SLOVENIA TO PARTICIPATE IN ESDP DEPLOYMENT TO CHAD

C O N F I D E N T I A L LJUBLJANA 000029 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2018 TAGS: EUN MARR PGOV PREL CD SI SUBJECT: SLOVENIA TO PARTICIPATE IN ESDP DEPLOYMENT TO CHAD AND C.A.R. REF: SECSTATE 3208 Classified By: CDA Maryruth Coleman for reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (C) On January 17, Emboff delivered reftel points and nonpaper to Andrej Slapnicar of the MFA Security Policy Division, who stated that Slovenia appreciates U.S. support for the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) deployment to Chad and the Central African Republic (C.A.R.) and noted that Slovenia has committed 15 reconnaissance troops to the mission. Slapnicar stated that the January 11 force generation conference had succeeded in securing sufficient troops, helicopters, and medical equipment and personnel for the mission. Given the nature of the Slovene deployment, Slapnicar indicated that he expects the Slovene troops to deploy with the first wave of deployments in late January or early February so that they can effectively carry out their reconnaissance mission. He noted, however, that the ESDP mission is under pressure to move quickly in order to deploy before the onset of the rainy season in Chad and C.A.R. Slapnicar stated that Slovenia supports close coordination with NATO regarding the ESDP mission to Chad and C.A.R. COLEMAN