SPANISH VIEWS IN ADVANCE OF MAY GAERC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 000579 SIPDIS EUR/ERA E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2018 TAGS: PREL EUN SP SUBJECT: SPANISH VIEWS IN ADVANCE OF MAY GAERC REF: STATE 54639 MADRID 00000579 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: DCM Hugo Llorens for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Spanish MFA Deputy DG for ESDP Carlos Fernandez-Arias told Poloff May 22 that the May "Jumbo-GAERC" would address the Balkans, Iraq, Lebanon, MEPP, Afghanistan, Somalia, Georgia and Zimbabwe and also review the status of all ESDP missions currently deployed, but will not discuss Iran, CUBA or Belarus. //BALKANS// ¶2. (C) Fernandez-Arias said Spain was pleased with the results of the Serbian elections in the sense that Tadic's party did better than predicted. Nevertheless, negotiations were ongoing and some pessimism existed about the chances of a pro-EU coalition emerging. He said Spain is working with the younger more progressive elements of the Serbian socialist party to push them toward joining Socialist International, which would require moving the party in a modern, European direction. ¶3. (C) On Kosovo, Spain was looking forward to the potential June 15 transfer from UNMIK to EULEX, and Fernandez-Arias said this transfer would facilitate Spain's ability to remain active in Kosovo. He said the international community would need to use all of its abilities and resources in bringing the Serbs along with EULEX and moving forward in Kosovo. //IRAQ// ¶4. (C) Spain will participate in the Stockholm conference and feels that there is currently a good opportunity for the EU to make a positive political statement on Iraq by increasing EU visibility on the ground and increasing political commitments in addition to development commitments. //LEBANON// ¶5. (C) Spain wants to send a strong message of support and unity in the wake of the Doha agreement. Fernandez-Arias said the ongoing dialogue between Syria and Israel was contributing positively to the situation in Lebanon. //MEPP// ¶6. (C) Spain continues its support for Annapolis and is encouraged by the ongoing negotiations, despite their slow pace. Fernandez-Arias said that as important as Israeli-Palestinian negotiations were the ongoing PA-Hamas discussions, which were more difficult to gauge and play an active role in. He said Spain wants the Quartet to be more active in this regard. In June, he said the EU would increase engagement with Israel to increase mutual confidence, but he underscored that the EU would maintain a strong message on the necessity of dismantling settlements. He hoped the EU would be able to "incentivize" the discussion on settlements with Israel. //AFGHANISTAN// ¶7. (C) Spain views the Paris conference not only as a pledge conference but also as an important opportunity to promote the need for the Afghan government to assert control over its future. Fernandez-Arias said the EU did not want to continue to be seen as gift-givers, but wanted to see the Afghans increasingly taking ownership of projects. He acknowledged problems with the EU police mission but said Spain was committed to working harder for the mission's success, which would be a major topic of discussion among defense ministers. //SOMALIA// ¶8. (C) Spain continues to support the UNSCR on piracy and will push the EU to develop a plan of involvement once the resolution is approved. //GEORGIA// ¶9. (C) The EU will issue conclusions on the Georgian elections, along with a strong message on what Fernandez-Arias called the Russian politics of "threats, blackmail, and provocation." In addition, the EU will reiterate its calls for moderation by Georgia. //ZIMBABWE// ¶10. (C) Fernandez-Arias said the GAERC would issue a statement calling for nonviolence during the second round of MADRID 00000579 002.2 OF 002 elections, and would also consider ways to work with Zimbabwe's neighbors to bring resolution to the Zimbabwean crisis. //CUBA// ¶11. (C) Fernandez-Arias said that it was still early to be considering the U.S.-EU summit declaration, but he said he did not think the EU would be able to agree to a declaration based on the points in the non-paper. He disagreed particularly with the statement that the Castro regime refuses to meet with any foreign officials that also meet with civil society and asserted that Spanish officials meet with civil society frequently. He said that the Spanish are able to meet with civil society, though not all European countries can. Aguirre