SECRETARY'S 10/29 MEETING WITH SPANISH FM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 STATE 150674 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/29/2017 TAGS: OSCE KCFE SP KV RU KZ MD SUBJECT: SECRETARY'S 10/29 MEETING WITH SPANISH FM MORATINOS Classified By: EUR A/S DANIEL FRIED, REASONS; 1.4 (b) AND (d). ¶1. (U) October 29, 2007, 10:00 a.m., Secretary's Office ¶2. (U) Participants: United States The Secretary EUR A/S Daniel Fried PA A/S Sean McCormack Steve Beecroft EUR Elaine Samson (Notetaker) Spain Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos Ambassador Carlos Westendorp Chief of Staff Javier Sancho Political Director Rafael Dezcallar Director General for Europe and North America Jose Pons Director General for External Communications Manuel Cacho DCM Jose Pascual Marco ¶3. (C) Summary: FM Moratinos told the Secretary that if Kazakhstan were assured it will get the OSCE Chairmanship in 2010, it will step back from its 2009 candidacy. Moratinos added that the Kazakhstanis were prepared to accept (unspecified) performance benchmarks as part of such an arrangement. The Secretary said if Kazakhstan would agree to meet some benchmarks as part of a 2010 CIO package, we would accept that offer. Spain promised its support on Kosovo, and a unified EU position. They discussed the need to "work out something" with Russia on CFE; a possible Zapatero-Putin telephone call on OSCE election monitors; OSCE institutional issues, such as OSCE institutional reform and a possible summit, and the appointment of a new Head of Mission in Moldova; and possible movement on the Moldova-Transnistria dispute before the OSCE Ministerial. FM Moratinos and the Secretary met in private for approximately 10 before the SIPDIS meeting, and discussed the upcoming international Middle East conference in Annapolis. The FM gave a short press conference to Spanish and international press outside the State Department after the meeting. In his capacity as OSCE CiO, FM Moratinos briefed the Helsinki Commission at 4:00 pm on October 29. End Summary. Kazakhstan Candidacy for OSCE CiO -------------- ¶4. (C) FM Moratinos reported that King Juan Carlos is a close friend of Kazakhstan's President Nazarbayev, and that this had allowed Spain to convince Kazakhstan to commit to take a number of steps to improve its elections processes. Moratinos noted that Kazakhstan complied with every request proposed for the August 2007 elections, but that Spain had not known to request to Kazakhstan lower the threshold percentage of votes for parties to gain parliamentary seats so that minority parties would have a better chance to win seats. The FM said that if Kazakhstan were successful in its quest for the OSCE Chairmanship, it would bind Kazakhstan closer to Europe, but that Spain agreed Kazakhstan was not ready to hold the Chair yet. Moratinos reported that through Spain's efforts as CiO, Kazakhstan has agreed to forego pursuing the OSCE C1O for 2009, if it can be agreed Kazakhstan will get the position in 2010. The Secretary asked if the Kazakhs specifically had told the Spanish that, and Moratinos confirmed that President Nazarbayev had discussed it with King Juan Carlos and EU Council SecGen Javier Solana, and Moratinos had talked to the Kazakh FM. The Secretary said that if Kazakhstan would agree to some benchmarks (unspecified),the United States would agree to support that deal "in a minute." The Secretary asked the FM to coordinate with EUR A/S Fried and follow up with the Kazakhstan government to see if we could come to a firm understanding. (Fried asked Spanish Ambassador Westendorf to confirm details of the Kazakh discussion of possible benchmarks as an element of a compromise settlement of the CIO issue.) STATE 00150674 002 OF 003 Kosovo -------------- ¶5. (C) FM Moratinos assured the Secretary that Spain will "not present any problems" to attempts to resolve Kosovo's status, despite media and domestic sensitivities about similarities between Kosovo's situation and Basque or Catalan nationalism. Spain wants EU unity on Kosovo, Moratinos said, and he has told the Portuguese EU President so. He noted the contradiction it would present at the end of the Troika mandate December 10 if the EU could not form a unified position on Kosovo three days before the planned signing of the EU Treaty on December ¶13. The FM also said if Russia would not agree to a new UN Security Council resolution at the necessary time, the EU would not be "blackmailed" by Russia in the UN, and prevented from taking action. The Secretary agreed, noting that there was growing consensus that there was sufficient legal basis for NATO and EU peacekeeping operations. FM Moratinos asked for the Secretary's opinion of the Troika process. Secretary Rice said it has been useful: a source of interesting ideas, and not a waste of time. The Secretary stressed the need to convince Serbia that there is a workable, non-violent solution even if Kosovo unilaterally declares independence. The Secretary cautioned the Spanish not to make to continued SIPDIS operation of the OSCE Office in Kosovo (OMiK) a huge issue, but advised that the year-end renewal of its mandate could possibly be worked out. The key is for the major EU members -- Spain, Italy, the UK, France, and Germany -- to remain firm and united, and to work with the United States to reach a decision about Kosovo's status soon after December 10. Russia -------------- ¶6. (C) Secretary Rice told the Spanish that we need to work something out with Russia on CFE. Moratinos replied that he would send a message to the Russians. The Secretary told the Spanish that the United States cannot SIPDIS accept prior commitments to changes to the flank limits, but that we may be able to come to an agreement with Russia to "agree to review" the terms of the revised treaty which could include the flank regime. The Secretary also said that the United States will insist on fulfillment of the Istanbul commitments, though we may be willing to discuss how these might be met. The Secretary asked if Moratinos wanted her to ask Russian FM Lavrov for anything the next time they spoke. Moratinos asked that Russia allow the OSCE to create a "Wise Man" position to consult on and oversee the OSCE charter issue. Russia has been insistent on the need for changes to the OSCE charter, as a means of weakening the organization. Moratinos wants to delay this, and sees the appointment of a Wise Man as a means of controlling the process. Moratinos reiterated the need for Russia to accept ODIHR election monitors for the Russian Duma elections without conditions. The FM committed to have President Zapatero call President Putin about this, as both he and the Secretary agreed that the Russian FM is not in control of SIPDIS the election process. OSCE Institutional Issues -------------- ¶7. (C) FM Moratinos assured Secretary Rice that Spain will work to get Philip Remler appointed as the new Head of Mission at the OSCE Mission in Moldova. He also raised the possibility of holding an OSCE Summit in the next year or so, since the last one was in 1999. He proposed to hold it in 2009 in Greece. The Secretary noted that any such summit would take place after both their tenures were over. She commented that while the members have done a lot with the OSCE, much of the work has fallen on the Chair in Office and the staff of the national foreign ministries each year, despite the OSCE having a large permanent bureaucracy. The Secretary advised that the OSCE needs to conduct some serious self-examination and do some significant re-organization before considering holding a summit of heads of state. Frozen Conflicts -------------- STATE 00150674 003 OF 003 ¶8. _(C) FM Moratinos relayed that Spain has been making diplomatic efforts on the Moldova-Transnistrian dispute, and he sees some movement within the "5 plus 2" framework (Moldova, Transnistria, Russia, Ukraine and OSCE plus the EU and the US). Moratinos said the Moldovans and Transnistrians have agreed to engage again before the OSCE Ministerial. RICE