Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BUENOSAIRES603
2007-03-29 00:20:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Buenos Aires
Cable title:  

ARGENTINA ENDS FALKLANDS/MALVINAS OIL AND GAS

Tags:  PGOV PMIL KTIA AR UK 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0009
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #0603/01 0880020
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 290020Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7681
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA IMMEDIATE 5921
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON IMMEDIATE 1193
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO IMMEDIATE 6316
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO IMMEDIATE 0304
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 000603 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

WHA/BSC FOR BARNES, FRIEDMAN, AND BLAKENEY
EUR/UBI FOR ROY AND PEASE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/28/2017
TAGS: PGOV PMIL KTIA AR UK
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA ENDS FALKLANDS/MALVINAS OIL AND GAS
ACCORD

Classified By: Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 000603

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

WHA/BSC FOR BARNES, FRIEDMAN, AND BLAKENEY
EUR/UBI FOR ROY AND PEASE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/28/2017
TAGS: PGOV PMIL KTIA AR UK
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA ENDS FALKLANDS/MALVINAS OIL AND GAS
ACCORD

Classified By: Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D)


1. (C) Summary: On March 27, Foreign Minister Taiana
announced that the GOA would end a 1995 accord with the UK
aimed at encouraging cooperation on oil and gas exploration
around the Falklands/Malvinas islands. He maintained,
however, that the GOA will continue to abide by the 1989-1990
sovereignty umbrella agreement but reiterated GOA demands for
renewed sovereignty talks. The Casa Rosada separately
announced that Kirchner will not attend the 25th anniversary
commemoration of the Falklands in Ushuaia as originally
anticipated, and that Vice President Scioli will attend
instead.


2. (C) Publicly, the UK Embassy expressed regret that the
GOA decided to &send a political message during a sensitive
year8, given that this year marks the 25th anniversary of
the conflict. On March 28, British DCM Andrew Jackson told
DCM that while the UK regrets the decision, the UK was not
reading too much into it, given that the accord had been
dormant since 2000. He stressed that the UK was "bending
over backwards to be constructive" on the Falklands and
pointed to the UK's decision to allow 400-500 veterans and
next of kin of fallen Argentine soldiers to participate in a
private event inaugurating a memorial in the Argentine
cemetery on Darwin. Jackson suggested that Kirchner's
decision to walk away from the 1995 accord was an electoral
ploy to score points domestically. Jackson, and the Buenos
Aires press, speculated that Kirchner opted out of the
commemoration event in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego to avoid
attracting attention over public sector strikes in the
province and nearby Santa Cruz province. Although Kirchner
will likely commemorate the anniversary with a tough message
to London, the Deputy Defense Minister told the Ambassador
that he will likely criticize the military dictatorship's
decision to use Argentina's claims over the islands as a
pretext for war. At the same time, we believe Kirchner will
likely reiterate previous statements that the GOA wishes to

resolve the sovereignty question through diplomatic means.
End Summary.

-------------- --------------
Agreement Terminated, Kirchner Cancels Commemoration Trip
-------------- --------------


3. (SBU) On March 27, Foreign Minister Taiana announced
that the GOA would end a 1995 accord with the UK aimed at
encouraging cooperation on oil and gas exploration around the
Falklands/Malvinas islands. The decision comes six days
before the 25th anniversary of the Falklands/Malvinas war.
According to local press reports, Taiana justified the
decision by stating that the UK had "unilaterally" decided to
issue licenses for oil and gas exploration near the disputed
territories. Taiana further contended that the UK intended
to limit cooperation with Argentina to an area of only 21,000
suare kilometers, while reserving an additional 410,000
square kilometers for the UK's exclusive use. He claimed the
UK has used the agreement to justify its "illegitimate claims
over the islands" and noted that the accord had been
&frozen8 since 2000. Taiana insisted, however, that
canceling the accord did not mean the GOA would walk away
from the 1989-1990 sovereignty umbrella agreement. He also
maintained that the GOA is not opposed to cooperating with
the UK, but that cooperation should lead to a renewal of
sovereignty talks.


4. (SBU) The press also reported a separate Casa Rosada
announcement that Kirchner will not attend the 25th
anniversary commemoration of the Falklands in Ushuaia as
originally anticipated. Vice President Scioli will
reportedly fill in for Kirchner, and Taiana and Interior
Minister Fernandez are also expected to attend. Government
officials said the cancellation was due to "work issues," but
there is public speculation that unrest among state workers
in Tierra del Fuego and nearby Santa Cruz (Kirchner's home
province) could have made the trip politically unsuitable.


5. (SBU) Publicly, the UK Embassy expressed regret that the
GOA decided to &send a political message during a sensitive
year8, given that this year marks the 25th anniversary of
the conflict. It also announced that the UK, in conjunction
with the Falkland Islands Council, had agreed to allow
Argentine veterans and next of kin to visit the Argentine
cemetery in Darwin to inaugurate a memorial to Argentine
soldiers who died in the war. In addition, the UK Embassy
reiterated HMG's invitation for the GOA to participate in a
commemoration ceremony on June 14th of this year. The GOA
has declined the invitation, noting that the UK intended to
commemorate the war on the day Argentina surrendered after
the 10-week war.

-------------- --------------
UK: Decision is Electoral--but don't read too much into it
-------------- --------------


6. (C) On March 28, DCM met with British Deputy Head of
Mission Andrew Jackson to discuss the GOA decision to end the
accord. Jackson began by noting that the Argentine press
inaccurately reported that FM Taiana had called Ambassador
Hughes in on March 27 to inform him of the GOA decision.
Rather, Ambassador Hughes was to meet with Taiana to discuss
the UK's proposal to restart charter flights from Argentina
and other South American countries to the Falklands islands,
noting that such flights represented economic opportunities
for both Argentina and the Falklands. (Note: At present,
LAN airlines is allowed to stop in Rio Gallegos, Argentina
once a month on its Santiago-Stanley via Puerto Arenas
flight.) Instead, Ambassador Hughes met with Deputy Foreign
Minister Garcia Moritan, who explained that the GOA was more
interested in resuming scheduled flights to the islands
rather than charted flights. At the end of the meeting,
Garcia Moritan passed a letter to Ambassador Hughes informing
him of the GOA's decision to walk away from the 1995 oil and
gas accord.


7. (C) While the UK regrets the decision, Jackson stated
that the UK was not reading too much into it, noting that the
Argentine-UK commission on oil and gas exploration around the
Falklands islands had been dormant since 2000. He thanked
the USG for weighing in with the GOA last July urging them
not to take any unilateral action to change the status quo.
He noted that other commissions such as the fisheries and
demining commissions had been much more active. Jackson
mentioned that both countries met two weeks ago to discuss
fisheries issues where they decided to conduct a joint
fishing cruise at the end of the year. Jackson acknowledged
that the fisheries commission had not been functioning very
well and viewed the decision to conduct the joint cruise as a
positive sign that the Argentines want to keep the dialogue
going. He also asserted that the UK was "bending over
backwards to be constructive" on the Falklands, including: 1)
inviting 400-500 veterans and families of fallen Argentine
soldiers to a private event at Darwin Cemetery in November of
this year; 2) sharing fisheries data with the Argentines; and
3) agreeing to conduct a joint feasability study on demining
issues.


8. (C) Jackson suggested that Kirchner's decision to walk
away from the 1995 accord on the eve of the 25th anniversary
was based on electoral politics. That the GOA chose to walk
away from the oil accord as opposed to the fisheries accord
indicates that the GOA wanted to send a signal to London
without damaging Argentina's economic interests, Jackson
indicated. When asked about the Casa Rosada's announcement
that Kirchner would not participate in a planned April 2
commemoration event in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Jackson
speculated that Kirchner had opted out of the event to avoid
attracting attention over public sector strikes in the
province. Nevertheless, he still expects Kirchner to
commemorate the anniversary with a tough message to London.

--------------
Domestic Traction At What Cost?
--------------


9. (C) Comment: The Kirchner administration has pushed its
claims to the islands harder than any other recent Argentine
administration and is using the 25th anniversary as an
opportunity to again push the issue--a move that plays well
to nationalistic sentiments here. Kirchner's latest attempt
to pick a fight in the international arena again exemplifies
the administration's intent to make foreign policy decisions
largely for the political traction it wins at home; the
announcement was aimed primarily at domestic audiences with a
view to the October presidential elections. Although the
decision is one of the most drastic measures taken since the
GOA reestablished diplomatic ties with the UK in 1990, the
practical effects on Argentina, the UK, and the islands are
likely to be minimal.


10. (C) Kirchner's decision not to participate in the 25th
anniversary commemoration, however, may reflect a recent
penchant for distancing himself from his own controversial
foreign policy decisions. We note that Kirchner and much of
his Cabinet were inaugurating an international film festival
in Mar del Plata during Chavez's March 9 anti-U.S. rally. On
the other hand, Kirchner has been getting much bad press,
over strikes in his home province of Santa Cruz and may not
have wanted the prospect of similar protests in Ushuaia.


11. (C) Still, Kirchner most certainly will comment on the
occasion. Deputy Minister of Defense Ocampo told the
Ambassador that Kirchner's anniversary remarks will
underscore Argentina's valid claim to the islands, but
criticize the military dictatorship's decision to use this as
a pretext for a war that was poorly planned and executed. At
the same time, we believe he will likely reiterate previous
statements that the GOA wishes to resolve the sovereignty
question through diplomatic means. Still, Kirchner's
decision demonstrates yet again that he is willing to risk
damaging bilateral relationships for short-term political
gain--witness the GOA's dispute with Uruguay over pulp mills
and its fight with Chile over gas supply contracts.
Kirchner's pugnacious style is not limited to the foreign
arena. In recent weeks, he has criticized the Catholic
Church for siding with Santa Cruz protesters demanding higher
wages and his Interior Minister, Anibal Fernandez, has
publicly suggested that the head of Argentina's highest
Criminal Appeals Court to "quit for the good of the country"
when he characterized Kirchner's March 24 call to speed up
human rights trial as "judicial interference." As the
electoral season heats up in earnest, we can expect Kirchner
to continue his confrontational antics.
WAYNE