOVO

Classified By: Ambassador Rodolphe M. Vallee for reason
1.4 b and d.


1. (C) Summary: Former PM Dzurinda's advisor told the
Ambassador that Dzurinda would not change his mind on Kosovo.
However, the advisor also assured the Ambassador that any
resolution SDKU proposed would not be binding and would not
comment on how Slovakia should vote in the security council.
End summary.


2. (C) Milan Jezovica (strictly protect),foreign policy
advisor to former prime minister and current opposition
leader Mikulas Dzurinda (SDKU),told the Ambassador March 20
that Dzurinda will not change his mind on Kosovo. Through
Jezovica, Dzurinda sent the message that no one in Slovakia
has done more to strengthen the TransAtlantic relationship
than Dzurinda and his SDKU party (comment: this is true).
Nonetheless, on the issue of Kosovo, Dzurinda cannot be
moved. Jezovica said any meeting between Dzurinda and the
Ambassador on Kosovo therefore would not be productive. He
opined that Dzurinda had boxed himself in, and that pushing
harder on this issue now would be counterproductive.


3. (C) The Ambassador said that SDKU would share the blame if
the Slovak government veered outside the EU consensus on
Kosovo or did anything other than vote in favor of a UNSCR.
He inquired about the drafting process for a common
parliamentary resolution, stressing that any resolution
should not be binding, should not condition independence for
Kosovo on Serb approval, and should not call for abstention
or a "no" vote at the UNSC on a resolution based on the
Ahtisaari plan. Although Jezovica is not personally involved
in the drafting process, he assured the Ambassador that the
resolution would not be binding on the government, and that
it would not comment on how the GOS should vote in the UNSC.
However, he said that the "no independence without Serb
approval" clause was the central argument of the SDKU
position.


4. (C) Based both on Jezovica's characterization of
Dzurinda's firm position and the recent positive statements
by PM Fico, Post does not recommend that NSA Hadley call
Dzurinda at this time.

Update from Parliament
--------------

5. (U) Members of parliament voted March 20 to discuss four
draft resolutions on Kosovo at the March 27 session. Speaker
Pavol Paska presented his draft, and proposed that it be
discussed first. However, the opposition objected, and the
majority of MPs voted to discuss the resolutions in the order
they were presented (SDKU, SNS, SMK, then Smer). Although
the MPs will discuss the various resolutions at the March 22
Foreign Affairs Committee meeting, it is highly unlikely that
they could agree on a single draft resolution before March

27.


VALLEE