HUNGARIAN VIEWS ON JANUARY 26-27 FOREIGN MINISTERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUDAPEST 000061 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/CE JAMIE LAMORE E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV EUN HU SUBJECT: HUNGARIAN VIEWS ON JANUARY 26-27 FOREIGN MINISTERS MEETING (GAERC) REF: SECSTATE 4297 Classified By: P/E Counselor Eric Gaudiosi, reason 1.4 (b and d) ¶1. (C) MFA EU External Relations Section Chief Andras Dekany discussed the reftel GAERC agenda with PolOff on January 23. Dekany stated that the agenda will focus on three items: the Gaza crisis, Guantanamo, and Russia. He provided the following summary of the MFA's position papers on the subjects. ¶2. (C) Noting that the Middle East conflict will take precedence at the GAERC meeting, Dekany stated that Hungary supports an EU presence in the form of a Gaza observation group with the proviso that preconditions exist for humanitarian access and a sustainable cease-fire, personally commenting, however, that he is not too optimistic that this will occur. He noted that Hungary also fully supports an EU-U.S. cooperative effort to create a mechanism to curb weapons smuggling into Gaza. ¶3. (C) On Guantanamo, Dekany stated that Hungary welcomes the President's decision to close the detention facility, commenting that "it further cements the trans-Atlantic relationship, strengthens not only the fight against terrorism, but also the respect for human rights and the rule-of-law." Noting that the U.S. Government still has many interesting legal questions yet to be answered, Dekany said the mood in the EU is to have a common response, but the discussion on Monday "will only set the tone." He doubts there will be a policy decision, as even within a number of EU governments - specifically citing Germany - there are different views on the issue. That said, Dekany, emphasizing that the Foreign Minister will most likely not raise the following bi-lateral offering at the GAERC, commented that Hungary is ready to examine the possibility of receiving Guantanamo detainees while retaining the right to perform a risk assessment; Hungary hopes that the further fate of the detainees is decided on the basis of democratic, rule-of-law principles; the sequencing element is very important - in the first category would be those detainees who can be sent to their country of nationality; and, if unable to resettle in the U.S., the Hungarian preference would be to settle them in a country in which they could better integrate culturally. (Comment. Dekany's comments are consistent with information passed to the Department by Hungary's Washington Ambassador January 22. End comment.) ¶4. (C) Concerning Russia, Dekany said Hungary believes it is important for the EU to strongly support the "eastern initiative" to further integrate EU's eastern neighbors. Continuing, he said that the EU needs to show unity with respect to negotiations with Russia and highlighted the recent Russia-Ukraine gas crisis as further proof of a common EU energy policy. Dekany said that the Foreign Minister will put forward a proposal to entrust the European Commission to prepare potential sanctions if or when similar situations arise in the future, noting that the EU should be ready for an appropriate response. Foley