CZECHS EXPECT "PRAGMATIC" SIX MONTHS AS LOCAL EU

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 001369 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/25/2017 TAGS: PREL PHUM EU EZ UZ SUBJECT: CZECHS EXPECT "PRAGMATIC" SIX MONTHS AS LOCAL EU CHAIR REF: TASHKENT 1345 Classified By: CDA Brad Hanson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Czech Political Officer Dagmar Novohradska told Poloff that the Czech Embassy will be pragmatic during its six months as the local representative of the European Union (EU). She said that the Czechs understand their role is to represent the EU as a whole, and may need to temper some of its national positions to be effective. As an example, Novohradska pointed to the Czech decision to support modifying EU sanctions against Uzbekistan last year. According to Novohradska, the Czechs would have preferred no modification to the sanctions, but ultimately decided that holding to a tough line on the issue would have made it virtually impossible to effectively represent the EU in Tashkent. ¶2. (C) Novohradska admitted that Uzbekistan is not a high priority for the Czech Republic. She said that while the Czechs remain strong proponents of human rights, they need to balance these concerns against the bilateral commercial relationship and the need to be effective as the EU representative in Tashkent. She doubted that new initiatives would be started, but said that efforts to implement the EU's Central Asia strategy and continue the European human rights dialogue with the Uzbeks would continue. On the latter, she said that the Government of Uzbekistan had shown little inclination to discuss human rights with the Europeans following the decision not to lift sanctions completely, but she suspected that this would change as the next sanctions review approaches. According to Novohradska, the Czech Embassy most likely will not try to drive EU policy in Uzbekistan on most issue, but rather will be guided by discussion in, and instructions from, Brussels. She assured us, however, that the Czechs remain strong proponents of human rights and will continue to discuss concerns in this area with the Government of Uzbekistan on a bilateral basis as appropriate. Novohradska also said that the Czech Embassy would welcome close contact and coordination with the U.S. Embassy on issues of mutual concern. ¶3. (C) Comment: The Czechs were very up front that they see the need to balance their concerns on human rights and other such issues with both their bilateral commercial relationship (as big as the Germans and bigger than the British and French, Novohradska claimed) and the need to be effective as EU representative. Even so, Post believes the Czech Embassy will be an ally and try to push the EU to do the right thing in most cases. Czech Ambassador Ales Fojtik set the stage by raising the denial of accreditation to a Human Rights Watch staffer with First Deputy Foreign Minister Nematov in his very first meeting as EU representative, causing Nematov to react angrily and cut the meeting short (reftel). HANSON