SECRETARY RICE'S SEPTEMBER 5, 2008 BREAKFAST WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PARTO 091701

(Note: the unique message record number (MRN) has been modified. The original MRN was 08 PARTO000001, which duplicates a previous PARTO telegram number.)

SIPDIS
NOFORN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/08/2018
TAGS: OVIP RICE CONDOLEEZZA PREL PGOV ECON EI KV RU
EUN, GG, PO
SUBJECT: SECRETARY RICE'S SEPTEMBER 5, 2008 BREAKFAST WITH
PORTUGUESE FM AMADO


1. (U) Classified by Paul Wohlers, Deputy Executive
Secretary, S/ES, Department of State. Reason 1.4 (d)


2. (U) September 5, 2008, 0900, Lisbon, Portugal.


3. (U) Participants:

U.S.
The Secretary
Ambassador Thomas Stephenson
Assistant Secretary Dan Fried
Legal Advisor John Bellinger
Lt Gen William Fraser
Gary Applegarth, notetaker

Portugal
Foreign Minister Luis Amado
MFA Political Director Nuno Brito
MFA Chief of Cabinet Francisco Menezes
MFA Political Advisor Paulo Lourenco
MFA Press Advisor Paula Mascarenhas


4. (C/NF) SUMMARY: In a 70-minute breakfast meeting
Friday, September 5, the Secretary and Foreign Minister
Amado continued discussion of a number of topics from the
Secretary's meeting with the Prime Minister the previous
night (septel) and from an informal dinner at the Residence
that evening that included the Secretary, the Foreign
Minister, Assistant Secretary Fried, and the Ambassador.
The Secretary and Minister agreed that the U.S. and EU must
remain unified to deal effectively with Russia, and FM
Amado suggested EU membership for Ukraine could be
an effective step, easier than NATO membership, to
forestall any future Russian designs on that country.
FM Amado confirmed that Portugal would recognize
Kosovo soon, and the Secretary thanked him for
Portugal's support in Afghanistan. Regarding the
Secretary's impending visit to Libya, FM Amado
stressed Qadhafi's role in countering terror in the
Maghreb. The Secretary said modest progress is being made
in Middle East talks, and Amado pointed to Turkey as a test
case for dealing with the nuances of the Islamic world.
The Secretary conceded the U.S. needed help with Guantanamo,
but FM Amado said that accepting detainees would be
difficult. FM Amado said he was confident Ireland would not
forever stand in the way of EU adoption of the Lisbon
Treaty. The Secretary said the United States may not be doing a
good job publicizing AFRICOM's development mission.
Finally, the Secretary and Ambassador Stephenson
complimented FM Amado's strategic insights into the
workings of the EU but cautioned him not to
anticipate significant changes in U.S. foreign policy based
on upcoming U.S. elections. End Summary.

Russia: Unity is Key
--------------

5. (C/NF) Following a partly social dinner the evening
before, the Secretary held a 70-minute breakfast meeting
Friday, September 5, with Foreign Minister Luis Amado. The
Secretary began the meeting with comments on Russia and
Georgia, emphasizing that the United States and EU had significant
leverage and that the key was to stay together, be firm, and show
no gaps in the relationship that Russia could exploit. The
Secretary and Minister Amado agreed there was no need to
push for sanctions at this time, but rather the United States
and EU should stand firm and allow Russia to continue its course
of self-destruction - Russia's recognition of South Ossetia
and Abkhazia had done much to diminish its position as the
provoked party. Amado commented that Russia's recognition
had "blown out of the water" any continued argument by
Russia against the recognition of Kosovo.


6. (C/NF) Discussion also touched on prudent next steps to
counter any similar Russian designs on Ukraine, and
Minister Amado said he thought EU membership would be an
effective move, and would be quicker, easier, and less
provocative to Russia than moving to admit Ukraine into
NATO.

Guantanamo - U.S. Needs Help
--------------

7. (C/NF) The Secretary reiterated U.S. interest in securing
EU help in closing Guantanamo, noting FM Amado?s past interest
in this issue. Legal Advisor Bellinger observed that Europeans
now seemed to understand that the existing criminal and
international humanitarian law frameworks were not well-suited
to deal with the threat of international terrorism. Bellinger
emphasized the particular difficulties the United States has
faced in resettling Uighur detainees and the challenge of
dealing with a large number of Yemenis; he asked for EU
assistance in resettlements, either in Europe or in other
countries. Ambassador Stephenson added
that Europe has focused only on the symbolism of Guantanamo
as representative of all that is wrong about our conduct of
the War on Terror and has ignored the necessity of a facility
somewhere to hold dangerous terrorists. FM Amado responded
that Portugal wanted to help but that the issues had to be
dealt with on a multilateral basis because of bilateral
sensitivities in so many EU countries. He noted that the
ongoing dialogue on the applicable framework had been helpful
to narrow differences. He said he had written to the Slovenian
EU Presidency to urge them to deal with the Guantanamo issue,
and that he would also raise the issue of Guantanamo and the
legal framework with the French Presidency. He suggested that
we ought to be able to move faster on these issues in transatlantic
discussions. The Secretary welcomed these ideas.

Kosovo Recognition Appreciated - Whenever It Happens
-------------- --------------

8. (C/NF) Ambassador Stephenson alluded to the previous
night's discussion of Kosovo recognition and asked why, if
the decision had been made to recognize, the recognition
could not be made prior to the UN General Assembly
meeting. FM Amado replied that, while the decision to
recognize had been made, the Prime Minister was
uncomfortable taking the step until he had spoken again
with President Cavaco Silva. The Secretary expressed
gratitude that Portugal would be recognizing Kosovo and,
although recognition prior to the upcoming UN General
Assembly would be helpful, she said she understood if internal
considerations precluded that timing.

Afghanistan - Help Appreciated
--------------

9. (C/NF) The Secretary reiterated U.S. appreciation for
Portugal's help with operations in Afghanistan. General
Fraser echoed that appreciation, citing Portugal's current
contingent of a C-130 aircraft and an Operational Mentoring
and Liaison Team (OMLT),and urging that the promised
second OMLT be deployed as soon as possible. Minister
Amado did not respond.

Libya - Helpful Counter to Terror
--------------

10. (C/NF) Regarding the Secretary's visit to Libya,
FM Amado stressed the important role Libya and the
Maghreb are playing in counterterrorism, and that Col.
Qadhafi helped raise recognition of the seriousness of
the terrorist threat to the region. Amado pointed out the
importance of Sunni support for the war on terror, given
the Shi'a leadership in Iraq. FM Amado and the
Secretary concurred in their concern over reported
strengthening of Al Qaeda in the Maghreb, and agreed that
the United States and EU needed the support of Qadhafi to
counter this
threat.

The Middle East - Progress and the Turkish Model
-------------- ---

11. (C/NF) The discussion turned to the Middle East, and
FM Amado asked for the Secretary's opinion on the
progress of ongoing talks. The Secretary replied that
progress had been made both in terms of process and
substance, and expressed pleasure that both sides continued
to communicate directly with each other rather than
attempting to negotiate through the press. The Secretary
added that politics could never be separated from this process,
and that the politics of Israel were particularly complicated
now, given the uncertainty regarding the survivability of
the current government. The Foreign Minister suggested the
Secretary sounded optimistic and she responded that, while one was
never optimistic about the Middle East, she was not
pessimistic. Modest progress was being made upon which the
next U.S. administration could build.


12. (C/NF) Minister Amado suggested the United States and
EU should look at Turkey as an important model for dealing
with the complicated nature of the Islamic world, and how events
there serve as an educational test case for Sunni-Shi'a
relations and other nuances.

U.S.-EU Relationship
--------------

13. (C/NF) The Secretary asked Minister Amado about the
status of the Treaty of Lisbon since Ireland's rejection.
Amado replied that it would take time, but that he expected
Ireland to come around and adopt the treaty, possibly
after some minor adjustments were made to satisfy Irish concerns.
He added that no one believed Ireland alone
will stand in the way of eventual EU adoption of the Treaty
of Lisbon.


14. (C/NF) FM Amado asked about the status of
AFRICOM, and the Secretary replied that there continued to be
some misperception in Africa about the nature of the new
command. She admitted that the USG had not done an adequate
job of explaining to Africa that AFRICOM was about furthering
democracy, and was not a structure for military deployment.


15. (C/NF) The Secretary and Ambassador both complimented
FM Amado for his strategic insights into the workings
of the EU, but cautioned the Minister not to anticipate
major changes in U.S.-EU relations based on the upcoming
U.S. elections. While some U.S. positions--such as trade
policy--could substantially change with a new U.S.
administration and have a near-term impact on the
relationship, U.S. foreign policy was like an aircraft
carrier, and required significant time and effort to "come
about" to a new heading. The Ambassador and the Secretary
did suggest Europe should worry about possible isolationist
trade policies under an administration and congress
controlled by the Democratic Party.

RICE