DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER LOOKING FOR BILATERAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 001341

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

WHA FOR TOM SHANNON, PATRICK DUDDY
WHA/BSC FOR BRUCE FRIEDMAN, BLAKENEY, MOSS, CROFT
S/CT ARNOLD SIERRA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/12/2017
TAGS: PREL AR
SUBJECT: DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER LOOKING FOR BILATERAL
RE-ENGAGEMENT


Classified By: Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne for reasons
1.4(b)and(d)


1. (C) Summary: This is an Action Message: please see para.

7. On July 11, Deputy Foreign Minister Roberto Garcia
Moritan invited Ambassador to a confidential discussion on
the "future" of bilateral relations. He and Undersecretary
for Foreign Relations Vicente Espeche Gil raised the need for
high-level bilateral re-engagement, specifically on the
bilateral relationship, but also on regional issues and
regional stability. Garcia Moritan said he would like to
meet with A/S Shannon, either prior to UNGA or on the margins
to pursue this future-oriented discussion, and expressed hope
that Foreign Minister Taiana might be able to meet with the
Secretary on the margins of UNGA. Ambassador welcomed the

SIPDIS
initiative to talk about where we go from the current
strained situation and suggested areas of possible deeper
engagement could include nuclear energy and nonproliferation
and revitalizing the 3 1 Tri-Border Area mechanism. (Garcia
Moritan's comments on Venezuela, MERCOSUR and Bolivia
reported Septel.) Garcia Moritan's outreach to Ambassador may
well indicate the MFA's cautious preparations for the
post-Nestor Kirchner period when they anticipate a more
vigorous and engaged (and less antagonistic) foreign policy
from the presumed winner of next October 28 presidential
elections, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. End Summary.


2. (C) On July 11, Ambassador and A/PolCouns met with Deputy
Foreign Minister Roberto Garcia Moritan and Undersecretary
for Foreign Relations Vicente Espeche Gil, at Garcia
Moritan's invitation. Garcia Moritan told Ambassador that he
wanted very informally to discuss with the Ambassador ways
the two governments can "reestablish contact" at the higher
levels and focus on "the future." He suggested he would find
it useful in this connection if he could meet with A/S
Shannon, perhaps in connection with UN General Assembly
meetings, or even before. He also raised the possibility of
Foreign Minister Taiana meeting with the Secretary, likely at
UNGA, schedules permitting. Ambassador noted that he
believed A/S Shannon would be happy to have a discussion with
Garcia Moritan. Garcia Moritan stated that both President
Kirchner and First Lady Senator Kirchner would be going to
New York and that the President was scheduled to address the
General Assembly on September 25. He said that Kirchner may
also participate in the concurrent Annual Meeting of the
Clinton Global Initiative, where he would address the issue
of poverty.


3. (C) Garcia Moritan said he would like to discuss a
possible Taiana-Secretary meeting with A/S Shannon and added
that it was important to review regional issues and
developments, noting that Argentina's focus and concerns were
on regional stability and predictability and how the two
governments could work to support this. Garcia Moritan noted
a discussion of bilateral relations would also be important.
Ambassador said that Secretary Rice, in her interview with
several Latin American newspapers during the White House
Conference on Latin America, had well characterized
Washington's attitude toward Argentina, that the United
States considers itself a friend of Argentina and that
overall relations are good but with disagreements on some
issues. Ambassador also noted that the Secretary had
stressed the fact that the U.S. had strongly supported
Argentina during its financial crisis, intervening with the
IMF to give the GoA space to implement its policies, and is
disappointed that this does not appear to be recognized by
the GoA.


4. (C) Garcia Moritan replied that, personally, he was in
complete agreement with the Secretary. To place it in
context, however, he noted that this "drift" in relations
coincided with the 2005 Summit of the Americas where
Kirchner, for the first time, was publicly critical of the
U.S. Garcia Moritan explained that the SOA was the only
regional forum in which there was no mention of the
Malvinas/Falklands issue in a final document, this at the
insistence of the U.S. The Malvinas, he continued, was
critical to Argentine foreign policy and interests and a
hot-button issue, and not getting even one "short, bland"
paragraph in the Summit document was very difficult to
swallow. Nevertheless, Garcia Moritan said his hope now is
to look to the future, not the past.


5. (C) Ambassador suggested that one area for increased
engagement could be on the nuclear energy front, citing the
recent Bush-Putin Declaration on Nuclear Energy and
Nonproliferation. Ambassador said that Argentina had the
expertise in nuclear energy, a commitment to
non-proliferation and an interest in developing new energy
sources. This was thus a potential area for increased
cooperation, which could even include Brazil given its
nuclear energy experience. Ambassador also suggested a
reinvigorated 3 plus 1 mechanism would be important. He
noted the sharp differences surrounding the last meeting and
stressed that all parties shared an interest in stopping
terrorism-related activities as well as the other illicit
activiteis in the region (e.g. trafficking in drugs, arms,
people, contraband). Ambassador said we should think through
how we can overcome differences and work together more
effectively in addressing all these problems. Garcia Moritan
replied that this was an interesting idea, one that the MFA
had also been discussing. He noted that he was still
undecided on whether incorporating these other issues into 3
plus 1, or addressing them in a parallel mechanism would be
better. One concern, he reflected, was that in incorporating
other illicit activities (e.g. drug, gun, people
trafficking),we run the risk of diluting 3 plus 1. Garcia
Moritan said this was an important issue, and he and
Ambassador agreed to continue the discussion. (Note: We are
working on a separate message on invigorating the 3 plus 1
mechanism. End Note.)


6. (C) Comment: Garcia Moritan has approached the
Ambassador before regarding the need to "re-engage," with
little follow through however. While Garcia Moritan had
little to say about concrete ways we might re-engage, in
light of some candid remarks about possible life under
Cristina, it appears the MFA's leadership is thinking about
the post-Kirchner era. In an aside about the difficulties of
coordinating government policy, Garcia Moritan noted that
she, unlike her husband, welcomed open dialogue and input
from a wide range of interlocutors. President Kirchner, he
said, concerned about information "leakage," preferred to
meet individually with ministers or with a small group of
advisors. This, Garcia Moritan said, made interagency
coordination very difficult, especially in light of the
increasingly complex nature of foreign policy. It is too
early to speculate about Cristina Kirchner's possible foreign
policy interests, but the MFA at least appears to be
anticipating more engagement and, importantly, they want this
to include more engagment with the U.S.. End Comment.


7. (C) Action: Embassy strongly supports a Shannon-Garcia
Moritan conversation and supports a Taiana-Secretary
bilateral in September.

WAYNE