ECUADOR EVASIVE OVER NEW YORK BOLTON MEETING

C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 002499 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR T: JANICE NEAL, CHRISTINE SAMUELIAN; WHA/PPC: CLARK LYNN E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2014 TAGS: PREL EC KICC UNGA SUBJECT: ECUADOR EVASIVE OVER NEW YORK BOLTON MEETING REF: STATE 179724 Classified By: Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney, Reasons 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (U) In response to Reftel, the Embassy August 20 contacted the Ecuadorian MFA's Article 98 coordinator, attorney Renan Mosquera, to seek a New York meeting between Foreign Minister Patricio Zuquilanda and Under Secretary John Bolton. Customary in the overly formal MFA, Mosquera requested the Embassy formalize the request via diplomatic note. Our correspondence, dated August 24, sought a bilateral encounter on the margins of the UN General Assembly, to "consult on a wide range of security and political-military issues, to include Article 98." ¶2. (C) Having received no written response, Poloff attempted to telephone Mosquera numerous times, with no success. Finally, on September 14, the reclusive diplomat made contact. Speciously contrite for the delay in responding, Mosquera claimed he could not commit Zuquilanda to a Bolton get-together at UNGA, since the foreign minister was incommunicado in Manaos, Brazil, attending an Amazon Basin ministerial. He instead suggested the U.S. delegation organize the call while on the ground in New York. ¶3. (C) COMMENT: The meeting debacle is another example of MFA stalling and unwillingness to engage on Article 98 - we predict Zuquilanda's advisors at UNGA will swear the FM is "fully booked" and cannot receive the U/S. Nonetheless, the Embassy is planning a renewed Article 98 offensive, to commence after Ecuador's October 17 elections. We'll need a more serious working-level interlocutor than Mosquera to gain traction, however, and are considering options to bypass him. END COMMENT. KENNEY