AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH PSOE PRESIDENT MANUEL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 003566

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON SP
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH PSOE PRESIDENT MANUEL
CHAVES

Classified By: Ambassador Eduardo Aguirre for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary. Ambassador met on October 6 with Manuel
Chaves, national President of the governing Spanish Socialist
Workers' Party (PSOE),as well as President of the Autonomous
Community of Andalusia. Their discussion touched on US-Spain
relations, initiatives in the Middle East and North Africa,
the controversy over the proposed Catalan regional statute,
and the Odyssey Marine Exploration case. Chaves underscored
the importance of Turkey's entry into the European Union for
the success of the Alliance of Civilizations initiative, as
well as on the best outcome for the Catalan statute. End
summary.

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US-Spain Bilateral Relations
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2. (SBU) The Ambassador described the excellent reception he
had received during his first three months in Spain, and said
he had arrived at the perfect moment, when both President
Bush and the GOS were ready to get the bilateral relationship
back on track. Chaves said that the US and Spain's
disagreement on Iraq and Spain's troop withdrawal in 2004
were just one episode in a relationship that had always been
strong in the past. He pointed out that the American presence
at the Spanish bases in Rota and Moron (both located in
Andalusia) had always been positive for Spain. He said that
he, like the Ambassador, was optimistic about the future of
the relationship.


3. (SBU) The Ambassador thanked Chaves for his long-time
support in Rota and Moron. He said the military relationship
between the two countries had continued to be strong in the
past couple of years, and the US was pleased with Spanish
assistance in Afghanistan, where they command a Provincial
Reconstruction Team and co-lead a Forward Support Base, and
in Iraq, since the Spanish are to begin bringing Iraqi
security forces to Spain for training.

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Muslim Outreach and the Middle East
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4. (U) The Ambassador spoke of Andalusia's rich cultural
heritage as a land where Christians, Muslims and Jews had
lived together in the past. He described the Embassy and USG
efforts to support religious tolerance and reach out in
particular to Muslims, stressing the USG's conviction that
terrorism is not representative of Islam. He said he was
pleased to be speaking later that evening about tolerance and
diversity at the Fundacion Tres Culturas, an organization
co-sponsored by the governments of Morocco and Andalusia and
dedicated to promoting cultural understanding. He said he
looked forward to future collaborations of this type in the
future.


5. (C) Chaves acknowledged the good work of Tres Culturas,
and brought up the Spanish-proposed Alliance of Civilizations
initiative. He said the Spanish government believed the
Alliance was an extremely important project, and was
determined that the UN High-Level Group (HLG) not be simply a
talk shop, but come up with concrete proposals.
Significantly, he added that he had "told the President
(Zapatero) that the Alliance of Civilizations will be useless
if Turkey is not brought into the European Union."


6. (U) The Ambassador replied that the US hoped to support
the Alliance, and was pleased that Spain was to contribute to
the G-8's Broader Middle East and North Africa initiative.

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Catalonia
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7. (U) Discussion turned to the Catalan regional statute,
which the Ambassador said he had been following with
interest. He asked Chaves for his insights as to what this
issue means for Spain. Chaves first described the current
state of affairs: the draft statute, which has been passed by
the Catalan regional parliament, and which many politicians
in the rest of Spain claim is unconstitutional, is now with
the National Congress, where amendments can be proposed. He
said that if the various national and Catalan regional
parties could reach an agreement on changes to the draft,
Congress could pass the revised statute and send it back to
Catalonia for another vote in the regional parliament. The
Catalan Region would then organize a referendum to give the
Catalans the opportunity to accept or reject the final text.
If the national parties cannot come to agreement on
revisions, Congress would have to reject the statute
outright, a result Chaves described as the "worst possible
outcome."


8. (SBU) Chaves said he thought it was crucial that the
parties negotiate a solution acceptable for all sides in the
National Congress, otherwise the Catalans would blame Madrid
once again for thwarting its ambitions, and it would breed
resentment in the region, as well as in the rest of Spain.
(Comment: This would clearly be a bad outcome for Zapatero's
PSOE government as well.)

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Odyssey
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9. (U) The Ambassador also brought up the ongoing case of the
American company Odyssey Marine Exploration and its
outstanding request to explore the shipwreck of the HMS
Sussex off the coast of Spain. Chaves said he was familiar
with the case, though he was not up to date on where it
currently stands. He promised to do some research and get
back to the Embassy on the issue.

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Comment
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10. (C) As President of the PSOE, and given his long
experience in the party, Chaves's opinions carry significant
weight in the national government. A well-read man with
extensive knowledge of and interest in the United States,
Chaves remains an important interlocutor for the Embassy on
issues of US national interest.
AGUIRRE