EL SALVADOR: DEMARCHE ON OPPOSING UNGA RESOLUTIONS

UNCLAS SAN SALVADOR 002347 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR IO/UNP ERIN MCLINN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL UNGA IS ES SUBJECT: EL SALVADOR: DEMARCHE ON OPPOSING UNGA RESOLUTIONS WITH ANTI-ISRAEL BIAS DELIVERED REF: STATE 159386 ¶1. (U) On November 30, Poloff delivered reftel demarche and talking points to Gustavo Argueta, MFA Official in Charge of UN and Multilateral Fora. Argueta acknowledged the US position on such resolutions and added that El Salvador strongly supports the Middle East peace process. He also said that in recent years El Salvador has moved towards what he described as "a more balanced approach" to relations with Israel and the other countries in the Middle East. He pointed to El Salvador's decision to move its Embassy in Israel from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv as an example of this new approach. ¶2. (U) Argueta stated that El Salvador had recently been strengthening and expanding its relations with several Arab countries. He added that El Salvador continued to have excellent relations with Israel, and this week he had met with Mattanya Cohen, Israel's Ambassador to El Salvador, to receive a document outlining Israel's plan for this year's UNGA and to discuss UN issues. ¶3. (U) Argueta said that he would communicate the US position through appropriate channels and would be open to further discussion on specific resolutions. Glazer