GOI STILL UNDECIDED IN UNSC VOTE BUT SEES

C O N F I D E N T I A L NEW DELHI 004825 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/10/2016 TAGS: KUNR PREL VE IN SUBJECT: GOI STILL UNDECIDED IN UNSC VOTE BUT SEES VENEZUELA PREVAILING Classified By: Charge Geoffrey Pyatt for Reasons 1.5 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) The DCM used a July 7 meeting with Additional Secretary (International Organizations),K.C. Singh to probe SIPDIS how the GOI planned to vote in the upcoming election for the Group of Latin American Countries UN Security Council seat. Guatemala and Venezuela are the two candidates. Declining to answer directly, Singh affirmed that "The jury is still out, but is tilted against Guatemala." ¶2. (C) Singh added that MEA Minister of State Anand Sharma recently met with the Guatemalan Foreign Minister and asked what Guatemala can "bring to the table." The GOG gave a vague and noncommittal reply to a specific request for support on India's UNSC campaign in contrast to Venezuela which is backing the G-4 campaign. Singh also mentioned that Venezuela is "pressing hard" for the vote, capitalizing on their oil and money influence in lobbying the GOI and others. He described it as an "uneven race, since Venezuela has much more weight," and pointed to the recent invitation to Chavez to attend the African Union's summit as evidence that Caracas enjoys the upper hand which would make India's vote superfluous. ¶3. (C) Singh underlined that India had not yet decided how to vote, welcomed the chance to exchange head counts, and noted that when the chips are down and Washington makes clear at the highest levels that something is important and India's vote can make a difference, the GOI is prepared to factor that into its positions. He cited India's IAEA vote on Iran as an example of this dynamic. With this advice in mind, we intend to keep pressing the Guatemalan case at senior levels and would welcome a Department assessment of support for Guatemala that we would share with the Indians. PYATT