AUSTRIA: NEXT STEPS ON AFGHANISTAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L VIENNA 000304 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/AGS - SAINT-ANDRE E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/08/2017 TAGS: MARR MOPS NATO PINS PREL AF AU SUBJECT: AUSTRIA: NEXT STEPS ON AFGHANISTAN REF: A. STATE 13880 ¶B. VIENNA 180 Classified By: Economic-Political Counselor Gregory E. Phillips. Reaso ns: 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) EconPolCouns met with Thomas Hajnoczi, the Austrian MFA's A/S-level Director for Political Military Affairs, to present ref (a) points on next steps on Afghanistan. ¶2. (C) Hajnoczi reiterated ref (b) message that Austria does not have the capacity to enhance its military presence in Afghanistan. However, he said he plans to engage with the Austrian Defense Ministry on the prospects of providing non-lethal excess defense equipment to Afghanistan. (He noted that Austria's neutrality law prohibits the provision of lethal military equipment to a war zone.) ¶3. (C) Hajnoczi said Austria's priority remains the Balkans. The vast bulk of Austrian assistance (peacekeeping deployments, equipment, and police training) will go there. He added that Austria will support the proposed EU police mission in Afghanistan, although it is too early to tell whether Austria can provide the appropriate police trainers for the mission in Afghanistan. McCaw