ARGENTINE PRESIDENT REPRISES HER CRITIQUE OF U.S.

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001681 SENSITIVE, SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV ETRD PHUM ECON EAGR RU AR SUBJECT: ARGENTINE PRESIDENT REPRISES HER CRITIQUE OF U.S. "UNILATERALISM," BUT TRADE AND INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES ARE THE PRIORITIES IN MOSCOW VISIT REF: A. BUENOS AIRES 1456 ¶B. BUENOS AIRES 1444 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Argentine President Fernandez de Kirchner (CFK) indulged in an increasingly familiar critique of the international system during a two-day visit to Russia December 9-10, taking jabs implicitly at the U.S. and blaming "unilateralism" for economic and security hardships in the world. She framed the Argentina-Russia bilateral relationship as instrumental toward a more equitable multipolar system, while also emphasizing increasing commercial and investment ties between the two countries. CFK was accompanied by 80 businessmen and participated in a large trade promotion conference on December 9. Business deals on hydrocarbons and beef dominated the outcomes, along with the apparently premature announcement of the elimination of visa requirements for citizens traveling between the two countries. The Argentine press noted CFK's implicit criticism of the United States, and some reporters and commentators raised sharp questions about the GOA's quiescence on Russian human rights violations and foreign policy actions. End Summary. ¶2. (U) President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (CFK) visited Russia December 9-10, accompanied by Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana, Planning Minister Julio De Vido, the head of the newly created Ministry of Production, Debora Giorgi, and Governors of the provinces of Mendoza and Santiago del Estero. Press reports said that some 80 Argentine business persons took part in the trip. CFK met with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on December 9 and President Dmitri Medvedev on the 10th, signing a joint declaration with the President. The meeting with Putin was highlighted in the Argentine press, which recalled that the then Russian President had canceled a meeting with former Argentine President Nestor Kirchner in 2004 when the latter arrived several hours late. CFK, the press noted, had agreed to a later start to her own meeting with Putin to accommodate the funeral for deceased Russian patriarch Alexis II. Argentine reporters were struck by Putin's "icy" and non-emotive demeanor in the meeting. Critiques of Unilateralism and the International System -------------- -------------- ¶3. (U) In public remarks with Prime Minister Putin and then after the meeting with Medvedev, CFK indulged in a critique of the U.S.-dominated international financial system that has become a common refrain since her September address to the UNGA (reftel A). With Putin, she commented that "the return of Russia to the international scene is for us good news. We need a world that is not unipolar, something that has brought us many headaches in terms of international security and economic certainty." She thanked Russia for its support for the Argentine position that the United Kingdom should agree to negotiate over the future of the Malvinas (Falklands) via the framework established by the United Nations. CFK also voiced appreciation for a Russian decision to end visa requirements for Argentines, a reference to a planned bilateral visa waiver agreement that apparently could not be concluded by the end of the meetings on December 10. ¶4. (U) After the Medvedev meeting on December 10, CFK said that "the deepening of the relationship with Russia must be a part of a new concept of international relations, both in political and economic terms. Until now, relationships have been marked by subordination. That is, the central countries have imposed economic and security policies on the rest. We have to substitute subordination for cooperation in state relations," she said. "Russia and Argentina will be protagonists in this different and better world." The global economic system, she argued, had not worked and "now the costs will be paid on a global scale." Underscoring her critique, she said "there have been regulations imposed by the IMF and by the UN, but they are only enforced on the weaker and smaller countries and not on the powerful. It is bad to live in a world without rules," she added, "but much worse to live in a world where the rules apply only to the weak." Although CFK did not name the United States in her remarks, local press, including leading daily "La Nacion," interpreted them as being critical of U.S. policy. ¶5. (U) The December 10 communique reportedly also broadly endorsed cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, space satellite navigation, and technical cooperation in defense production. Despite continuing interest from the Minister of Defense in purchasing Russian defense articles, including possibly helicopters (reftel B),the anemic resources for capital expenditures in the Argentine defense budget apparently made this impossible. GOA Sought Balance in Joint Declaration -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Rafael Grossi, the MFA's Director General for Political Coordination and a close advisor to Foreign Minister Taiana, told Poloff December 10 that his negotiations with a Russian counterpart over the text of the Joint Declaration had been long but not particularly contentious. He called Argentine press stories that the GOA had considered endorsing the actions of Russian security forces in Georgia "absurd." Argentina had never considered going beyond an endorsement of the EU-Russian statement negotiated by French President Sarkozy, he said, and although the Russians had initially proposed something more favorable to their position on the Georgia conflict, they had accepted quickly Argentina's limitations. Similarly, he said, Argentina had refused to include language critical of U.S. missile defense installations in Eastern Europe. Instead, Grossi had suggested a more general point endorsing UN consideration of a resolution to prevent an arms race in outer space (but not, he emphasized, an endorsement of the Russian-Chinese proposal on this issue). On other issues, including human rights, UN Security Council reform, and terrorism, the two sides had generally resolved differences by reverting to broad endorsements of UN resolutions on these issues. ¶7. (SBU) Grossi suggested that Washington view the joint communique and the visit as a balanced endeavor, that in "no way should be portrayed as anti-American." The Argentine press, he said, seemed to be trying to score points against the CFK administration by playing up the anti-American angle. Grossi emphasized that he was a career diplomat and that his reaction to the press critique was not that of a politician. The visit's principal goals, Grossi emphasized, were economic. First "to secure an important market for Argentina -- just like everyone else is doing during a global economic crisis," and second, "to advance important opportunities for cooperation on oil and gas." Quiet on Human Rights -------------- ¶8. (U) Lead "La Nacion" columnist Joaquin Morales Sola, in a front-page placement December 10, sharply questioned CFK's silence on human rights issues during her visit to Russia, contrasting this quiescence with her heavy implicit criticism of the United States. He also wondered at the focus on attracting investment, coming after former President and now presidential husband Nestor Kirchner had "spent the past five years frightening them." Like other pundits, he suggested that the Kirchner's were attracted to the authoritarian elements of Russian rule. Building on Commercial Ties: Oil and Beef Dominate -------------- -------------- ¶9. (U) Although CFK emphasized that the Argentina-Russia bilateral relationship should not be "characterized only by commerce," trade and investment were central to the visit. Perhaps most prominently, Russian private oil company Lukoil signed an accord with the GOA to invest up to USD 500 million in Argentina, beginning with a fuel storage facility north of Buenos Aires city and a pipeline to connect it to the nearby General Belgrano thermoelectric plant. This has been a GOA priority project, needed to expand domestic power generation capacity. The plant began operating on diesel fuel in early ¶2008. Planning Minister De Vido, who signed the accord for the GOA, stated to the press that "the idea is for Lukoil to become a major player in the energy area" for Argentina. ¶10. (U) Foreign Minister Taiana announced that Russian Prime Minister Putin asked CFK to allow GOR-owned Gazprom to participate in future construction of an extension of the natural gas pipeline network to cover Northeastern Argentina. According to Taiana, Putin also expressed interest that another Russian state-owned energy company, Rosneft, undertake future exploration off the Argentine coast. ¶11. (U) Discussion of beef exports dominated the Argentine press focus on trade issues, as CFK stated that McDonald's of Russia had nearly closed a deal to import 355 metric tons of beef per year (equal to 3.7 percent of 2007 Argentine beef exports to Russia). Sergei Malikov, trade director of Russian meat importer City Grand, told local press that meat purchases from Argentina were lower than they could be because "not all of the Argentine firms have export licenses" for beef, a result of ongoing GOA limits on beef exports. While fruit exports to Russia had been growing steadily, meat exports to Russia fell 45 percent in 2007 from 2006 totals, largely due to GOA-imposed beef export constraints. ¶12. (U) Argentine exports to Russia are over 90 percent agricultural in origin, led in 2007 by USD 252 million in meat (mostly frozen beef) and USD 203 million of fruit (led by apples, pears and citrus),out of total exports of USD 784 million. For the first three quarters of 2008, however, Argentine fruit exports had outpaced beef and total exports had reached USD 825 million. ¶13. (U) Total goods trade between Argentina and Russia was USD 1.15 billion in 2007, an increase of 291 percent from 2003, with exports from Argentina of USD 784 million and imports of USD 430 million. Both exports to and imports from Russia have grown faster in that period than Argentina's overall trade flows, and Russia's share of Argentine trade has climbed from 0.7 percent in 2003 to 1.2 percent in 2007 and 1.5 percent through the first three quarters of 2008. Argentina's imports from Russia are dominated by fertilizer, which at USD 332 million in 2007 was 77 percent of all imports from Russia. Through September 2008 that figure had increased to USD 506 million, accounting for 30 percent of Argentina's fertilizer imports. Comment -------------- ¶14. (SBU) Argentina has enjoyed warm relations with Russia since the nineteenth century. That the Kirchner administration sees value in building both commercial and strategic ties with Russia is not surprising, nor is it difficult to understand the attraction the Kirchners might feel for Russia's economic model of heavy state ownership and intervention in the economy. Argentina has moved in that direction, complicating relations with private capital in the process. State corporations like Russia's oil giants might appear increasingly appealing to the GOA as private capital grows wary of energy sector and other investments in the country. WAYNE