VZCZCXRO3002
PP RUEHIK RUEHPOD RUEHYG
DE RUEHSL #0538 2740855
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 010855Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY BRATISLAVA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1221
INFO RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO BRUSSELS BE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS BRATISLAVA 000538 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USNATO FOR MELISSA JARRETT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: NATO KPAO OEXC OIIP PREL LO
SUBJECT: SLOVAKIA: 2008 NATO POLICY-MAKER TOUR PROPOSAL 
 
REF: USNATO 467 
 
¶1. Embassy Bratislava requests a date be reserved for a 
policy-maker tour in April/May 2008, following the NATO 
Summit. Post would send 6-8 employees of the Ministry of 
Defense and Government Office, a representative from DAO and 
a Political Officer. Post requests a tour that includes 
substantive presentations and discussions at NATO 
Headquarters and SHAPE, and a briefing by the Pol-Mil team at 
USEU. 
 
PRELIMINARY PROPOSAL 
-------------------- 
¶2. Post has worked hard to adjust our message and tactic to 
maximize Slovak contributions to NATO missions under the 
government that took power in July 2006. In FY07 Post sent 
seven newly-elected Members of Parliament on a policy-makers 
tour to USNATO. That trip helped post form stronger 
relationships with MPs from the new ruling coalition parties 
as well as reaffirming our interest in working with both 
coalition and opposition MPs on important security-related 
matters. At this point all relevant MPs have participated on 
a US sponsored tour of NATO. 
 
¶3. For the FY08 policy-makers tour, Post is nominating 
influential working-level employees of the Ministry of 
Defense and the Government Office. Post has established 
relationships and contacts with the highest-level policy 
makers in the new Slovak government. We are concerned, 
however, that many of the new faces brought into the upper 
working-levels of the security arena since July 2006 remain 
uncertain of their authority and ways in which they can 
leverage their positions to advance issues of bilateral 
concern. It will be beneficial for them to develop an 
understanding of US-Slovak bilateral and multilateral avenues 
of cooperation in these participants; to reinforce their 
understandings of NATO's capabilities, functions and 
limitations; and to support Slovakia's meeting of its NATO 
obligations. This comes at a particularly important time as 
Slovakia commits its forces to NATO's NRF. 
 
¶4. Final participants for nomination will be determined after 
a date has been confirmed and in consultation with relevant 
offices and leaders at the Ministry of Defense. 
Preliminarily, Post has identified the following desirable 
candidates, all of whom are Slovak citizens and speak English 
well enough to function without translation: 
 
- Martin BAVOLAR, Secretary of the Security Council of the 
Slovak Republic 
- Pavel TUREK, Chief Advisor to the Bureau of Crisis 
Management 
- Jaroslav Nad, Section Head for Multinational Relations at 
MoD 
- Bohuslava LUKACOVICOVA, Division Director for International 
Relations at MoD 
- Jaroslav HORVATH, Division Director for International 
Crisis Management and Verification at MoD 
- Julius DEMETRIAN, Department Director, Security and Defense 
Policy at MoD 
- Col. Radomir PECA, Deputy Chief of Operations and Training 
Staff J-3 
- Ivan SOLEJ, Office of the Minister of Defense 
VALLEE