CROATIAN RESPONSE ON SPECIFIC CONTRIBUTIONS TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L ZAGREB 000197 SIPDIS FOR SCA/A TOM REOTT, EUR/RPM AARON COPE, AND EUR/SCE E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/08/2019 TAGS: NATO PREL MOPS MARR AF HR SUBJECT: CROATIAN RESPONSE ON SPECIFIC CONTRIBUTIONS TO AFGHANISTAN REF: STATE 31102 Classified By: PolOfficer Peter D'Amico, for reasons 1.4(b) & (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. On April 7 in a discussion with MFA State Secretary Bozinovic, the Ambassador urged the Croatian government to consider a number of possible additional contributions to Afghanistan. Bozinovic responded that Croatia would expand its forces in Afghanistan to the 300 troop limit set by the Croatian parliament, and would seek to be as responsive as possible to the U.S. requests. The Head of the Department for International Security at the MFA told poloff that Croatia would deploy an additional OMLT in April, described some of civilian assistance that Croatia was providing, and noted that the GoC would further analyze possible additional contributions to help build the capacity of Afghan institutions. MOD State Secretary Simonovic in a meeting with the DATT, said that his ministry had an upcoming internal conference to discuss the restructuring of Croatia's ISAF cotingent to look into possibly sending more OMLTs and trainers within the 300 troop cap. The MOD also wanted to examine how the Croatian MPs in Afghanistan could build capacity with the Afghan police. Both the MFA and the MOD said that Croatia would look at the equipment needs of the Afghans to try to find possible Croatian donation. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Referring to the President's presentation to the NAC, the Ambassador on April 7 discussed with MFA State Secretary Bozinovic the need for increased contributions for Afghanistan. The Ambassador urged the Croatian government to consider a number of possible additional contributions to Afghanistan, including deploying an additional OMLT, using military police (MP) to mentor Afghan police or paramilitary units, providing military equipment for the Afghan army as well as the possibility sending civilian experts. Bozinovic responded that Croatia would expand its forces in Afghanistan from the current 280 to the 300 troop ceiling approved by the Sabor, and would seek to be as responsive as possible to the U.S. requests. ¶3. (C) In a follow-up meeting on April 8 Andrej Dogan, Head of the Department for International Security at the MFA, told poloff in response to points in reftel that Croatia would deploy a joint Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team (OMLT) with the Minnesota National Guard in April. He also noted that Croatia was approaching its 300 troop limit for 2009. In response to the request for police training, Dogan said that the GoC was prepared to consider having the Croatian MPs that are already stationed in Afghanistan take on more of a mentoring role. Additionally, Croatia was planning on continuing its participation in EUPOL. Regarding potential equipment donations, Dogan said that MFA would discuss the issue with other ministries and consult further with the USG to ensure that any possible Croatian donation would meet a need in Afghanistan. ¶4. (C) In response to the request to help build Afghan institutions, Dogan said that the Croatian Army Medical section was working with their colleagues in the Afghan Military to provide long-term medical training for two candidates proposed by the chief of the Afghan Army Medical Staff. The Croatian Customs Service was interested in possibly providing training for Afghan customs officials in Croatia or potentially sending officials to Afghanistan. Dogan also noted that the GoC was also sponsoring a project in Afghanistan to help destitute women earn a living by raising honey bees. Additionally, the MFA would consider having its diplomats participate to support the upcoming Afghan elections, particularly if the OSCE formally requested countries to contribute personnel for the ODIHR election support team. Speaking more broadly on civilian assistance Dogan said the GoC would make further analysis on the issue and would consider the points contained in the non-paper. ¶5. (SBU) In a meeting with the DATT on April 9, MOD State Secretary Simonovic said that his ministry had an upcoming internal conference to discuss the restructuring of Croatia's ISAF cotingent. Simonovic stated that the MOD was looking at possibly sending more OMLTs and trainers within the 300 troop cap, and was also studying how the Croatian MPs stationed in Afghanistan could build capacity with the Afghan police. Overall, Croatia wanted to deploy soldiers who could help E build the capacity of the Afghans. On the equipment needs list for Afghanistan, Simonovic pledged to have his staff study the requirements and said that Croatia would try to fill some of the needs. BRADTKE