DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION DISCUSSES PKK TERRORISM,

C O N F I D E N T I A L MADRID 002063 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR EUR/WE, ALSO FOR EUR/SE - DGARBE AND S/CT - ZROTHSCHILD E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/31/2017 TAGS: PTER PREL PGOV KTFN TU IZ EUN SP SUBJECT: DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION DISCUSSES PKK TERRORISM, KOSOVO, AND BILATERAL RELATIONS WITH SPANISH MFA DG FOR FOREIGN POLICY REF: STATE 148531 Classified By: DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION HUGO LLORENS, REASONS 1.4B AND D . ¶1. (C) PKK: DCM met October 31 with MFA Director General for Foreign Policy Rafael Dezcallar and delivered reftel points. Dezcallar said Spain shared U.S. concerns regarding the PKK and understood the delicacy of the situation between Turkey and Iraq. He emphasized that Spain wanted to be helpful and was very active in general on the counter-terrorism front, noting the verdicts in the March 11, 2004, Madrid train bombing case were being handed down that very day (septel). ¶2. (C) Kosovo: The DCM mentioned the importance of a strong united U.S. and EU position on Kosovo and said Spain had an opportunity to provide leadership on a difficult issue. Dezcallar replied that during FM Moratinos' October 29 meeting with the Secretary there had been substantial agreement on Kosovo. He mentioned that he had been in Serbia the week of October 22 and had emphasized to his interlocutors that Spain supported the Troika process and would do all it could to avoid a EU split on Kosovo. He said Spain wanted to see Europe "united for action, not paralysis." ¶3. (C) Foreign Policy and Upcoming Elections: Dezcallar noted that the election season was beginning in Spain and lamented that the quality of the public discourse on foreign policy left much to be desired. Describing himself as apolitical, Dezcallar said the Zapatero administration was unfairly criticized for mishandling relations with the U.S. In fact, Spain and the U.S. worked extremely well together on a wide range of important issues including counter-terrorism and law enforcement. He mentioned the MEPP was another area where Spain wanted to do all it could to be supportive of U.S. efforts. Raising Afghanistan, Dezcallar said the Spanish Government had worked hard and successfully to build a public consensus in support of Spain's deployments. Whereas the public had once regarded Afghanistan as a "distant" problem, they now registered higher support for the international effort there than the citizens of many other European countries. In sum, he said Spain valued its relationship with the U.S. and wanted to expand areas of cooperation internationally. AGUIRRE