US embassy cable - 04LJUBLJANA976

C O N F I D E N T I A L  LJUBLJANA 000976 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR: EUR/NCE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/22/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, MARR, SI, OSCE 
SUBJECT: SLOVENIA IN THE BIG LEAGUES NOW: DAS CONLEY HELPS 
REDEFINE THE U.S.- SLOVENIA BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Thomas B. Robertson Reasons 1.5 (b), (d) 
 
1.  SUMMARY: (U) The visit of DAS Heather Conley to Ljubljana 
October 20-21 was well timed to take advantage of the 
momentum created by the arrival of a new U.S.ambassador.  Her 
meetings at the MFA, MOD and with a small group of 
influential private citizens have helped us to galvanize and 
re-focus key parts of the Government of Slovenia (GOS) on 
re-invigorating our bilateral dialogue and re-confirming the 
importance of the trans-Atlantic relationship. 
 
2.  (U)  From the MFA, DAS Conley and the Ambassador met with 
the Number 2 person on policy, State Secretary Andrej Logar. 
Vojislav Suc, Director of the Americas Department, and Marija 
Adanja, Director of European Integration, hosted a small 
lunch, which was followed by meetings at the MFA with Zorica 
Cimpersek, Deputy Director of NATO office, Ida Mocivnik, 
Director of Neighboring Countries Department, and OSCE Task 
Force Director Aleksander Gerzina.  At the Ministry of 
Defense, DAS Conley met with State Secretary for Military 
Affairs Milan Jazbec and the Director of Defense Policy, Uros 
Krek (septel).  On Wednesday evening, Ambassador hosted a 
dinner in honor of DAS Conley's visit, which included a very 
interesting cross-section of private sector and NGO leaders, 
as well as the Mayor of Ljubljana. END SUMMARY. 
 
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EXPANDING BILATERAL CONTACT 
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3.  (C)  The meeting with State Secretary Logar provided an 
opportunity to touch on the most important current bilateral 
issues.  Scheduled to last only 30 minutes, the State 
Secretary allowed the meeting to run over by nearly 15 
 
SIPDIS 
minutes, which is a strong indication of the very positive 
discourse between Logar and Conley. The theme of this meeting 
was improving and expanding our bilateral relationship. The 
last 18 months have been heavily focused on NATO and EU 
accession.  Now that Slovenia is at the table on both counts, 
they agreed that it was time to refresh our bilateral agenda. 
Conley proposed that both governments should now try to make 
more space and time to build our bilateral relationship, and 
with Slovenia holding the OSCE CiO, the opportunity for 
contacts and dialogue will be greatly expanded.  In addition, 
the meeting covered a number of issues which were also woven 
through many of the other meetings on DAS Conley's schedule: 
the fact that Slovenia should be extremely proud of its 
contribution in Afghanistan (especially at this historical 
moment of democratic elections); the superior effort the GOS 
has made to get ahead of the curve on the OSCE chairmanship; 
and the importance of getting the radiation detection 
monitors (portals) installed in the Port of Koper as key to 
our joint efforts in the War on Terror. 
 
4.  (C)  Logar was very receptive to the positive message 
conveyed by DAS Conley.  He practically beamed when 
complimented on Slovenia's ISAF contributions, saying the GOS 
really felt it was a privilege to be in Afghanistan at this 
turning point in history.  He agreed that we needed to 
re-invigorate and broaden our bilateral relationship and that 
the new Slovene Foreign Minister would want to visit 
Washington as soon as feasible after assuming the OSCE CiO. 
He suggested, too, that the new Slovene PM would want to 
travel to Washington early in the second quarter of 2005.  On 
the Portals, Logar apologized for delays, saying that there 
should be no further obstacles.  He further explained that 
the "EU is quite an animal" and that Slovenia is still 
learning how to live with EU institutions.  Logar expressed 
some concern that the EU was becoming a federal institution 
dominated by a couple large countries.  Slovenes are very 
sensitive to the idea that, after less than 14 years of 
independence, they not lose their identity in another 
federation.  He mentioned that small and medium-sized members 
would join forces to present alternative ideas and to act as 
a counterweight to the more powerful members' agendas.  Logar 
was also very positive on expanding the EU by bringing in 
"Croatia as soon as possible, and Turkey" without any caveat. 
 
 
5.  (C)  Logar raised Slovenia's contributions to Iraq by 
announcing that the GOS was about to (and has, see Ljubljana 
967) approve a EUR 50,000 donation to the UN Protection Force 
in Iraq.  (NOTE: After the meeting, DCM received a call from 
Americas Director Suc explaining that the GOS would not 
publicize the UN Protection Force donation.) In a short 
discussion on how to best handle the Slovene press, Logar 
suggested taking a very positive approach, as Conley had done 
with him.  As he said "we've made a good many reforms, but 
 
 
not in the media" (much of which is consistently 
anti-American and rabidly opposes U.S. policy on Iraq). 
Logar went on to explain a little of the Slovene personality. 
"We are complicated and strange, but deep inside we have a 
high appreciation for the U.S." 
 
6.  (U)  In addition to the meeting with Logar, DAS Conley 
focused Director of the Americas Department Suc on a few 
other pressing bilateral issues.  She raised the problems our 
investors have breaking into the market, expanding their 
business and getting fair treatment by the courts.  In 
bringing up the issues of the Portals, Suc identified himself 
as the self-appointed engine behind getting this deal done. 
He has taken on this mission and assures us he is on the 
phone every day goading and cajoling various players to move 
the process forward. 
 
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OSCE 
---- 
 
7.  (U)  The entire MFA clearly sees the OSCE CiO as, by far, 
its most consuming task in the next year.  Every one of DAS 
Conley's meetings highlighted Slovenia's great upcoming 
responsibilities in the OSCE.  OSCE Task Force Director 
Gerzina laid out Slovenia's plan which he termed "realistic" 
rather than "ambitious."  In the Human Dimension, Slovenia 
will focus on migration and integration, and trafficking in 
human beings.  On political/security issues, Slovenia wants 
to do something on port and container security.  We have 
enlisted Gerzina in our push to see the Portals installed in 
Koper, as this would truly make Koper a state-of-the-art 
example within the OSCE.  He emphasized that given all the 
pressing issues on frozen conflicts "trying to melt," Russia, 
budgets and the selection of a Secretary General, Slovenia 
would "not forget the Balkans."  Gerzina said the GOS 
supports the US position on a special representative on 
anti-Semitism.  He also gave the dates for the Ljubljana 
Ministerial as December 8-9, 2005.  Overall, Gerzina, while 
fully comprehending the enormous task ahead, said that he was 
optimistic about Slovenia's year in leadership of the OSCE. 
 
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NATO 
---- 
 
8.  (SBU)  In her meetings with Zorica Cimpersek on NATO and 
defense issues at the MFA, DAS Conley focused on Slovenia's 
contributions to ISAF and in the region.  Cimpersek said that 
Slovenia was glad to be in Iraq and that it would even be 
increasing its presence to 40 by March 2005.  However, the 
GOS has not projected its contributions beyond mid 2005.  In 
meetings at the MOD, Conley, joined by COM in his first visit 
to the MOD, focused on "expanding the bilateral 
relationship," commending Slovenia for its contributions in 
Afghanistan and acknowledging its strong interest in playing 
a peacekeeping role in its own neighborhood of Southeastern 
Europe.  She urged the Slovenes to focus on "complementarity" 
- not competition - as they pursue defense reforms with an 
eye to contributing to both NATO and EU-led operations.  She 
engaged Jazbec and, on a more detailed level, Krek, in a 
discussion of the challenges that face the MOD and the 
Slovene Armed Forces moving forward.  Conley elicited the 
MOD's assessment that the "strong" Slovenian commitment to 
spend two percent of GDP on defense by 2008 is "firm" and 
will be supported even more strongly by the incoming 
center-right government.  The current DATT characterized the 
briefing as one of the best bilateral exchanges on defense 
issues in the last year. (septel to follow) 
 
-- 
EU 
-- 
 
9.  (SBU) It is clear that Slovenia is going through a 
somewhat tougher-than-expected period of adjustment to its EU 
membership.  It has to manage the psychic shift from grateful 
recipient of EU largesse to full member who will, within a 
few short years, likely become a net contributor.  Because 
Slovenia just went through a referendum on joining the EU, 
the Head of EU Integration, Marija Adanja, doesn't believe 
there will be a need for a referendum on either joining the 
Euro or ratifying the new constitution.  In the discussion on 
trade and investment, Adanja explained that some Slovenes 
equated foreign investment with instability, jobs would be 
lost, assets removed from the country.  DAS Conley pointed 
out that the EU had written its own report to the contrary, 
so if the GOS had trouble making the foreign direct 
 
 
investment case to the public using American examples, it 
certainly has authoritative European sources from which to 
draw. 
 
 
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CROATIA AND THE REGION 
---------------------- 
 
10.  (U)  In none of the meetings was Croatia's EU membership 
ever mentioned as being at risk.  From the head of EU 
integration, to the Director for Neighboring Countries to 
State Secretary Logar, Slovenia's policy to ensure Croatia's 
swift entry into the EU was reiterated.  Slovenia's year as 
CiO of the OSCE will also help bring more focus on Slovenia's 
broader Balkan agenda with SFOR/EUFOR, KFOR and 
Serbia-and-Montenegro.  The GOS also views US presence in the 
region as imperative and was very interested in any plans we 
might have for reduction of forces. 
 
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VIEWS FROM OUTSIDE THE GOS 
-------------------------- 
 
11.  (C)  The Ambassador hosted a small dinner which included 
academics, heads of NGOs, the Mayor of Ljubljana and former 
politicians.  The dinner was a very successful forum for 
drawing out usually reserved Slovenes on some particularly 
sensitive issues.  The press and its treatment of current 
issues and its ability to print outright lies without 
negative repercussions dominated the conversation.  The 
attitude at all levels of ownership and responsibility of the 
press was summed up by one guest as "everyone is responsible 
for everything, and noone is responsible for anything."  The 
lack of willingness to take responsibility, a lack of 
openness and an aversion to risk were also identified by the 
dinner guests as general attributes of Slovenes.  The group 
also reached a strong consensus that Slovenes really are not 
as anti-American as the press would make you think. 
 
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VISITS 
------ 
 
12.  (U) In all meetings, the Ambassador and DAS Conley 
proposed developing a more active and dynamic exchange 
between and within the capitals.  In addition to visits by 
the future FM and PM toWashington, Gerzina again indicated 
the desire tomeet in Washington.  He is also very interested 
n meetings on the Hill with the Helsinki Commissio.  DAS 
Conley suggested that the next time DAS Kthy Stevens is in 
the region, she might stop in Ljubljana for consultations on 
Western Balkan issues, which was greeted very positively. 
 
 
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COMMENT 
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13.  (U)  This visit by DAS Conley was timely and effective. 
It served as a pivot point in our relationship with Slovenia. 
 Together, Conley and our interlocutors set a tone of 
cooperation and common cause. The priority of expanding our 
bilateral agenda was agreed upon with the GOS, and a 
commitment to increased dialogue at all levels identified as 
the best mechanism to do this. As Slovenia approaches its 
term as CiO at the OSCE, it is figuring out the real 
magnitude of its commitment, and it is also appreciating the 
level of support the U.S. can offer.  2005 will be an 
important year for building and strengthening our 
relationship with Slovenia.  If we can give it the attention 
it needs now, we can count on many positive returns in the 
future. 
ROBERTSON 
 
 
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