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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 BRATISLAVA 000417 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/20/2014 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MOPS YI KO RU UNSC PHUM LO
SUBJECT: PM FICO AND PRESIDENT GASPAROVIC ON AFGHANISTAN, 
KOSOVO, MD, AND MORE 
 
REF: REFTEL BRATISLAVA 00416 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Rodolphe M. Vallee for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d 
) 
 
¶1. (C)Summary. Paragraphs 4-12 contain notes from the 
Ambassador,s July 19 Meeting with PM Robert Fico. Paragraphs 
13-19 contain notes from the Ambassador's July 18 meeting 
with President Gasparovic. 
 
SUMMARY OF THE MEETING WITH PM FICO 
----------------------------------- 
¶2. (C) The Ambassador met PM Robert Fico for their regular 
bimonthly breakfast on July 19. The PM told the Ambassador 
that he: 
- would support a motion in Parliament to expand and change 
the mission of Slovak military forces in Afghanistan; 
- thinks the EU will be able to reach a common position on 
Kosovo that will allow for recognition in the event a UNSCR 
cannot be reached; 
- will nominate FM Jan Kubis to be a European Commissioner in 
2009; 
- would have the full support of his government if he wanted 
his personal opposition to Missile Defense to become official 
policy; 
- Was not aware of the recent announcement that Yukos Finance 
would be auctioned off, but did not think such a move would 
undermine the GOS' ability to influence a future sale of the 
49 percent Transpetrol stake. 
- is able to protect Slovak Information Service from HzDS 
Chairman Vladimir Meciar's intrigues. 
 
SUMMARY OF THE MEETING WITH PRESIDENT GASPAROVIC 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
¶3. (C) The Ambassador had breakfast with President Ivan 
Gasparovic on July 18. The President told the Ambassador that 
he: 
- supports a more robust Slovak commitment to Afghanistan; 
- believes bilateral recognition of Kosovo is impossible for 
Slovakia; 
- hopes to receive a positive response before September to 
his request for a White House visit in November/December; 
-continues to support President Bush's vision for a free Iraq 
and warned that a quick pullout would be disastrous.  End 
Summaries. 
 
------- 
PM FICO 
------- 
 
AFGHANISTAN 
----------- 
¶4. (C) The PM energetically endorsed DefMin Frantisek 
Kasicky's recent statement that Slovakia will focus on 
overseas missions in Afghanistan, Cyprus and the Balkans. 
Fico said Kasicky and his staff are preparing options and 
that he, Kasicky, Slovak PermRep to NATO Igor Slobodnik and 
FM Jan Kubis would meet to discuss options and agree on a 
plan when the government returns late summer. Fico said any 
plan that would change the mission or the number of soldiers 
would require parliamentary approval, but he said he would 
gladly submit a proposal to parliament and believes it would 
be approved. Fico commented "We have no problem with 
Afghanistan." 
 
KOSOVO 
------ 
¶5. (C) In the prior day's meeting Fico discussed Kosovo with 
Italian PM Romano Prodi and found they share exactly the same 
position - that there can be no bilateral recognition of 
Kosovo without either a UNSCR or a common EU position. Fico 
seemed confident, however, that the EU would be able to reach 
a common position despite the reservations of Spain, Cyprus, 
Romania and others. When pressed by the Ambassador on his 
optimism, Fico said "it was a great tragedy for the EU to be 
split on Iraq. But Iraq is thousands of kilometers away. 
Kosovo is within Europe, and its problems must be resolved by 
Europeans. I believe we can come up with a common EU position 
and despite the parliamentary debate here, we will join that 
position. We owe our success here to the EU, and we must all 
be part of the EU solution." (Note: Fico did not specify what 
such a common position might be. End note.) 
 
FM KUBIS 
 
BRATISLAVA 00000417  002 OF 004 
 
 
------------ 
¶6. (C) Fico shrugged off persistent rumors (REFTEL) that 
Kubis is looking for new work or at risk of being replaced 
because of disagreements within the government. Fico said he 
is satisfied with the job Kubis is doing, but also recognized 
that Kubis is "an intelligent kind of guy (who) thrives best 
in a multilateral atmosphere." Saying the Ambassador was the 
first person to hear his plan, Fico confided that he intends 
to make Kubis a European commissioner in 2009, when the 
Barroso Commission is due to leave office. Fico said he 
publicly supported Kubis in front of all the Slovak 
Ambassadors at a recent conference and expressed confidence 
that Kubis would stay in his position at MFA through 2009. 
 
MISSILE DEFENSE 
------------------------ 
¶7. (C) The Ambassador lamented that, in reply to a question 
from an Italian journalist on July 17, Fico had again 
expressed his "personal" opposition to U.S. MD plans. Fico 
said that his personal opinion is actually that of his 
government as well and said that if he ever brought the issue 
to the government to create an official position the vote 
would be 16 to 0 in opposition to MD bases in the Czech 
Republic and Poland. In response to the Ambassador,s offer 
of a classified briefing on the Iranian missile threat, Fico 
said that while it would be fine to show the government such 
information, it is even more important to change the views of 
the Slovak public which does not believe the threat is real 
because of the number of times the US has cried wolf on 
terrorism over the last six years. 
 
¶8. (C) Fico asked the Ambassador whether the Czechs would 
accept MD. Fico said Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD) 
leader Jiri Paroubek believes elections will be called in the 
near future and Fico believes MD is a political winner since 
"it separates the government from the opposition, and is 
opposed by the majority." He preferred not to know if 
Paroubek's private opinion was different from a politically 
expedient position, but was going to ask Paroubek during 
their meeting on July 20.  Fico said he believes in his heart 
that MD is wrong, that it should be a collective NATO or EU 
decision, and not bilateral. Rhetorically, Fico asked "why 
are we a member of NATO if we don,t discuss these things 
that are clearly related to the defense of Europe?" 
 
TRANSPETROL 
----------- 
¶9. (C) Ambassador noted the recent announcement that Yukos 
Finance would be auctioned off in August, and asked if Fico 
felt, as MinEcon Jahnatek does, that the Russians had reneged 
on the Putin/Fico  deal, from their meeting in May.  Fico 
said he was unaware of the auction and denied he had made any 
deal with Putin. Ambassador pointed out that buying Yukos 
Finance means that the purchasing party would get control of 
YF's claims to Transpetrol without obtaining GOS approval and 
that the Poles, Gazprom, or even Americans are potential 
buyers. PM said it was too risky and complicated for a Slovak 
bid and opined that the GOS had sufficient legal protections 
going forward. Ambassador asked if PM feels that Putin would 
demand that a Russian buyer meet the four Slovak conditions. 
Fico said he could not imagine such a scenario.  Ambassador 
noted the benefits of a Slovak-friendly buyer in resolving 
problems with Yukos International.  (See SEPTEL or REFTEL) 
 
SLOVAK INFORMATION SERVICE (SIS) 
------------------------------- 
¶10. (C) Fico said that HzDS Chairman Vladimir Meciar cannot 
understand why the PM does not use the SIS in the same way 
Meciar himself did.  Fico believes Meciar is concerned he 
will use the SIS to uncover all the 'business' that 
politicians from the co-ruling HZDS and Slovak National Party 
(SNS) are engaged in. Fico brushed off the concern saying 
that "first of all, I already know all their business from 
other sources. Second, I subscribe to the old Slovak proverb, 
'the gun I use on others can easily be turned on me.'" Fico 
called Magala a long time friend and said he runs SIS 
independent of political interference. Fico said he is aware 
that Meciar will continue to fight to get his own person into 
SIS and is planning an attempt to lower the SIS budget to 600 
million Slovak crowns in the fall. Fico stated, however, that 
he can outwit Meciar by giving him the budget cut and then 
returning the money to Magala through the MOD and the MOI. 
 
VISAS 
 
BRATISLAVA 00000417  003 OF 004 
 
 
----- 
¶11. (C) The Ambassador praised Fico for his realistic public 
statements on the Visa Waiver Program and briefed the PM on 
the recent appointment of congressional conferees for the 
9/11 bill. Although the Ambassador said there was hope for 
very cautious optimism, the PM agreed it would be best to 
avoid raising public expectations. 
 
ROMA 
---- 
¶12. (C) Fico said the last time he visited his cottage he, 
his son, and bodyguards played (and lost) a game of soccer 
with a group of 10 year-old Roma children. The Ambassador 
mentioned the Embassy's outreach to Roma children through 
sports diplomacy and asked why the PM does not have a more 
robust and visible program to assist the Roma. Fico said it 
is useless to try to change the behavior of Roma over the age 
of 30, and that all efforts, particularly housing and 
education, should be concentrated on the young. With 
reference to the program of the 18th century Austro-Hungarian 
King Joseph to separate Roma children from their parents, 
Fico posited that schools which keep the kids out of their 
villages have the best chance of success "except that other 
Europeans would crucify me if I expressed such an opinion 
publicly." Fico said that on his return from vacation in 
September, he would look for opportunities for the 
Ambassador, himself, and their two sons to play soccer with 
Roma children. 
 
-------------------- 
PRESIDENT GASPAROVIC 
-------------------- 
 
AFGHANISTAN 
----------- 
¶13. (C) Gasparovic reiterated his long-standing support for 
robust NATO engagement in Afghanistan. He said that MoD is 
currently reviewing options, and that he is strongly urging 
engagement, including more rapid responses to specific 
requests. The President apologized for not having helicopters 
available for donation in response to a recent request. In 
response to the idea of a Slovak AMT (see paragraph 4) the 
President said it is an interesting idea, but that he would 
defer to military experts. 
 
KOSOVO 
------ 
¶14. (C) Gasparovic maintains his hard line position on 
Kosovo, noting that bilateral recognition would be impossible 
for Slovakia. He suggested that Kosovo is a mess because of 
the failed politics of a previous US Secretary of State 
(Comment. Albright. End comment.) and bemoaned the lack of 
action by the coalition in response to initial attacks on 
Kosovar Serbs. Gasparovic said the future of both Kosovo and 
Serbia is in the EU and said he would support their 
integration. 
 
TRANSPETROL 
----------- 
¶15. (C) Gasparovic was unaware of breaking Transpetrol 
developments. He had expected Fico to "harvest the crop that 
he had planted with Putin." The President,s preferred option 
has always been Slovak government control. 
 
WHITE HOUSE VISIT 
----------------- 
¶16. (C) The Ambassador noted interest from the Slovak Embassy 
in Washington for a November/December visit by Gasparovic to 
the White House. Gasparovic said he hopes he will know if 
this is possible before September. If a November/December 
White House visit was realistic, Gasparovic said he would 
turn his September UN visit over to PM Fico. 
 
OVERSTAY 
-------- 
¶17. (C) The Ambassador noted that the two Slovaks who had 
received U.S. tourist visas with referrals from him seemed to 
have overstayed and are likely now illegally in the U.S. The 
President was stunned but claimed he may have seen one 
recently at the Bratislava airport. The Ambassador emphasized 
that if the visitors overstayed, it would be an unfortunate 
incident in light of the debate on the Visa Waiver Program. 
 
NEW LAWS ON FORESTS 
 
BRATISLAVA 00000417  004 OF 004 
 
 
------------------- 
¶18. (C) The President proudly mentioned his recent signing of 
a New Law on Forests, and suggested the law is inspired by 
similar protective measures in the US. (Note. Former PM 
Dzurinda, who is leading a public campaign against the 
anti-cyclist provisions of the law, told the Ambassador the 
President would sign the bill because he is controlled by 
"private hunting interests." End note.) 
 
IRAQ 
---- 
¶19. (C) The President asked whether the US congress is 
prevailing over President Bush in the Iraq debate. The 
Ambassador said it was unlikely that the Congress could 
muster 60 votes in advance of the September Petraeus/Crocker 
report, that President Bush is committed to a free Iraq and 
progress is being made, for example in Anbar Province. 
Gasparovic urged President Bush to hang tough, and said a 
pull out would be disastrous. He repeated his support for an 
international conference of the leaders of the coalition 
partners to discuss the next steps. (Note. It is unclear 
whether Gasparovic still considers Slovakia a coalition 
partner. End note.) 
VALLEE