SLOVAKIA'S NEW FOREIGN MINISTER ON THE WESTERN

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRATISLAVA 000076

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/CE, EUR/SCE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV LO BH
SUBJECT: SLOVAKIA'S NEW FOREIGN MINISTER ON THE WESTERN
BALKANS

REF: STATE 11928

Classified By: Charge Eddins for reasons 1.4 b and d


1. (C) Slovakia's new Foreign Minister, High Representative
and EU Special Representative to Bosnia Miroslav Lajcak,
wants to maintain a strong focus on the Western Balkans in
his new role. In a February 11 initial meeting with Charge,
Lajcak also mentioned that he had intended to visit
Washington after the March PIC steering board meeting (in his
High Rep capacity) and made clear he is still interested in
pursuing a visit to discuss bilateral issues, but also to
discuss the Western Balkans. On Bosnia, Lajcak's message was
simple: the international community should either strengthen
and support OHR or close it. With respect to Kosovo, Lajcak
made clear that there was no political will in Slovakia for a
near-term change in policy. That said, his personal view was
that Slovakia's non-recognition of Kosovo had weakened its
(Slovakia's) position in the EU and NATO. In both cases,
consultations with Russia were essential. We will report
septel on other topics, e.g. Ukraine, energy security and
transatlantic relations. End Summary.

Bosnia: OHR a "Dead Horse" Without Support
--------------


2. (C) In response to Charge's question about the search for
Lajcak's successor in Sarajevo, FM Lajak mentioned -- without
offering names -- that there were five candidates, including
a very strong one from the UK. But, he cautioned, the
international community (the West) should take care to bring
Russia into the consultative process early. Lajcak recalled
the skirmishes and delays surrounding his own appointment in
2007 because this hadn't happened. His successor will need a
clear mandate, he added, and without Russian buy-in, Lajcak
fears that won't be possible.


3. (C) Lajcak complained about a "lack of vision" in the
international community's approach to Bosnia. On the one
hand, there is reluctance to close OHR, but on the other hand
it isn't working. Lajcak recalled his use of the Bonn powers
in 2007. He said that after the Bosnian Serbs complained and
Belgrade and Moscow kicked up a fuss, "I looked behind me and
only the U.S. and the UK were there. I had become part of
the problem." Lajcak believes the status quo in Bosnia is
damaging both the country and the international community.
While many believe Bosnia is not ready for OHR's closure, OHR
is a "dead horse" unless it has strong support from the
international community.

Kosovo: Don't Expect Any Changes
--------------


4. (C) Lajcak opened by saying that he hoped the U.S.
understood that there is no support within Slovakia for
Kosovo recognition. The fact that the only Slovak political
party that favors recognition is the ethnic Hungarian party
only complicates matters. Lajcak admitted, however, that he
was personally not happy with GOS policy because he believes
that it has weakened Slovakia's position in the EU and NATO.
(Note: During a February 10 press conference, Lajcak
reiterated current Slovak policy toward Kosovo, but did not
exclude the possibility that it could be revisited during his
tenure.)


5. (C) Lajcak then repeated his mantra about consultations
with Russia, recalling his warnings to Marti Ahtisaari and
others about the strength -- and potential consequences -- of
Russia opposition to the Kosovar independence. Lajcak said
it was foolish to ignore a "no" at the beginning of a
process, only to be tripped up by it at the end. Comment:
Lajcak clearly sees his experience in the Balkans as a asset
that could set him apart (above) in the eyes of his
international colleagues (despite Slovakia's size and
importance). While he appears to be realistic about his
chances for an early meeting with Secretary Clinton, he made
clear that he hopes to leverage his value-added Balkan
expertise to move himself up in the queue. End comment.
EDDINS