C O N F I D E N T I A L BRATISLAVA 000384 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 
01/17/2014 TAGS: MOPS, PREL, PHUM, OSCE, UN, GG, RS, LO SUBJECT: TFGG01:
FM KUBIS: SLOVAK GOVERNMENT NOW UNITED ON GEORGIA REF: A. BRATISLAVA 
382 B. BRATISLAVA 377 Classified By: DCM Keith Eddins for reasons 1.4 
(b) and (d) 

1. (C) Ambassador spoke with Slovak Foreign Minister Kubis 
August 15 to reiterate U.S. views on Georgia (reftels). Kubis, who had 
just returned from vacation, agreed completely on the importance of 
Russia honoring the August 13 ceasefire agreement and respecting 
Georgia's territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence. Given the
legacy of 1968, Kubis fully understood the nature of Russia's assault 
on an independent state. Kubis also said that when foreign ministers 
meet Tuesday in Brussels, NATO should be prepared to review Russian 
compliance with the ceasefire and be ready to call Moscow to account if 
Russian troops are not honoring their commitments. (NOTE: Kubis also got
in a plug for a ministers-only NAC session in Brussels; he thought 
ministers would be more open to a frank and honest evaluation of Russian
actions in such a forum.) 

2. (C) In response to the Ambassador's 
question about Prime Minister Fico's unhelpful comments to the press (in
which Fico seemed to accept the Russian view that Georgia was to blame 
for starting the conflict), Kubis said he doesn't expect any more such 
statements from his prime minister. In a subsequent conversation, MFA 
State Secretary Algayerova told the Ambassador both President Gasparovic
and PM Fico accepted and agreed with the U.S. points the Ambassador 
gave Algayerova on August 11 (ref B). She also said Fico asserted that 
the press had misquoted him and/or taken his comments out of context. 
The Slovak government, she said, was united in support of all six points
contained in the ceasefire agreement and believes that now is not the 
time to engage in a "blame game" about who started the latest round of 
fighting. OBSITNIK