MFA POLITICAL DIRECTOR DEZCALLAR ON NATO SUMMIT,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 000376 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR EUR/WE, EUR/RPM, EUR/UMB, PRM/ECA, AND WHA/CCA E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/31/2018 TAGS: PREL NATO SMIG MK GR BO CU SP SUBJECT: MFA POLITICAL DIRECTOR DEZCALLAR ON NATO SUMMIT, KOSOVO, BELARUS, RESETTLEMENT OF CUBAN MIGRANTS, AND COLOMBIA REF: A. MADRID 371 ¶B. MADRID 372 ¶C. STATE 32646 ¶D. STATE 30007 ¶E. STATE 31278 Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Hugo Llorens, Reasons 1.4(b),(d) . ¶1. (C) Summary: Deputy Chief of Mission Llorens met March 31 with MFA Political Director Rafael Dezcallar, making the case for a more robust Spanish effort in Afghanistan, urging that the Spanish weigh in with Greece on Macedonia's NATO membership, encouraging Spanish recognition of Kosovo and support for the EU mission there, seeking support in the face of Belarus's attempts to reduce the U.S. diplomatic presence in Minsk, and asking that Spain assist in resettling Cuban migrants protected in Guantanamo. They also discussed Latin America, in particular Spain's support for Colombia. End summary. NATO Summit -------------- ¶2. (C) On Afghanistan, the DCM urged Spain to consider how it, along with other countries engaged there, could increase its contribution. He noted the U.S. had committed an additional 3,200 Marines and stressed the need for everyone to do more. Dezcallar said Spain would not be in a position to announce any new contributions in Bucharest, noting that the Spanish government was being formed even as the summit took place. However, he said that once the new team of ministers was in place, Spain would not close the door on any option. Regarding the possibility of sending additional police trainers (refs a and b),Dezcallar indicated this was something Spain could consider. He expected the EUPOL mission to grow and that Spain would be a part of that. He was emphasizing in his own public remarks that failure was not an option in Afghanistan. He was concerned that the Government of Afghanistan still lacked capacity and said the international community must work harder on "Afghanization." It was important for the Spanish public that the mission have a development and capacity building face, not just a military face. Dezcallar hoped Presidents Bush and Zapatero would have an opportunity to speak informally in Bucharest, understanding that the Spanish had not requested a formal, bilateral meeting. ¶3. (C) Regarding Macedonia (ref c),the DCM asked that Spain weigh in with Greece to urge that it not block Macedonia's membership bid. He stressed the importance to NATO, the Balkans, and Europe of enlargement at the Bucharest Summit. He pointed out that Macedonia had joined a number of international organizations under the provisional UN designation FYROM. Dezcallar said the GOS would continue to do all it could to persuade Greece not to make the name issue a sticking point. He mentioned he had recently spoken to his Greek counterpart on the subject, but, unfortunately, the Greek position seemed firm. He emphasized that Spain wanted to see Macedonia, Albania, and Croatia enter NATO. Dezcallar raised Ukraine, saying Spain would not oppose a consensus in favor of MAP if such consensus developed. Kosovo -------------- ¶3. (C) Noting the Spanish elections were now past, the DCM asked when Spain would recognize Kosovo. Dezcallar said Spanish recognition of Kosovo would not be "easy." Spain wanted to wait and see how the situation evolved on the ground and hoped a Serbian-Kosovar understanding would develop. He said linking Serbia more closely to Europe would be important (and mentioned that the Netherlands seemed to be a stumbling block in that regard). He said northern Kosovo was likely to be a particularly difficult problem. The Serbs there would never accept Kosovo's independence and could not be forced to do so. It was an issue Serbia and Kosovo must resolve. Dezcallar mentioned that the performance of the Kosovar leaders thus far had been "stupendous." Regarding recent statements by FM Moratinos that Spain would withhold its personnel from EULEX, the DCM asked about the status of Spain's contribution to the mission. Dezcallar said Spain MADRID 00000376 002 OF 002 remained committed to the EU mission but would not send personnel until the UN transferred the UNMIK mandate. He noted domestic Spanish criticism, saying it was difficult for the government to support institution-building in a state Spain did not recognize. Dezcallar said the GOS wanted stability in the region and to avoid the European paralysis of the 1990s, but the GOS continued to have reservations about legality. President Zapatero said in December that Spain would support an EU mission in Kosovo and contribute, but the transfer of the UNMIK mandate to EULEX was a hurdle. In any case, he said the number of Spanish personnel in question (15-20) was a small part of the overall effort. Belarus -------------- ¶4. (C) The DCM urged U.S.-EU solidarity in the face of retaliation by the Government of Belarus (ref d) and described the sorts of things the GOB was doing to U.S. Embassy Minsk. He stressed that the U.S. was only trying to win the release of political prisoners and that the U.S. and EU needed to stand together on this. Dezcallar seemed surprised by the situation. He said U.S. influence in support of democratic change in Belarus was important. However, he said that Spain had limited influence in Minsk and depended heavily on the Poles in relations with the GOB. Cuban Migrants and Latin America -------------- ¶5. (C) On resettlement of Cuban migrants from Guantanamo (ref e),the DCM asked that Spain assist by accepting some of the Cubans presently at Guantanamo, noting that Spain had done so in the past. He pointed out that at least two of them had relatives in Spain willing to assist. Dezcallar received the non-paper and promised to give it careful study, saying that if Spain had helped in the past it could perhaps do so again. ¶6. (C) On Latin America, the DCM praised Spain for recently signing an agreement with Colombia making that country a Spanish strategic partner. He noted the recent positive visits of President Uribe and President Garcia of Peru, and urged that Spain and the U.S. remain closely engaged on how they could encourage positive change in the region. Dezcallar said continued U.S.-Spanish cooperation was vital. He noted Spain had been very engaged during the recent dispute between Colombia and Ecuador. He opined that Uribe had won a great victory in getting the world to take another look at the FARC and see it for what it was. He said respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity was important, but Spain, because of ETA, understood the problems presented by terrorists who abused borders. He hoped Uribe's latest initiative on a hostage release would be successful. Dezcallar stressed that the U.S. and Spain should continue to collaborate on Cuba. Spain too wanted to see the dissidents freed (he noted Zapatero's recent letter in support of the dissidents) and a political opening on the island. It was only on methods that we differed. The DCM agreed that the U.S. and Spain, despite their differences, needed to maintain a regular dialogue on Cuba. AGUIRRE