AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH SPAIN'S DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 004347

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/29/2015
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, SP, CU
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH SPAIN'S DEPUTY FOREIGN
MINISTER

Classified By: DCM Bob Manzanares for reasons 1.4 (b)&(d).

1. (C) SUMMARY. Spanish Deputy Foreign Minister Bernadino
Leon met with the Ambassador on December 29 to follow-up on
several issues that arose during Leon's recent Washington
meetings. Leon confirmed several statements that he had made
in Washington, saying that there would be no high-level visit
to Iran, that the Spanish have not discussed selling
submarines to Venezuela, and that MFA continues to consider
how to deal with Nicaraguan ex-President Aleman. The
Ambassador asked Leon to look into the planned European loan
of 100 million euros to Syria for phone service expansion,
emphasizing the need to deny all rewards to the Syrian
government; Leon promised to investigate the issue, with
which he was not familiar. They also discussed Leon's recent
meetings with the Cuban Foreign Minister and Cuban dissidents
in Havana. Finally, they talked about the need to calm the
Odyssey shipwreck salvage situation before anything
unfortunate happens. END SUMMARY.

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ALEMAN, IRAN, SUBMARINES
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2. (C) Deputy Foreign Minister Leon told the Ambassador that
he wanted to update him on several topics that Leon had
discussed in Washington during his meetings with Deputy
Secretary Zoellick, Deputy National Security Advisor Crouch,

SIPDIS
and Assistant Secretaries Fried and Shannon. Leon said that
MFA is carefully reviewing the Aleman case. He said that
Aleman doesn't need a visa to come to Spain, and noted that
it would be legally much simpler to refuse a visa than to
turn back Aleman if he tried to enter. Leon said that MFA's
experts are reviewing alternatives, and that he will write to
Deputy Secretary Zoellick when they reach a conclusion.

3. (C) Leon said that the Iran issue was a surprise to him,
and denied that Minister Moratinos was planning to go to Iran
any time soon. He said that there had been talk of a visit
by Director General for Political Affairs (P-equivalent)
Rafael Dezcallar, but that recent events in Iran had ruled
out such a trip.

4. (C) On the issue of the possible sale of Scorpene
submarines to Venezuela, Leon said that Spain is not
involved. He said that the issue had surprised him when it
came up in Washington, so he came back and consulted with
Ministry of Defense. MOD told him that perhaps Venezuela had
talked with France about such a sale, but said that Spain's
MFA, MOD, and Navantia haven't had contact with Venezuela on
the issue. Leon further noted that while Spain sometimes
makes the hulls for the Scorpenes, it is not always involved.
Finally, he pointed out that Defense Minister Bono is
currently talking to Pakistan about buying S-80 submarines
and that this submarine is currently Spain's focus.

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CUBA
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5. (C) Leon described to the Ambassador in great detail his
recent trip to Havana to be an overseer of the Colombia-ELN
talks. He said that Cuba announced that it would only give
visas to people who agreed not to meet with dissidents while
in Cuba. Leon told the Cubans that he could not agree to
such a demand, given Spain's policy of talking with both
sides. Ultimately, they agreed that Leon would come to Cuba
exclusively for the Colombia talks, and wouldn't meet with
either the Cuban government or the dissidents.

6. (C) On his first morning in Havana, the Cubans called Leon
at 9, offering an informal lunch with the Cuban Foreign
Minster if he would agree not to meet with the dissidents.
Leon held firm that he would meet with both sides, if at all.
In the end, Leon did have a lunch with the Foreign Minister
which he characterized as "a boxing match." Leon said that
Perez Roque was extremely loud and antagonistic. When Leon
again refused Perez Roque's demand not to meet with
dissidents, Perez Roque said that they had reached the point
of divorce, and that it was clear that Spain and Cuba were
headed in different directions. Leon speculated that the
room was bugged, and that Perez Roque was performing for the
microphones. At the end of the lunch, Perez Roque pulled him
to the window, lowered his voice, and asked how they could
make things better between Spain and Cuba. Leon promised to
send him a letter listing things that Cuba would have to do.
Leon told the Ambassador that Spain's Ambassador to Cuba is
currently in Madrid, and that they are drafting a letter to
Perez Roque, but did not specify what the letter would
contain.

7. (C) Leon said that he'd had good meetings with dissidents,
and noted in an aside to the Ambassador that the Cubans don't
realize how involved top GOS officials are in Cuba policy.
He said that not only he, but also Minister Moratinos and
even President Zapatero know, for example, the names of most
of the Cuban prisoners as well as their health status. Leon
said that the dissidents had talked with him about their need
to open dialogue with the Cuban government, and about a
possible Spanish mediating role in such a dialogue. He said
that the dissidents gave him a list of concerns that included
"acts of repudiation" (particularly those outside Havana that
aren't monitored by embassies and other observers),visits to
prisoners, prisoner health care, exit visas for dissidents,
and the situation of the 23,000 gas station attendants who
just lost their jobs.

8. (C) The Ambassador emphasized the importance of the US and
Spain working together on Cuba transition issues. Leon
replied that Fidel Sendagorta (head of MFA policy planning)
has been working with Caleb McCarry. The Ambassador
encouraged him to think bigger, recognizing the critical
opportunity for US-Spain cooperation that a Cuba transition
would present. They agreed to have a more detailed
discussion of this issue when WHA A/S Shannon visits at the
end of January.

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THE ODYSSEY
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9. (C) The Ambassador asked Leon to get involved with the
case of the US salvage vessel Odyssey and its plan to
excavate the HMS Sussex, a sunken vessel off the coast of
Gibraltar. He said that, with authorization from the MFA in
hand, the Odyssey crew had finally begun its work. Then on
December 28, the Embassy received a message from the Ministry
of Interior asking why the Odyssey was working without having
met all Spanish requirements. The Ambassador expressed
concern about the growing possibility of confrontation. Leon
said that he was already involved with the case, that he had
been in contact with regional government in southern Spain
that is resisting the Odyssey's work, and that he would stay
involved. He noted, however, that the regional government
had challenged MFA's jurisdiction over the case. Leon said
that if the shipwreck turned out to be Spanish rather than
British, it would belong to the regional government, which
has responsibility for historical patrimony. He said that
Vice President de la Vega would help to sort out the
jurisdiction questions, but that she is out of town. Leon
agreed on the need to focus on this case, and promised to
keep in touch with the Ambassador.
AGUIRRE