UNSCR 1559: SPAIN WILL SUPPORT FOLLOW-UP RESOLUTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L MADRID 004015 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/14/2014 TAGS: PREL SY LE SP UNSC SUBJECT: UNSCR 1559: SPAIN WILL SUPPORT FOLLOW-UP RESOLUTION REF: A) STATE 219926 B) STATE 221189 C) PARIS 7518 D) STATE 222282 Classified By: Political Counselor Kathy Fitzpatrick; reasons 1.5 (B) a nd (D). ¶1. (C) Poloff disscussed Ref A points on 4/13 with MFA Deputy Director General for the Near East Alberto Moreno Humet. He said the GOF had already engaged the Spanish MFA several times on this issue and that the Spain generally accepted French and U.S. thinking on how to proceed. Moreno said he hoped there would not be a need for a second resolution, but that if it came to that he saw no reason why Spain would not support it. Poloff also engaged Moreno's deputy, Eva Martinez Sanchez, on the need for a tightly focused Presidential Statement (PRST),a position she found reasonable and promised to convey to the MFA's Office of UN Affairs. Like Moreno, Martinez said GOS views on how to proceed on UNSCR 1559 track with those of the GOF and the USG. ¶2. (C) Poloff contacted Martinez on 10/15 to update her on developments in the resolution and to request support for a follow up resolution, per Ref D instructions. Martinez had obtained a readout on the state of play from Spain's UN mission and expressed GOS support for the new resolution. She indicated that there was some exasperation on the Spanish side that the PRST had not prospered, but said she understood the need to move on and bring the issue to a vote. Martinez said Spain will support our call for an explicit reporting requirement to support implementation of UNSCR 1559. ARGYROS