AMBASSADOR'S COURTESY CALL WITH FOREIGN MINISTER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRATISLAVA 000001 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/02/2013 TAGS: PREL PGOV KVIR EU LO SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S COURTESY CALL WITH FOREIGN MINISTER KUBIS Classified By: Ambassador Vincent Obsitnik for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. In their courtesy call meeting on December 28, Ambassador Obsitnik and Foreign Minister Jan Kubis discussed a range of foreign policy issues, with an emphasis on the Western Balkans. Kubis was in typical form, cordial and guarded, but gave additional insight on several topics, such as Slovakia's gameplan for recognizing Kosovo and his views on Slovak-Hungarian relations. The Foreign Minister requested assistance from the Ambassador to help set up visits to Washington for President Ivan Gasparovic and for himself. He also asked for American support to help weigh in with the Kosovars to maintain the Slovak diplomatic office in Pristina. End Summary. Kosovo -------------- ¶2. (C) Kosovo led off the discussion. Kubis emphasized that Slovakia "will be with the EU majority on all practical matters" concerning Kosovo, and claimed to be the first one to raise the idea of establishing a ESDP force in Kosovo, clarifying that it is a EU priority to help establish a durable solution for Kosovo. Slovakia's decision on whether and when to officially recognize the independence of Kosovo would be a complicated balancing act, he added, but Slovakia would eventually follow the majority of the EU. Kubis offered that recognition of Kosovo by EU member states would take pace in waves: by his count, "about 17" states would recognize Kosovo immediately after it declares independence, a handful more would recognize a month or so later, followed by a another handful after about six months. Kubis reckoned that Slovakia would end up in the third and last group along with Spain, Romania, and Greece, and suggested that the decision regarding when to recognize would be coordinated closely with the latter two. When pushed, Kubis floated June 2008 as a possible estimate for recognition. In any case, Kubis made clear that Prime Minister Fico would not allow Slovakia to stand with Cyprus as the last two in the EU refusing to recognize Kosovo, and added that he had relayed that message recently to his FM counterpart from Nicosia. The Foreign Minister also reported that he sent a strong message to Serbian PM Vojislav Kostunica at the UN in early December, telling him that Slovakia "will eventually recognize Kosovo" and counseling that Serbia must not cut electricity or water supplies to Kosovo. ¶3. (C) Kubis also reiterated that Slovakia wanted to keep its diplomatic office in Pristina open despite what he thought could be unfriendly attitudes among Kosovars towards Slovakia for lack of early recognition. Kubis asked the Ambassador if the U.S. would be willing to weigh in with the Kosovo government on this as appropriate. He expressed his appreciation for help provided by the U.S. Office in Pristina in response to security threats earlier to the Slovak office earlier in the year and hoped the missionw would continue working together closely in 2008 Slovak-Hungarian relations -------------- ¶4. (C) Regarding Slovak-Hungarian relations, Kubis was hopeful about bilateral communication in the short-term, noting that both sides were working on setting up an official visit to Bratislava by Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany in early 2008. He was not especially sanguine about the prospects for bilateral relations after Hungary's next national elections, however, fearing that the more explicitly nationalist elements from the former Orban government might return to power. Kubis opined that Orban's circle had "a lot of crazy ideas...based on the concept of a politically united Hungarian nation." The FM emphasized the need to discuss Slovak-Hungarian relations at length with U.S. colleagues, noting the letter that Prime Minister received earlier this year from Representative Tom Lantos about treatment of the Hungarian minority within Slovakia. "I responded with all politeness," he noted, "I don't want to see more letters like that." Kubis said he would work with Ambassador Kacer to press Slovakia's case further during his next trip to Washington. Missile Defense -------------- ¶5. (C) Ambassador Obsitnik reminded Kubis that a US DOD delegation would be coming to Slovakia in early 2008 to provide a classified briefing on missile-based security threats and hoped that PM Fico could attend, since it would give him a broader perspective on the need for a missile defense system in Central Europe. Kubis responded by saying that the U.S. should not just "read my (Fico's) lips but read BRATISLAVA 00000001 002 OF 002 my acts" with regard to missile defense. He added that Fico is committed to working with the NATO majority but, when asked by journalists, will express a European social democrat's skepticism of the idea of missile defense. Kubis assured the Ambassador that Fico understands and supports the official policy that the decision ultimately belongs to the Czech and Polish governments. He also said that he and the PM would like to see more information about the threats posed by Iran, since the U.S. readout will be quite different that the perspective that Russia has been promoting. Restrictions on Slovak NGO sector -------------- ¶6. (C) Kubis responded constructively to Ambassador Obsitnik's inquiries about a newly proposed draft law by the Ministry of Interior, which would force NGOs to register as associations that can only legally provide services to members, thereby potentially prohibiting the right of NGOs to take part in advocacy activities (such as democracy promotion) either at home or abroad. The FM was not entirely up-to-date on the issue and seemed to view pasage of some sort of law as a foregone conlusion but acknowledged that the draft had problems. He drew comparisons to efforts last year by the Ministry of Finance to reduce tax assignation funding to NGOs and offered that his Ministry could again reach out to various stakeholders and help reach some sort of mutually acceptable compromise. Kubis understood that the Ministry's proposal put pressure on NGOs but said "I don't think there is an attempt to forcefully squeeze them out." He specifically mentioned that he would get in touch with Kalinak and with leaders from the NGO sector, including former Ambassador to the U.S. Martin Butora in early January. (Update: Kubis told the Ambassador on January 1 that he had spoken to Minister Robert Kalinak and that he and Kalinak would meet with the NGOs to discuss the draft.) Official Visits to the U.S. -------------- ¶7. (C) Kubis also asked the Ambassador for help in scheduling a potential visit to Washington by President Ivan Gasparovic during 2008, including a trip to the White House. The FM believes that Gasparovic plays a moderating influence within the government on many foreign policy issues, such as missile defense and Kosovo, and a visit could prove beneficial to both sides. This idea was very much in its initial stages, and no specific month for a visit was suggested. ¶8. (C) The FM was looking forward to his planned trip to Washington in late January/early February (exact dates not confirmed) and asked Ambassador Obsitnik for help in setting up an agenda. Kubis wanted to make meetings with the U.S. Congress a point of emphasis on this trip, mentioning that he would like to meet with Rep. Lantos, ranking members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and perhaps legislators involved with visa waiver legislation. He also mentioned that he would personally invite Rep. Alcee Hastings to meet with him during the Congressman's upcoming February visit to Vienna. Ambassador Obsitnik recommended possible visits with Senator Lugar, Senator Voinovich, and Representative Mica. OBSITNIK