SPAIN FAVORS CODE OF CONDUCT WITH THE LIFTING OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L MADRID 003839 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/04/2014 TAGS: PARM PREL ETTC PHUM CH EUN SUBJECT: SPAIN FAVORS CODE OF CONDUCT WITH THE LIFTING OF CHINESE ARMS EMBARGO REF: STATE 208511 Classified By: Political Counselor Kathleen Fitzpatrick for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. EUR/WE Director Kathleen Allegrone, Charge, and Poloff delivered reftel talking points and discussed U.S. human rights concerns at all levels of the Spanish MFA September 28-30. Spain believes that the Code of Conduct is sufficient to monitor arms sales to China of EU states. There will likely be a discussion of the Chinese arms embargo on October 11 at the GAERC meetings, but no decision will be made on the issue until November. END SUMMARY ¶2. (C) Allegrone emphasized U.S. human rights concerns when discussing the possible lifting of the Chinese arms embargo with Rafael Dezcallar, MFA Director General of Foreign Policy, on September 30. Charge emphasized human rights and moral issues when talking with Javier Sancho, Foreign Minister Moratinos' Chief of Staff, on September 28. Poloff discussed the human rights issue, as well as the possibility of European arms being used against American troops in the event of a crisis in the Taiwan Strait, when talking with Enrique Mora Benavente, the Head of EU Policy Planning at the MFA, on September 29. ¶3. (C) All interlocutors said that they believed the current Code of Conduct was appropriate for controlling arms sales to China. Dezcallar said that he did not anticipate that arms sales to China would increase with a lifting of the embargo. Mora Benavente said that there would probably be discussions of the issue during the GAERC meetings on October 11, but both Mora Benavente and Dezcallar said that they doubted any decisions would be made on this issue until November. Mora Benavente added that recently he had noticed more nuanced positions from other EU states on their positions towards the Chinese arms embargo, and he conceded that U.S. pressure was likely responsible for these changes. ARGYROS