Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07STATE150674
2007-10-30 22:29:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Secretary of State
Cable title:  

SECRETARY'S 10/29 MEETING WITH SPANISH FM

Tags:  OSCE KCFE SP KV RU KZ MD 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 STATE 150674 

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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).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 STATE 150674

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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