Embassy of the United States

ALEŠ LEDNIK

Q: Barack Obama marked his first half a year presidential period as a good start, but the international public is somewhat impatient in the expectations of concrete measures that will not influence just the US. He enjoys the status of a rock star, but rock starts depends on their audience.

A: As an American and a diplomat, I am very anxious at the beginning of this new era of domestic and foreign American policy. For someone like me, who grew up in 60s and 70s, in the time of civil rights movement, the election of first African American president for the President of the United States of America is really an exceptional occasion. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to ascertain that this is actually true. President Obama came into the White House with lots of promises and many of them he has already started to realize. It is true, the expectations, especially in Europe, are high, maybe even not realistic.  But only on a short term, as he has been President for a short period, he has already shown his commitment to consulting with allies, working through multilateral institutions, emphasizing  diplomacy and alike. The first day after he took an oath, he signed the presidential order to close down Guantanamo base in Cuba and couple of days later he offered his hand to Muslim world.

Q: Is it realistic to expect Obama will fulfill all his big promises just in one mandate?

A: You are right, that takes some time, but we have to start somewhere. If he is able to set the foundations in four years, he (if re-elected) or the successor will have much easier job. Some of his initiatives will definitely need more time, for example the Mid-east road map.

Q: We can notice a pretty different tone from the White House when it comes to Russia, China and some other Latin America countries. Vladimir Putin and Hugo Chavez, for example, were the biggest critics of Washington, nowadays such sharp word battles have almost gone.

A: It is interesting,  the tone coming from some South American countries, after Obama was elected -- it  surprised many of us. Hugo Chavez and Barack Obama talked in person and everything was genuine.  President Obama is distinctive in two characteristics. The first one is that he approaches a counterpart openly and he is ready to talk, no matter if we talk about our friends or enemies from the past. The second is that he is a very good and motivated diplomat. The combination of both helped, so  that the politicians who were opposing American politics, are now talking more reserved, less sharp and aggressive. When it comes to the content, many talks will still be needed. We are in the phase of breaking the ice. For example, talking about Cuba, Obama said he would like to establish diplomatic ties again.  For me, being a career diplomat, such motivation for changes is very refreshing.

Q: Most probably the relations between US and Europe will change – hopefully to better – as well. Some obstacles in the past were just undefeatable. Are we going to remain disappointed in US policy on climate change?

A: I do not think so. I am glad you asked since the solution to this problem might be the most significant in bringing US and EU even closer together. One of the issues emphasized by President is that there are no such global problems that only one country could handle.  US and EU are the “natural allies” in this respect and that is a good start to fight climate change consequences. Nominating the special envoy for climate change tells a lot about changed attitude of the United States about this topic. Director of the Environmental Protection Agency was promoted to Secretary  level  and became a member of American government [i.e., the Cabinet].  In fact there is no meeting between President Obama and Secretary Clinton that would not include climate change as well.

Q; Are there any current hopes for US to sign Kyoto Agreement at the Copenhagen Summit?

A: I think we would like to sign it, but it depends what is going to be written in the agreement and what kind of the agreement will be reached between the delegations. I don’t want to guess about it, but there is a will.

Q: The consequences of recession are slowly calming down in the U.S., elsewhere around the world there is still no important signs of economic recovery. People around the world blame US for the biggest economic collapse so far. What did the US actually learn from that? Is there a feeling of guilt and duty to assist to the most affected countries, at least in the third world?

A: The reaction to the crisis has to be three-fold: a very powerful economic stimulus, the acceptance of a new vision related to regulation of financial markets and assurance of development assistance. We have doubled the development assistance budget for countries in need. In general, this administration is taking this question very seriously. When the world will get out from this crisis, it is clear we will not be able to return to previous life style. We will have to be more economical and live our lives according to our capabilities. Growth models will have to become sustainable on a long term. The positive message of this crisis is, for example, that we have to develop alternative energy sources. When the crisis will end, the world will be different.  It will not happen over the night, but the fact is that we are going to invest in our future more than we will spend.

Q: Fortunately, the relations between US and EU are not burdened with political tensions, but on the other hand there is always a room to improve things that are already going well.

A: Let me explain. The first is Western Balkans. We see Slovenia as a very important factor for stability in this region; some kind of a bridge between NATO and EU on one side and the former Yugoslav counties on the other. When I was preparing myself for departure to Ljubljana, people in Washington continuously repeated how important a diplomatic and economic role Slovenia has in the region. The fact is that Ljubljana has exemplary relations with Belgrade and Pristina, it certifies diplomatic skills and prestige. Slovenia is a small country with professional army forces, but it is not about the number, it is about the quality.  Allies in NATO and we in the US appreciate that. If you are asking me about improvement of relations, I would say there is still enough space in economic sense.  I would like to see more of bilateral trade and investments, to have them on the same level as we have our political and cultural relations. It is hard to attract investors during the crisis, but we are working on that.

Q: When will the new US Ambassador come to Ljubljana?

A: I do not know that, but I hope soon. We need an ambassador in Ljubljana, but you have to understand that Obama’s Administration has had to nominate 500 officials just to work in Washington, then there are federal judges, ambassadors…It is difficult to forecast when the new ambassador to Slovenia will be nominated, but no doubt, this will happen before the end of this year. I hope by the end of the Summer. It’s a long procedure, nothing else.