ECUADOR DEMARCHE RESPONSE: IRAN AND THE NAM

C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000777 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/05/2016 TAGS: KNNP MNUC PARM TRGY IAEA PERL UR EC SUBJECT: ECUADOR DEMARCHE RESPONSE: IRAN AND THE NAM REF: A. STATE 74879 ¶B. 07 QUITO 2691 ¶C. QUITO 301 Classified By: Ambassador Heather Hodges for Reasons 1.4 (b&d) ¶1. (SBU) Poloff delivered Ref A points on July 14 to the MFA's Directorate General of Multilateral Affairs and followed up with Director General of Multilateral Affairs Lourdes Puma on August 8. ¶2. (C) Puma said that the GOE supported the passage of the Statement on Iran's Nuclear Issue adopted by the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Foreign Ministers meeting July 27-30. Puma added that the GOE is an active member of the NAM, and that the GOE considers the NAM to be playing an important consultative and conciliatory role in the UN and other multilateral fora. PolOff countered that the NAM statement, with its heavy emphasis on Iran and language referencing the UN Security Council (UNSC),actually appeared to call into question the legitimacy of the UNSC. Puma reiterated that the GOE maintains its position of supporting the UNSC and non-proliferation but that continued dialogue with Iran would have the most positive results. PolOff restated points from previous demarches (Refs B and C) that international pressure, including the UNSC sanctions, had helped produce some results, but that full cooperation with the IAEA is still necessary. He pointed out that these resolutions demanded that Iran suspend enrichment (not its weapons program),and that the May 26 IAEA report demonstrated that Iran has not provided the cooperation or transparency necessary to address its nuclear enrichment and weaponization activities. ¶3. (C) After attending the NAM meeting on July 30, Foreign Minister Maria Isabel Salvador inaugurated the opening of an Ecuadorian commercial office in Teheran and held a bilateral meeting with Iran Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. President Correa announced in his July 19 radio address that Ecuador would open an embassy in Iran in 2009 and that the Iranians were interested in Ecuador's oil refinery projects. Although Puma had asserted in previous meetings that the GOE was not planning to open an Embassy in Teheran, Puma defended the announcement, saying that it represented a continuation of the same policy by the GOE to pursue commercial and economic ties with Iran. PolOff questioned whether the GOE would continue to implement UNSC resolutions 1737, 1747 and 1803 if it plans to trade with Iran. Puma said that Ecuador would continue to implement the sanctions as required under these resolutions, and the Ecuadorian Energy Commission is specifically charged with ensuring compliance. Hodges