VZCZCXRO6424
RR RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHLJ #0145/01 0871552
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 271552Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6562
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 1178
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LJUBLJANA 000145 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/27/2018 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ANATO EUN SI
SUBJECT: SLOVENIA'S EXPECTATIONS FOR NATO BUCHAREST SUMMIT 
 
REF: STATE 19516 
 
Classified By: CDA Maryruth Coleman for reasons 1.4 (b,d) 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On March 26, MFA Director of Division for 
Security Policy Stanislav Vidovic discussed with Emboff 
Slovenia's expectations for the April 2 - 4 NATO Summit in 
Bucharest.  Vidovic expressed doubt that Slovenia will 
announce any increase or restructuring of its International 
Security Assistance Force (ISAF) deployment in Afghanistan to 
allow for the provision of an Operational Mentor and Liaison 
Team (OMLT) or participation in a PRT (per reftel), although 
he expects that Prime Minister Janez Jansa will announce a 
significant donation of military equipment to Afghanistan. 
Vidovic stated that Slovenia sees its participation in the 
KFOR mission in Kosovo as a contribution that can provide 
greater added value to NATO, and noted that Slovenia plans to 
keep its deployment at the current level of 350 troops at the 
next rotation in August or September.  Vidovic emphasized 
Slovenia's strong support for NATO invitations to Croatia, 
Macedonia, and Albania and for Membership Action Plan (MAP) 
invitations to Ukraine and Georgia.  Vidovic also inquired 
about U.S. intentions regarding the development of a new NATO 
Strategic Concept.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Not Willing to Break Eggs for an OMLT 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) Asked about a March 18 letter from CDA Coleman to PM 
Jansa that requested that Slovenia consider restructuring its 
ISAF deployment to allow for the provision of at least one 
OMLT or participation in a PRT, Vidovic stated that the PM 
and his cabinet are currently considering the request.  He 
shared, however, his personal view that it is highly unlikely 
that the GOS will decide to make any significant changes to 
Slovenia's ISAF deployment in the months preceding this 
autumn's parliamentary elections.  Vidovic said that it is 
more likely that the PM will announce in Bucharest that 
Slovenia will make a significant donation of military 
equipment to Afghanistan in the near future, although he 
would not say what the donation would be.  He also stated 
that the PM will announce that Slovenia will deploy for the 
first time two civilians to Afghanistan to participate in 
civil-military cooperation operations in the Herat PRT and 
that Slovenia may deploy additional civilians in the future. 
Seeking to justify Slovenia's unwillingness to restructure 
its ISAF deployment, Vidovic noted that someone must carry 
out the current mission of the Slovenian forces - to protect 
the advance air base in Herat.  He also pointed to Slovenia's 
current deployment in Kosovo of 5% of its armed forces and 
its intention to maintain that level of deployment for the 
immediate future as a reason for not being able to do more in 
Afghanistan. 
 
NATO Must Maintain Open Door Policy 
----------------------------------- 
 
The Adriatic Three 
------------------ 
 
¶3. (C) Vidovic stated that Slovenia sees the decision of 
whether to invite the Adriatic Three - Croatia, Macedonia, 
and Albania - as the focal question for the Bucharest Summit. 
 He reiterated Slovenia's strong support for inviting all 
three aspiring countries, noting that if all three are not 
invited it will send a bad signal to the entire region. 
Regarding Macedonia's candidacy, Vidovic asserted that 
Slovenia believes that Greece is not playing fair and has 
changed the rules regarding the name issue in the middle of 
the game.  He noted that support for NATO membership amongst 
the Macedonian public is the highest of any NATO member or 
candidate country, but he worried that there are signs that 
this could change if Macedonia is not extended an invitation 
at Bucharest.  Vidovic expressed concern that some NATO 
members have remained too neutral regarding the current round 
of potential NATO invites and said that he hopes NATO allies 
will soon realize that NATO expansion in the Balkans is 
critical to the region's future stability. 
 
MAP Invites for Ukraine and Georgia 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Vidovic also underscored the importance of extending 
MAP invitations to Ukraine and Georgia at the Bucharest 
Summit.  Citing Article 10 of the Washington Treaty, Vidovic 
argued that NATO must recognize the political will to join 
the Alliance that exists in Ukraine and Georgia and that this 
should be the guiding factor in NATO's decision.  Vidovic 
warned against allowing Russia's concerns about MAP 
invitations for Ukraine and Georgia to affect NATO's 
 
LJUBLJANA 00000145  002 OF 002 
 
 
decision, noting that any show of weakness on this issue will 
set a bad precedent for future decisions.  Vidovic stressed 
that a failure to invite Ukraine and Georgia will signal that 
NATO's Open Door Policy is an empty promise. 
 
The Rest of the Western Balkans 
------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) According to Vidovic, Slovenia would like to see NATO 
grant an intensified dialogue to Montenegro and Bosnia and 
Herzegovina.  He noted that some NATO allies, such as Poland 
and Belgium, oppose the opening of such a dialogue, but that 
Slovenia hopes to persuade them to accept such a move and 
would appreciate greater U.S. engagement on the issue. 
Vidovic argued that an intensified NATO dialogue could serve 
as a powerful tool to facilitate military and political 
reform in both countries.  Vidovic also expressed hope that 
the Bucharest Summit would succeed in sending a positive 
message to Serbia.  He advised that the alliance should not 
push Serbia too hard as he expects that it will not be long 
before the Serbian leadership and public will change their 
current attitudes about NATO and the EU. 
 
The Need for a New NATO Strategic Concept 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) Stepping away from the Bucharest Summit, Vidovic 
expressed concern about the lack of movement on the 
development of a new NATO Strategic Concept.  Noting that the 
current concept was developed in 1999, Vidovic argued that it 
is time for an update that addresses many of today's 
important issues and reflects the changing nature of the 
Alliance.  He stated that he has not seen any eagerness from 
the U.S. to approach a new Strategic Concept with enthusiasm 
and asked if the U.S. plans to fully engage on this issue 
soon. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7. (C) Post has also pressed the issue of Slovenia fielding 
OMLTs with State Secretary Matjaz Sinkovec, who saw the 
political value of Slovenia altering its deployment to add 
further value to ISAF.  A/S Fried also raised it with FM 
Dimitrij Rupel during a January visit; however, Rupel was 
noncommittal and only promised to bring it to the PM's 
attention.  Post believes that GOS concerns regarding the 
political risk of increasing Slovenian troops' exposure to 
harm in Afghanistan are sincere and that there are real 
constraints on what its military can contribute to 
international missions considering its relatively large 
deployment to Kosovo.  Post suggests that Washington pass the 
message directly to PM Jansa at the Bucharest Summit that 
Slovenia should discuss with SHAPE possibly restructuring its 
deployment to field an OMLT.  We could also try to address 
Slovenian concerns regarding its military capacity through an 
initiative to form a joint OMLT with the Colorado National 
Guard, with which the Slovenian Armed Forces have a State 
Partnership Program.  Post has engaged Slovenia at all levels 
of the government and military to consider alterations to its 
ISAF contribution and sees the Bucharest Summit, which will 
be attended by the PM, FM, and Minister of Defense, as 
perhaps the last opportunity to press the GOS on this issue 
in advance of the US - EU Summit in Ljubljana in June and 
parliamentary elections in September.  End Comment. 
COLEMAN