SPAIN DEPUTY FM LEON ON KOSOVO UDI

C O N F I D E N T I A L MADRID 000128 SIPDIS SIPDIS EUR FOR A/S FRIED, DAS VOLKER, DAS DICARLO EUR/WE FOR ALLEGRONE E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/06/2018 TAGS: PREL SP KV SUBJECT: SPAIN DEPUTY FM LEON ON KOSOVO UDI Classified By: CDA Hugo Llorens for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Deputy FM Bernardino Leon approached Charge at a luncheon speech given by President Zapatero in Madrid February 6, to inform that Spain remained unable to support EU consensus on Kosovo prior to Spain's March 9 elections. Leon reiterated previously raised concerns about the sensitivities of Spanish regional politics during the election season. Leon said that no senior political leader in Spain could countenance Spanish support for EU consensus prior to the elections. Comments to the media by former President Aznar indicated that the PP would also remain very opposed to a UDI. ¶2. (C) Leon said that a U.S. attempt to move forward in February would cause internal division in the EU, not only with Spain. Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, and Romania all remained opposed. Leon, who was in Athens on February 5, said that Spain and Greece were in full agreement on the need for delay. The Tadic victory in Serbia meant that U.S. concerns about deterioration on the ground in Kosovo had lessened considerably. ¶3. (C) Leon said that Spain's position would not change between now and March 9, and the U.S. should therefore wait for the sake of U.S.-EU unity. Leon said that Spain would go along with EU consensus immediately following the elections and could even commit to the U.S. on a set date for Spanish recognition, though not in the first group. LLORENS