VZCZCXRO3578
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHLJ #0122 0730708
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 130708Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6533
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS LJUBLJANA 000122
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
NEA/IR, DRL/NESCA
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: IR KDEM PGOV PHUM PREL SI
SUBJECT: SLOVENIA CONSIDERING EU PRESIDENCY STATEMENT
CONDEMNING IRREGULARITES IN IRANIAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
REF: A. STATE 25587
B. STATE 13345
1. (SBU) On March 12, Emboff met with Polonca Smole, desk
officer for Iran at the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(MFA), to urge Slovenia, in its role as president of the
Council of the European Union, to issue a statement after
Iran's parliamentary elections condemning the elections for
lacking transparency and failing to meet international
standards. Smole responded that Slovenia is discussing with
its European partners the possibility of issuing a presidency
statement that would condemn any irregularities in the
Iranian electoral process but would wait until at least after
the first round of elections scheduled for March 14 before
drafting the actual text. Smole noted that Slovenia is
waiting for more information and expects to receive a report
on the election process from its embassy in Tehran shortly
after the first round of elections. Smole said that Slovenia
would rely heavily on the content of this report when forming
its position, but she noted that the MFA has already observed
some "irregularities" in the electoral process. As for the
timing of the EU presidency statement, Smole explained that
Slovenia is deliberating whether to issue it after the first
round of elections or to wait until after the second round
scheduled for March 28. Smole acknowledged our message that
Slovenia display strong leadership on the issue in its
capacity as EU president and said that she would relay the
message to the appropriate officials at the MFA.
COLEMAN