US embassy cable - 05LJUBLJANA800

C O N F I D E N T I A L LJUBLJANA 000800 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/22/2015 
TAGS: PREL, ETRD, SI 
SUBJECT: SLOVENIA IN ADVANCE OF NOVEMBER GAERC 
 
REF: STATE 208899 
 
Classified By: COM Thomas B. Robertson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1.  (U)  PolEcon Chief met with GOS European Correspondent 
Peter Grk to discuss reftel points November 18. 
 
2.  (U)  Defense Issues:  Grk appreciated USG views on the 
relationship between the European Defense Agency and NATO. 
As a small country, it is particularly interested in ensuring 
no duplication of effort and good cooperation. 
 
3.  (C)  Iraq:  Grk thought Iraq, Iran and the MEPP would be 
the subjects of the lunch meeting.  He said the EU was 
interested in improving its role in Iraq but was not sure if 
the Foreign Ministers would get into the specifics of 
offering election monitors. 
 
4.  (C) Iran:  On Iran, Grk expressed GOS concern about 
recent decisions by the Iranian government on enrichment and 
thought there might also be some focus on a human rights 
related declaration on the margins of the GAERC.  (Note. 
Slovenia has a mission in Teheran). 
 
5.  (C)  MEPP:  Based on Head of Missions reports out of Tel 
Aviv (where Slovenia has a mission) that he expected would be 
circulated at the GAERC, Grk thought there would be a lively 
discussion on next steps.  He said Slovenia was considering 
contributing police experts to an EU initiative. 
 
6.  (C)  Ukraine, Belarus:  Ukraine has been mentioned as a 
potential mediator and/or "point of entry" for the EU with 
Belarus.  However, the GOS agrees that Ukraine should not be 
a solo actor and needs to coordinate its moves with the EU 
and US.  Grk added that uncoordinated contacts only help 
Lukashenko.  Involving Russia constructively on this issue is 
paramount. 
 
7.  (C) Bosnia:  While Grk agreed that a "European 
perspective" was a great motivator for the western Balkans, 
and that Slovenia was one of the champions of this approach, 
we must be careful about any changes to Dayton so as not to 
"upset the equilibrium."  He thought the recent experience of 
police reform was a good and practical example of how 
progress can be made.  On the new OHR representative, Grk 
said Slovenia had not decided which candidate to support.  He 
added that while it is clear the EU will be taking on a large 
role, it was important to work to the goal of local ownership 
of institutions that would result in a self sustainable state. 
 
8.  (C)  Kosovo:  Grk thought Kosovo was not on the agenda 
for this meeting, but that Ahtisaari seemed to be the right 
man for the job.  He expected negotiations would be difficult 
and said that "final status has to be earned."  Grk hoped 
this could be done by the end of 2006. 
 
9.  (C)  WTO:  Grk said that at the last GAERC everyone had 
restated their positions on Hong Kong and no progress was 
made.  He did not have much hope for this GAERC moving things 
forward.  He said that while Slovenia's interest in the CAP 
was limited, it would not break ranks within the EU.  He 
added that the GOS agreed with France on the need for more 
transparency from the Commission trade negotiator. 
 
ROBERTSON 
 
 
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