VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSL #0031/01 0180631
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 180631Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY BRATISLAVA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0606
INFO RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RUEHBW/AMEMBASSY BELGRADE 0056
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0004
RUEHPS/USOFFICE PRISTINA 0026
RUEHUB/USINT HAVANA 0016 C O N F I D E N T I A L BRATISLAVA 000031 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/16/2012 
TAGS:            
SUBJECT: FM KUBIS ON AFGHANISTAN, KOSOVO, CUBA, VENEZUELA 
-- AND FICO 
 
REF: A. STATE 4834 
 
      B. STATE 5652 
 
Classified By: DCM Lawrence R. Silverman for reasons 1.4 b and d. 
 
 
Afghanistan 
------------ 
 1. (C) Ambassador delivered message in ref A to Foreign 
Minister Jan Kubis on January 17.  Kubis told the Ambassador 
that Prime Minister Robert Fico still planned to travel to 
Kandahar, Afghanistan on January 25.  Kubis would then travel 
to the January 26 Informal NATO Ministerial.  Although Kubis 
would not say so definitively, all indications are that Fico 
will use the opportunity to announce that Slovakia will 
comply with NATO's request to relocate its troops to 
Kandahar, and also to participate in the Hungarian (later 
Czech) PRT.  HZDS Vice-Chair Milan Urbani told the Ambassador 
that the coalition council (three governing parties) had 
already agreed to the move.  Fico had previously invited the 
Ambassador to accompany him to Afghanistan.  Kubis informed 
the Ambassador that the GOS had decided it would be more 
prudent to take the U.S. Defense Attache instead.  (Comment: 
So that Fico would be seen taking the decision himself, not 
under pressure from a foreigner.) 
 
Kosovo 
------ 
 2. (C) Ambassador also reiterated ref B points on Kosovo. 
Kubis promised that PolDir Miroslav Lajcak would give us a 
detailed briefing (DCM will meet him on January 18) on his 
recent meetings with Tadic and Kostunica.  He said his main 
message to the Serbs was that Belgrade should not count on EU 
disunity; the EU countries "know how to compromise" (i.e. to 
reach internal consensus).  Since PM Fico and President 
Gasparovic have been less supportive of Ahtisaari and the 
prospect of independence, Ambassador asked Kubis if they were 
also on board.  Kubis paused before saying, "in the end, they 
will support it," although we might hear some nationalist 
comments from the two that do not accord with our view. 
 
Venezuela 
--------- 
 3. (C) Kubis said he had convinced Fico not to go to 
Venezuela, as had been rumored in the press, bluntly asking 
if Fico wanted to see photos of himself next to Hugo Chavez 
and Iranian President Ahmadi-Nejad plastered all over the 
international media. 
 
Cuba 
---- 
 4. (C) Staff from the Prime Minister's office have told us 
that Fico has made it standard practice to attend as many 
embassy national day receptions as possible.  Nonetheless, 
his appearance at the Cuban embassy on January 12 created an 
uproar, and was a departure from past MFA policy of 
representation at the office director level.  Kubis told the 
Ambassador he had tried to disuade Fico from attending, but 
was not successful, and said Fico had been genuinely 
surprised at the critical reaction of the media.  (Comment: 
If he was surprised, it was only because of bad staff work--a 
real problem here.  On the other hand, Fico's popularity 
rating among Slovak citizens is higher than ever, and higher 
than the previous government ever enjoyed.) 
 
Comment: No Change in Foreign Policy? 
------------------------------------- 
 5. (C) Kubis tried to assure the Ambassador that Slovakia's 
policy to Cuba had not changed.  The Slovak Ambassador in 
Havana has clear instructions to continue engaging with 
dissidents, and Slovak Ambassador to Washington Rastislav 
Kacer will make a statement in support of human rights on 
Radio Marti along with the Czech Ambassador.  At a dinner 
hosted by the Ambassador January 16, Deputy Prime Minister 
Dusan Caplovic said that acts such as Fico's impending trip 
to Libya (now postponed until February) were counterweighted 
by acts such as his own attendence at conferences on the 
Holocaust and other human rights events.  Caplovic explained 
that in this way Slovakia could maintain a "balanced" foreign 
policy, staying within the limits of EU norms.  Fico's Chief 
of Protocol recently told the DCM that the PM was still 
"developing" and that it took time for leaders to move from 
the domestic realm to considering their international 
commitments.  Unfortunately, Fico's foreign policy moves 
still appear more "schizophrenic" than "balanced."  All that 
said, we intend to use the PM's attendance at the Cuban event 
to influence the GOS to take further steps to demonstrate its 
pro-democracy bona fides on the issue. 
 
VALLEE