SECOND VISIT OF STATUS OF FORCES NEGOTIATION TEAM

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRAGUE 001064 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV MASS MARR EZ SUBJECT: SECOND VISIT OF STATUS OF FORCES NEGOTIATION TEAM TO PRAGUE REF: A. PRAGUE 529 ¶B. PRAGUE 1051 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Ambassador Jackson McDonald and an interagency delegation met with representatives of the Czech Government in Prague to continue negotiations on a supplemental Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) September 11-12. Overall, the two sides had good, constructive talks and were able to discuss nearly all of the articles in the agreement. The Czechs continued to insist that the SOFA be limited solely to the radar site and noted a broad-based SOFA would likely not be ratified by parliament. Other areas of concern included criminal jurisdiction, taxation, claims and environmental issues. The two sides agreed to hold the next rounds of negotiations in October. End Summary. SCOPE OF AGREEMENT REMAINS MAJOR PHILOSOPHICAL DIFFERENCE -------------- -- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- ¶2. (SBU) During his opening statement, First Deputy Minister of Defense Martin Bartak said for domestic political reasons related to the history of Soviet forces on Czech territory, the scope of the SOFA must be limited to the radar site. Deputy Foreign Minister Tomas Pojar reinforced this point when he joined the negotiations on the second day. This divergence of viewpoints was evident throughout the text of the Czech counterproposal. Ambassador McDonald explained the U.S. reasoning for a broad SOFA and showed considerable flexibility in crafting mutually agreeable text throughout the agreement while leaving this fundamental conceptual difference tabled. Regardless of the eventual scope of the SOFA, the Czechs agreed the Ballistic Missile Defense Agreement (BMDA) and SOFA supplemental should remain separate documents with equal legal status. AREAS FOR FURTHER CONCENTRATION -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Throughout the negotiations, the Czech side noted provisions that would not be acceptable to parliament, occasionally invoking articles of the Czech constitution. The sides exchanged their reasoning on these issues and looked for compatible language where feasible. The Czechs were professional and well-prepared to discuss these points, but stated repeatedly that their mandate to negotiate provided by the Czech National Security Council kept them on a short leash. ¶4. (SBU) In terms of specific provisions, the most contentious articles appear to be criminal jurisdiction, taxation, claims and environmental issues. In particular, the Czech counterproposal stated they will not waive their primary right to exercise criminal jurisdiction in advance on a range of offenses, and leave default authority criminal jurisdiction to Czech authorities. Ministry of Defense Director of Defense Policy and Strategy Ivan Dvorak claimed most of the public focus will be on this article and said "we can kill the agreement with this." Ambassador McDonald recognized the political sensitivity of the issue and suggested a meeting of subject matter experts in order to provide information on the U.S. experience with other NATO allies. NEXT STEPS -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The two sides agreed to a series of information exchanges in the coming weeks, including a meeting between European Command and Czech legal experts to discuss criminal jurisdiction and environmental protection. The U.S. side will provide in approximately two weeks a consolidated text containing the provisionally agreed-upon language and all articles which still need to be negotiated. Ambassador McDonald and lead negotiator Ivan Dvorak agreed that the next meeting could possibly take place in the second half of October, and will be in contact to finalize the exact date. COMMENT -------------- ¶6. (SBU) This was once again a thoroughly-prepared Czech team that shares the U.S. objective of getting to a workable agreement that can survive the parliamentary ratification process. A great deal of work remains, most importantly on whether the SOFA should be of general application or limited to the radar site. The Czech side understands U.S. reasoning PRAGUE 00001064 002 OF 002 for a broad agreement, but it was clear from these negotiations that a decision to move away from a site-specific SOFA will need to come from the highest level of government. ¶7. (SBU) This cable was cleared by Ambassador McDonald. THOMPSON-JONES