HUNGARY'S COMMENTS ON OCTOBER GAERC

UNCLAS BUDAPEST 000777 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/CE JANMIE MOORE AND EUR/ERA LIZ KONICK E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL EU HU SUBJECT: HUNGARY'S COMMENTS ON OCTOBER GAERC REF: KONICK OCTOBER 17 EMAIL ¶1. (SBU) MFA EU External Relations and Crisis Situations Section Chief Andras Dekany discussed ref email topics with PolOff on October 22 and provided the following comments concerning the agenda items: ¶2. (SBU) AFPAK: We welcome the Council's conclusion that will be adopted, but the emphasis should be on effort and not the words. Dekany noted that the EU is still waiting for the U.S. strategy outline, and it will be difficult for the EU to have a strategy until then. He noted that the GOH sees the security situation as worsening, and although a military-only solution is not the total recipe for success, without security, development efforts will not be effective. Dekany commented that "we look for a legitimate Afghan government after the second round of elections" and Hungary fully supports the "regional approach" to include the EU-Pakistan dialogue since Pakistan is part of the solution. ¶3. (SBU) Middle East: Dekany commented that the EU is in a "listening and waiting mode." We urge the EU, as a party to the Quartet to examine how to resurrect the peace process. He expressed concern that the current Israeli government is taking some actions that head in the opposite direction from those outlined in the road map. Dekany said Hungary will look to examine the EU's missions in the West Bank (currently idle) and the border crossing security offer to determine what can be done to possibly restart both. Dekany said Hungary's policy on settlements is in line with EU public statements and the GOH will encourage Arab countries to become more active in the peace process. ¶4. (SBU) Western Balkans: In Bosnia, Dekany said we need to move cautiously, supporting the transformation towards capacity-building and training. Prudent planning is required for an extended process of reconfiguration on the ground. He commented that there is an agreement within the Visegrad Four that any transformation from the OHR to the EUSR must take due consideration of the political process. To achieve these goals, Hungary remains committed to remain as long as necessary in the EU mission and is ready to contribute to future missions in capacity-building and development. Dekany said that Hungary also announced these intentions at the October 20 Force Generation Conference. ¶5. (SBU) Moldova: This subject will be discussed at the Ministerial dinner. Hungary will urge the Commission to provide fiscal support to avoid a financial debacle in the country. The GOH also supports an early start to negotiations on the association agreement as well as a visa dialogue. Dekany said that the GOH believes that the Eastern initiative gives a further boost to strengthen the relationship with Moldova. LEVINE