MEETING WITH PRESIDENT-ELECT GARCIA,S FOREIGN

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIMA 002503

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/21/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PE
SUBJECT: MEETING WITH PRESIDENT-ELECT GARCIA,S FOREIGN
MINISTER


Classified By: Ambassador J. Curtis Struble. Reasons: 1.4 (B & D)

--------------
Summary
--------------


1. (C) Ambassador and DCM held a 90 minute meeting on 6/19
with Jose Antonio Garcia Belaunde, who President-elect Alan
Garcia intends to name as Foreign Minister. Garcia Belaunde
said Alan Garcia will rarely travel abroad. The only plans
now on the books are to visit Chile and Colombia before the
inauguration and the U.S. and Brazil (again) after taking
office. The Garcia government's regional foreign policy
priorities will be to deepen the strategic partnership with
Brazil and improve relations with Chile and Bolivia, which
Garcia Belaunde perceives were mishandled by Toledo. The
Foreign Minister-designate said that Peru will not look to
pick fights with Venezuela but is much better positioned than
other Andean states to resist Chavez. He was vague in a way
that was not reassuring when the Ambassador underlined the
importance of keeping Venezuela off of the UN Security
Council. End Summary.


2. (C) Garcia Belaunde, who currently is an advisor to the
Andean Community of Nations, said that he will continue
working in the Andean Community Secretariat until 7/28.
(Comment: Alan Garcia has said he will not publicly name his
cabinet until 7/27.)

--------------
Travel
--------------


3. (C) The Foreign Minister-designate reported that Alan
Garcia is not contemplating a trip to Washington before his
inauguration. He will instead visit the International
Financial Institutions and others when he travels at a
mutually-agreed date post-inauguration to meet with President
Bush. There are only two trips on the calendar before the
7/28 inauguration; a visit to Chile toward the end of the
week of 6/19 and a trip to Colombia on 7/5. Garcia believes
that a lot of international travel will undercut the
credibility of his promise of government austerity. For that
reason, he does not plan to attend the UN General Assembly.
Alan Garcia feels that the manner in which Toledo combined
business with pleasure in his forays abroad make foreign
travel a neuralgic issue with the public. Therefore, he will
go to/from Chile on the same day and have a business-only
agenda. The Ambassador asked whether Alan Garcia would pay a
state visit to Brazil on 8/23-24 as suggested by President
Lula. Garcia Belaunde said that the GOB proposed these dates
because they fall right after a summit of Amazon basin
countries in Brasilia. However, it is far from certain that
Alan Garcia will attend that meeting so the dates may have to
be revised.

--------------
Venezuela
--------------


4. (C) Like many others, Garcia Belaunde felt that Chavez'
attacks on Alan Garcia helped the latter a great deal during
the campaign. The Foreign Minister designate expressed
surprise that Chavez kept it up even after the damage had to
be evident to him. Alan Garcia was not looking for any
fights with Chavez and thought the latter had walked so far
out on a limb that he would have to retreat. Venezuela was
not very important to Peru in trade terms, so the GOP has
more latitude to resist Chavez than other Andean nations.


5. (C) The Ambassador noted Venezuela's ambition to be
elected to the Security Council and said that it was
important not to place such a disruptive country there.
Garcia Belaunde's answer was neutral and therefore not
reassuring. While saying that the incoming Administration
had not yet taken a position on the matter, he downplayed the
consequences: Venezuela would only be one vote on the
Security Council, it would not have veto power and its
influence would be limited. The Ambassador disagreed, noting
that the Security Council is making progress on tough issues
such as nuclear non-proliferation in Iran. Chavez's stock in
trade is to reach out to international bad boys such as Iran.
Having a Security Council member who behaves in such a
manner would weaken the UN at a very inopportune moment.
Garcia Belaunde acknowledged the point, citing his own
difficulty in the Andean Community with Venezuela's spoiler
tactics. (Comment: The Ambassador will take this up directly
with President-elect Garcia. End Comment.)

--------------
Relations with Chile, Bolivia and Brazil
--------------


6. (C) Garcia Belaunde criticized the Toledo government for
mishandling relations with Chile and ignoring Bolivia.
Acknowledging that nationalist sentiment often intrudes on
the bilateral relationship with Santiago, the Foreign
Minister-designate felt that Toledo had too often gone public
with complaints. The APRA government would, as has Toledo,
seek resolution of the maritime boundary dispute via the
Hague court, but would do so in a low-key fashion. The trade
and investment relationship with Chile, Garcia Belaunde said,
is very important for Peru and ripe for expansion. He
expressed hope that Chile could be brought into the Andean
Community as an Associate Member. (Comment: The Chilean
Ambassador told us recently that Chile requested such status
about a year ago, but CAN Secretary General Wagner thought it
inopportune given the problems he was having managing
tensions within the organization. End Comment.)


7. (C) Bolivia is important to the GOP more for historical
reasons. While it looked as though Morales was falling into
the Cuba/Venezuela orbit, Garcia Belaunde did not think it
was too late to pull La Paz back. He noted that Morales had
a change of heart in Quito on Free Trade Agreements, though
it is still incomplete. (Note: Morales indicated a
willingness to have free trade in goods, but not in services;
he also opposes investment guarantees in FTAs. End Note.)


8. (C) In the case of Brazil, the APRA government wants to
consolidate and expand the strategic relationship begun under
Toledo. The emphasis will be on promoting the South American
Community of Nations and on infrastructure/trade integration
of the border regions.

--------------
San Antonio II
--------------


9. (C) Garcia Belaunde asked several questions about U.S.
perceptions of Peru's performance against narcotics. The
Ambassador outlined CNC estimates of increased cultivation in
2005 and recent improvements in eradication and interdiction.
He noted that chemical precursor control had never gotten
off the ground. The Foreign Minister-designate asked whether
it is true that only a small percentage of the cocaine sold
in the United States comes from Peru. The Ambassador
confirmed that and explained how soil signatures allow the
USG to track that. Garcia Belaunde ended by noting that
President George H.W. Bush had called the San Antonio summit
to promote cooperation against cocaine by Peru, Colombia,
Bolivia, Mexico and the United States. He asked whether our
current President would be willing to relaunch this
initiative. (Comment: Several Apristas have inquired about
the possibility of a San Antonio II conference. President
Garcia participated in the first one and appears to have been
very pleased with it. The questions about this appear to
lead back to Garcia himself. End Comment.)
STRUBLE