SPANISH MFA NON-PROLIFERATION OFFICIALS COMMENT ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L MADRID 000957 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/WE,ISN/RA, ISN/RESS, SCA/RA E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/03/2018 TAGS: AORC ETTC PARM PREL SP SUBJECT: SPANISH MFA NON-PROLIFERATION OFFICIALS COMMENT ON EVE OF NSG MEETING REF: A. SECSTATE 85948 ¶B. MADRID 896 Classified By: DCM Arnold Chacon for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: POLOFF held an introductory meeting with Gonzalo de Salazar, the former DCM in Warsaw who is two weeks into his job as the MFA's new Deputy DG for Non-Proliferation & Disarmament. His aide, Carlos Torres Vidal, Counselor for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, sat in on the meeting. The meeting occurred hours before both Spaniards were scheduled to travel to Vienna to attend the September 4-5 extraordinary plenary meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) on lifting the nuclear trade ban with India. Madrid stated clearly it would go along with the consensus view within the NSG and would not block the resolution, despite some misgivings regarding lifting the ban.END SUMMARY ¶2. (C) Because Salazar is new on the job, POLOFF delivered the points in REFTEL A to Salazar as a courtesy, notifying him that the Embassy had previously delivered these points in mid-August to Deputy Foreign Minister Angel Lossada's office in advance of the NSG's Extraordinary Plenary in Vienna on August 21-22, as reported in REFTEL B. POLOFF mentioned that the US delegation to Vienna would be headed by U/S for Political Affairs Burns. ¶3. (C) Salazar indicated that Madrid considers India an important, emerging power that could play a stabilizing role in the region. He stated that Spain will follow the consensus within the NSG at this week's meeting and will not block lifting the ban. Nevertheless, Salazar raised a number of concerns regarding lifting the ban. He said Spain would take into consideration Japan's reservations about the deal, which he says has made Tokyo "scared" and "uneasy." He also suggested that NSG sales to India--a non-NPT country--would hand NPT member Iran another argument to use against those trying to stop Tehran's enrichment program. ¶4. (C) Salazar also opined that lifting the ban would upset the status quo by changing the global equilibrium and would bring consequences that the NSG would have to face. He assessed that if the measure were approved, it would mark a new beginning for the NSG more so than the conclusion of a round of negotiations. He opined that the NSG*in its next regular Plenary Meeting*would also likely hold an in-depth debate on its role, as would the NPT when it convenes in early 2010. The Spaniards indicated that they would be interested in a medium and long-term vision of the NSG from Washington. Aguirre