SLOVAK PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL CRISIS OPERATIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRATISLAVA 000291

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 1/17/2012
TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS AF LO
SUBJECT: SLOVAK PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL CRISIS OPERATIONS

CLASSIFIED BY: Keith A. Eddins, Charge d Affaires, EXEC, DOS.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)

1. (U) Summary. On June 19, Slovakia's parliament, by a vote of
134-0, approved a measure enabling Slovak Armed Forces to deploy
16 additional troops in support of NATO's International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. Deputies from all
parliamentary parties supported the measure. The total mandate
for Slovak soldiers in Afghanistan thus increased from 246 to

262. Sixteen additional troops will depart this summer,
including 11 who will reinforce the Slovak guard unit at the
Kandahar air base, and a five-person medical unit that will
serve in Uruzgan province through the August presidential
elections. Slovakia currently has a total of 609 soldiers
deployed worldwide, including 371 in NATO missions, 40 in EU
missions, and 198 with the UN. In addition 21 Slovak civilians
(19 police officers, one military expert and one Customs
officer) serve in four different EU missions in the Balkans,
Goergia and Ukraine/Moldova. End summary.




2. (SBU) During a joint MFA-MoD briefing for the diplomatic
corps on June 18, MFA Political Director Igor Slobodnik
reiterated that Slovakia's priority mission is ISAF. 231 Slovak
soldiers currently serve in ISAF, meaning 15 unfilled positions
will remain in the Slovak mandate after the 16 additional
soldiers deploy this summer. The new mandate approved by
Parliament on June 19 enables those 15 positions to be filled
without geographic caveats by soldiers working in an Operational
Mentoring and Liason Team (OMLT). Slovakia has previously
expressed interest in leading a garrsion OMLT in Uruzgan or
Kandahar, possibly in conjunction with its State partner, the
Indiana National Guard. (Comment. The Adjutant General of the
Indiana National Guard, Major General Umbarger, told Emboffs on
June 21 that he needs at least 12 months notice in order to
support an OMLT mission with the Slovaks. Umbarger gave that
timeline to Slovak interlocutors during a visit to Slovakia the
week of June 14. End comment.)




3. (C) In response to a question from the UK Ambassador,
Slobodnik said that money for military operations is fenced, and
will not be affected by Slovakia's current budget shortfalls. He
allowed, however, that funds are limited and money spent on
foreign operations diminishes money available for transformation
and modernization.




4. (C) Colonel Peter Slovak, the Director of the Security and
Defense Policy division at MoD, said that Slovakia's current
deployments are near the limits of what can be sustained in the
current budget situation. He said Slovakia is planning to reduce
its forces in Kosovo in consultation with NATO partners, but
that it is premature to speculate on whether that would enable
more Slovak deployments to Afghanistan.




5. (U) According to an evaluation of the Slovak army's
international operations approved by the government on June 17,
Slovakia spent 30.17 million euro on overseas military
operations in 2008. Slovak soldiers participated in seven
missions in five countries in 2008. Of those deployed in 2008,
57 percent came under NATO, 36 percent under the UN, and 7
percent under the EU. The report highlighted that the troops
focused on reconstruction and stabilization of conflict areas
including, for example, de-mining, explosive ordinance disposal,
construction work, the defense and protection of buildings and
people, observation, monitoring and patrols. No Slovak soldiers
engaged in direct combat operations in 2008.

EDDINS