VZCZCXRO7967
PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR
DE RUEHLJ #0274 2461440
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 031440Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7472
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L LJUBLJANA 000274 
 
SIPDIS 
 
S/GC FOR DANIEL FRIED AND MICHAEL WILLIAMS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/30/2019 
TAGS: PREL PHUM KDRG SI
SUBJECT: SLOVENIA: PM ASKS FOR BREATHING ROOM RE GUANTANAMO 
DETAINEES 
 
Classified By: CDA Brad Freden, Reasons 1.4(b,d) 
 
¶1. (C)  DAS Stu Jones asked Prime Minister Pahor in a private 
meeting at the Bled Strategic Forum on August 30 if Slovenia 
would be willing to accept one or two Uighur detainees from 
Guantanamo.  Pahor declined to provide an immediate answer, 
staying that he needed to resolve the border dispute with 
Croatia before approaching Parliament with another difficult 
"ask".  He sees an immediate window of opportunity (septel) 
for resolving the border dispute and does not feel he can 
afford to have another controversial issue on his plate until 
agreement is reached or the window closes, likely in a matter 
of weeks.  DAS Jones offered to have Special Envoy Dan Fried 
to meet with Slovenian officials, but Pahor demurred for the 
time being. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶2. (C) Pahor is clearly feeling the strains of leadership as 
he tries to manage the simultaneous challenges of the 
Slovenia-Croatia border issue, the recession and budget 
crisis in Slovenia, and falling approval ratings for his 
government.  When asked about detainees, Pahor, who had been 
focusing on Croatia, blanched momentarily and asked, "Did you 
want an answer now?"  Jones replied that the important thing 
was for Slovenia to say yes, not that it do so immediately. 
 
This message has been cleared by DAS Jones. 
FREDEN