ITALY SUPPORTIVE OF GUATEMALA'S UNSC BID

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 000433 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/09/2016 TAGS: PREL UN UNSC GT VE IT SUBJECT: ITALY SUPPORTIVE OF GUATEMALA'S UNSC BID REF: A. ROME 427 ¶B. STATE 20173 Classified By: Political Minister Counselor David Pearce for Reasons 1. 4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) WHA A/S Tom Shannon met with MFA Director General for the Americas Claudio Bisogniero February 3 (see Ref A) and urged Italy to support Guatemala's UN Security Council (UNSC) candidacy (per Ref B). Shannon shared our concerns regarding Venezuela's bid for the Latin America Group (GRULAC) seat on the UNSC, and noted Guatemala's larger UN profile. Having Venezuela on the UNSC would be disruptive, Shannon said. He noted Venezuela's recent history of trying to hijack international organizations for its own purposes, entering with its own agenda. ¶2. (C) Shannon noted that Guatemala, in contrast to Venezuela, contributes to UN peacekeeping (recently losing eight peacekeepers in the Congo) and has shown a greater overall commitment to the UN system. Bisogniero responded that Italy was very much inclined to support Guatemala's candidacy. He explained that Italy anticipated holding a UNSC seat during the same rotation and had no interest in seeing a disruptive presence on the Council. He noted that Italy has not made this position public. SPOGLI