SPAIN: FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE POWELL MEETS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 001476 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/07/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV SP SUBJECT: SPAIN: FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE POWELL MEETS FOREIGN MINISTER MORATINOS MADRID 00001476 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: DCM Bob Manzanares for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C/NF) Summary: Former Secretary of State Colin Powell took advantage of a private visit to Spain on May 23 to meet with Spain's Foreign Minister Moratinos. Moratinos told Powell that Spain is working to rebuild US-Spain relations - which Moratinos said went sour after Spain's pullout from Iraq - and lobbied for a visit from Secretary Rice. On Latin America, Moratinos worried about Chavez, Morales, and Humala, and said that the US and Spain need to keep working to get their roles more in sync. Moratinos lauded President Zapatero's relationship with the new German chancellor, complained about France, and called Hamas' victory a disaster. He said that MFA's Plan Africa will help create short and long term solutions to the current flood of illegal immigrants from West Africa, and noted that the US and Spain are working to improve coordination in that area. End summary. //U.S.- SPAIN RELATIONS// ¶2. (C/NF) During their May 23 meeting, FM Moratinos told former Secretary Powell that the Spanish withdrawal of troops from Iraq had soured the bilateral relationship, which the GOS has since been working hard to rebuild. He said that he hoped that Spain has gotten "back to the point where the U.S. is beginning to trust us again." In response to Powell's question about when the two presidents might meet, Moratinos said that President Zapatero is ready to meet President Bush "anytime" but has stopped asking for a meeting. Moratinos mentioned that his meeting with Secretary Rice in June will be helpful in conveying to the Spanish public that relations are on a positive track. Moratinos said that both the GOS and the Spanish public would see a visit by Secretary Rice to Spain as a very positive gesture. //LATIN AMERICA// ¶3. (C/NF) Moratinos said the US and Spain have more influence in Latin America than any other countries, and are also the countries that have the most to lose if things go wrong. He said that with Latin America facing difficult times throughout the region, the U.S. and Spain must continue to work together as leaders and collaborators. On Venezuela, Moratinos told Powell that Spain has no interest in building stronger ties with President Hugo Chavez. Although Spain will continue dialogue with the Chavez government, Moratinos said that Spain considers Chavez unstable and a bad influence in Latin America. Moratinos pointed out that President Zapatero refused Chavez's entreaties to meet during the recent EU-Latin America Summit. He said that Chavez is manipulating Bolivian President EVO Morales, whom he called unpredictable. With its Venezuelan and Bolivian neighbors causing trouble, Moratinos said, Brazil has no choice but to look for friends farther north in Mexico and the US. He said that Brazil fears the damage that Chavez can do with all of his petro dollars. Moratinos said that in Peru, Ollanta Humala would be "seriously dangerous" if he were to beat Alan Garcia in the June 4 second round of the presidential election. Finally, regarding the July 2 Mexican presidential election, Moratinos worried that PRD candidate Lopez Obrador and his followers would not accept a loss by three percentage points. In hopes of helping to help avoid potential problems, Spain will send election observers to Mexico. //EUROPE// ¶4. (C/NF) In regards to Spain's continuing efforts to define its place within the EU, Moratinos noted that Spain has good relations with Germany. He said that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Zapatero had gotten along well in their initial meetings. Moratinos said Spain also gets along well with France, but that France is very much in a "defeatist mood" and is not currently acting as an effective leader in the EU. He blamed this on France's obsession with its domestic problems, which are caused by an "obsolete" political system filled with leadership that is unprepared to make the hard decisions and unable to implement needed reforms. Moratinos cited recent riots as evidence of the failure of the French political class and the bad luck that France is having on all fronts. //SUB-SAHARAN IMMIGRANTS// ¶5. (C/NF) Moratinos said that the immigration debates confronting the US and Spain are similar in how they've become politicized. He noted that the actual number of immigrants coming into Spain is manageable and in fact quite small. He acknowledged that these immigrants are needed in Spain just as they are in the US. Moratinos said that the MADRID 00001476 002.2 OF 002 problem, however, is the daily front page photos of boats arriving in the Canary Islands. He said that these images of desperate sub-Saharan African immigrants have a negative psychological impact on the Spanish public and are making the debate more emotional that it ought to be. Moratinos said that MFA has a new strategy (Plan Africa) that will, among other things, create short- and long-term solutions to the immigration issue. He said that new Spanish embassies and staff in West Africa will work with the governments right away to improve cooperation on repatriation of illegal immigrants. Plan Africa will also focus on longer-term economic development programs to address the root causes of illegal immigration. Moratinos told Powell that he and Secretary Rice have exchanged notes and plan to increase SIPDIS US-Spain cooperation in Africa. //HAMAS// ¶6. (C/NF) Moratinos worried that the election of Hamas to lead the Palestine Authority government is a disaster. He said that the Hamas victory will allow Israel to say "I told you so." Moratinos predicted that Israel will use the excuse that it has no acceptable partner in the Palestinian government to continue to extend its borders while refusing to negotiate. He said that his biggest concern is that Hamas's close connection to Iran will lead to greater Iranian involvement in an already complex situation. Moratinos said that the international community needs to look for a way to "de-activate" Hamas. //ETA PEACE PROCESS// ¶7. (C/NF) On Spanish domestic politics, Moratinos said he is optimistic about the prospects for peace in the Basque region. He thinks that the cease-fire will hold. He quoted polls which indicate that the Spanish public is so far supportive of GOS efforts regarding ETA. Moratinos said that thanks to Zapatero's initiative on the peace process, most polls give the Socialists a seven point lead over the opposition Popular Party, whereas the parties were statistically even in the polls just a few months ago. AGUIRRE