NOT NO ... BUT NOT NOW: EMBASSY VIEWS RE REQUESTED

S E C R E T BUDAPEST 001158 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT A/S FRIED AND EUR/NCE; PLEASE PASS TO NSC FOR ADAM STERLING E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/15/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM OVIP HU SUBJECT: NOT NO ... BUT NOT NOW: EMBASSY VIEWS RE REQUESTED MEETINGS FOR SENIOR HUNGARIAN OFFICIALS Classified By: Acting DCM Eric V. Gaudiosi; Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (S) Septel reports on the formal requests from GoH officials for meetings between POTUS and PM Gyurcsany and between Secretary Rice and Foreign Minister Goncz, which we understand have also been raised directly by the Hungarian Embassy in Washington. ¶2. (S) Post is mindful of the extraordinary attention paid to Hungary during the 50th anniversary celebrations of the 1956 uprising and believes we should uphold a high standard of substantive accomplishment before considering meetings at the highest levels. ¶3. (S) A/S Fried's recent visit helped enormously in encouraging the GoH - and the Prime Minister personally - to take a more active and constructive stand on Russia in general and energy security in particular. But he will need time to do so, just as we will need tangible evidence of the depth and duration of his commitment. Until we have had the time to render a more informed judgment, we believe a meeting at the highest level would be premature and could pose the risk of sending a mixed signal to a government tempted to use foreign policy for domestic politial advantage. ¶4. (S) We do see value in a meeting with FM Goncz in the near term as a way to reinforce the message and to recognize their efforts in Afghanistan and Cuba. In our view, such a meeting need not be a stand-alone trip to Washington but might occur more productively on the margins of a multilateral forum. ¶5. (S) Additionally, we strongly support continued efforts to broaden and deepen our dialogue with key advisors and with figures from across the political spectrum in an effort to promote a multi-partisan consensus on foreign policy. We will continue to look for opportunities to establish and improve these contacts. FOLEY