NEW SLOVENIAN FM IS "PRO-AMERICA," BUT GIVES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LJUBLJANA 000537

NOFORN
SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/ERA, EUR/CE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/04/2018
TAGS: PREL EUN PGOV ECON MARR HR SI
SUBJECT: NEW SLOVENIAN FM IS "PRO-AMERICA," BUT GIVES
LITTLE GROUND ON CROATIA

REF: LJUBLJANA 459

Classified By: Amb. Yousif B. Ghafari, Reasons 1.4 (b,d)

Summary
--------------


1. (C) In a December 4 meeting with the Ambassador, new
Foreign Minister Samuel Zbogar stressed that he was
pro-American and that Slovenia wanted to continue to deepen
its transatlantic ties. He confirmed that Slovenia would
withdraw its two instructors from Iraq, either at the end of
December or the end of February. Recognizing that
Afghanistan would be important to the incoming
administration, he reassured the Ambassador that Slovenia
would not decrease its troop presence there; after evaluating
its contribution, Slovenia could possibly increase its troops
or change their mission. Zbogar said the government had
unanimously approved the ratification of NATO accession
protocols for Croatia and Albania and predicted that
parliamentary ratification early next year would not be a
problem. He explained that Slovenia would not stand in the
way of opening new chapters for Croatia's EU accession
negotiations as long as the negotiations did not in any way
prejudge the border dispute. While Slovenia does not want to
be isolated on the issue of Croatia's accession negotiations,
the government needs to be able to say unequivocally that it
did not allow the accession process to prejudice the outcome
of its border dispute with Croatia. End Summary.

Continuing Strong U.S.- Slovenia Relationship
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2. (C) During their first official meeting, Foreign Minister
(and former Ambassador to the U.S.) Zbogar commented that
Ambassador Ghafari was the first Ambassador he was receiving
because he was "pro-American." The FM assured the Ambassador
that, as PM Pahor had said (reftel),Slovenia's foreign
policy priorities would not change. Slovenia wanted to
continue to deepen its transatlantic ties. Zbogar stressed
that it was very important to work closely together, within
the context of the EU, NATO and bilaterally. He expressed
regret that Slovenia probably would not have an Ambassador in
the U.S. until March or April. He hoped that Slovenia would
be able to send Washington a nominee for agrement by
mid-January.

Commitment to NATO Missions
--------------


3. (C) The Foreign Minister explained that the new
government's coalition agreement called for the withdrawal of
Slovenia's two instructors from NTM-I. He said that he had
informed NATO SYG de Hoop Scheffer that Slovenia would be
leaving Iraq, although there was not yet a concrete date.
Slovenia would withdraw its two soldiers either at the end of
the year when the current UN mandate expired or at the end of
February, when the troops' deployment is set to end. Zbogar
reassured us, however, that Slovenia had no intention of
lowering its troop contribution to Afghanistan, and might
even increase it. Slovenia planned to evaluate its
participation to see where it could be "the most useful for
the alliance." He mentioned that Slovenia was considering an
OMLT. He acknowledged that he expected the incoming U.S.
administration to stress Afghanistan and he opined that it
was easy for the GoS to defend its involvement in Afghanistan
with the Slovenian public. He added that he and Defense
Minister Jelusic planned to discuss these issues in the near
future.

Relations with Croatia
--------------


4. (C) Zbogar informed the Ambassador that the government had
approved the draft law on the ratification of NATO accession
protocols for Croatia and Albania and would send it to
Parliament. If Parliament held an extraordinary session in
December, it would consider ratification then; otherwise it
would be January. Although Parliament needed a two-thirds
majority for ratification, Zbogar did not expect it to be a
problem, even if it could become sensitive because of ongoing
negotiations with Croatia. In a separate December 4 meeting,
the Chairman of Parliament's Committee on Foreign Policy, Ivo
Vajgl, assured the DCM that it "would be no problem to get 60
votes for Croatia's NATO accession." PM Pahor told the press
December 4 that the government's move was not related to

LJUBLJANA 00000537 002 OF 002


talks with Croatia regarding its EU accession.


5. (C) In discussing negotiations regarding Croatia's EU
accession, Zbogar explained the new government's efforts to
find a face-saving solution that preserved Slovenia's
national interests. According to Zbogar, the documents that
Croatia had sent to the EU to start negotiations on six new
chapters contained references and drawings that prejudge the
disputed border. Slovenia had not agreed to opening those
chapters because it might imply tacit acceptance of the
Croatian position. When Slovenia first asked Croatia to
remove the references, the European Commission dismissed
Slovenia's concerns as "far-fetched." When it became clear
that Slovenia would not back down, the French EU Presidency
drafted a letter essentially stating that nothing in the
negotiations could be taken as prejudging the outcome of the
border dispute. According to Zbogar, Slovenia proposed what
it thought would be acceptable changes to that letter;
however, the French Presidency came back with another draft
that did not reflect Slovenia's concerns. The FM stressed
that accepting the Croatian negotiating documents as is would
jeopardize Slovenia's position on an issue of vital national
interest. Zbogar commented that the government had to be able
to convince its public that it had protected Slovenian
interests. He noted that PM Pahor had said clearly that, if
forced to do so, Slovenia would choose its national interest
over Europe's.


6. (C) Zbogar acknowledged that the EU needed Slovenia's
agreement by the December 19 enlargement conference in order
for the EU to be able to stick to its "ambitious" schedule of
Croatia closing all negotiating chapters by the end of 2009.
He added that the EU wanted to show enlargement was alive,
especially since the French Presidency had not done much on
Turkey. Pahor said his first meeting with his Croatian
counterpart in Brussels earlier in the week had gone well -
they had agreed to intensify communications and work on joint
initiatives. He added, however, that that meeting had
occurred before Slovenia's changes to the French letter were
rejected.

Comment
--------------


7. (C) Zbogar made it clear with both his words and his body
language that Slovenia wants to deepen its relationship with
the U.S. Zbogar treated the meeting as one between old
friends. We believe Slovenia could be convinced to deepen
its involvement in Afghanistan. We should focus on
Afghanistan rather than fight a battle we will not win over
keeping two Slovene instructors in Iraq. The newly-elected
government feels it must keep its promise to the electorate
about withdrawing its instructors. Regarding Croatia,
Slovenia is clearly worried that it could find itself
isolated in the position of blocking progress on Croatia's
negotiations with the EU. That said, Zbogar emphasized that
Slovenia would choose isolation within the EU over the
perception that it had sold out the national interest. A
face-saving solution based on the French Presidency's
proposal seems to us to be the best way forward; the details,
however, will have to be worked out among the parties.
GHAFARI