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