Argentina: Well-Received Visits by Shimon Peres and Mahmoud

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001338 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PTER PHUM AR SUBJECT: Argentina: Well-Received Visits by Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas; CFK Asks U.S. to Do More for Middle East Peace ¶1. (SBU) Summary: President Fernandez de Kirchner (CFK) received separate visits from Israeli President Shimon Peres (November 16-18) and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (November 23-24),and joined top GOA officials, and a wide range of Argentines, in offering both very warm receptions. CFK rejected the idea that Argentina should be concerned about Venezuelan ties to Iran during a press conference with Peres. In her press appearance with Abbas she suggested that the United States "could do more than it is doing" for Middle East Peace. She generally presented a balanced GOA policy toward the region, condemning terrorism, questioning extremism among Palestinians, strongly rejecting holocaust denial, and supporting a two-state solution. Peres and Abbas gave heavily attended public speeches. Peres made some headlines by lumping Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez together as unpopular and failing leaders who would soon be dismissed by their people. End Summary. Peres Visit: Champions Peace, Warns of Iran -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Israeli President Shimon Peres' visited Argentina November 15-17 at the head of a delegation including government officials and business representatives. Peres had last been in Argentina in ¶1994. The Nobel Laureate was hailed as a leader for peace in visits with President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (CFK),Chief of Cabinet Anibal Fernandez, and Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana. On receiving Peres, Taiana affirmed that Argentina's position was to "contribute to the search for peace, which must be based on the rights of the Palestinians to their own state and of Israel to live within recognized and secure borders." ¶3. (SBU) In the joint press conference offered by Peres and CFK following their meeting, Peres said that he had decided not to raise Israel's concern about Venezuela's close ties with Iran and instead focused solely on Iran. He said he shared his strong concerns about Iranian President Ahmadinejad's Holocaust denial and his decision to name Ahmad Vahidi as Defense Minister. Vahidi, he noted, was wanted by Argentina for his role in the 1994 terrorist attack on a Buenos Aires Jewish Community Center, AMIA, which left 85 dead and hundreds injured. (Peres visited both AMIA and the �0A;site of the Israeli Embassy destroyed in a 1992 car bomb in Buenos Aires.) ¶4. (SBU) Asked by the press about Argentina's close ties with Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, CFK said that "Argentina will not permit that anyone chose its enemies and neither will it presume to choose the enemies of others." CFK said that Argentina was "militant" in "viscerally and completely rejecting any act of anti-semitism or xenophobia." She added a strong rejection of those denying the holocaust and reiterated Argentina's condemnation of terrorism. ¶5. (SBU) Peres spoke November 17 to an invitation-only crowd of over five hundred organized by the Argentine Council on International Relations (CARI),chaired by former Foreign Minister and CARI President Adalberto Rodriguez Giavarini and introduced warmly by Cabinet Chief Fernandez. Peres spoke briefly and then took mostly friendly written questions. He described the difficult process of making peace but concluded that "we are very close." He had warm and friendly words about Palestinian Authority President Abbas, though he spoke openly about the challenges Abbas faced within the Palestinian community. He also spoke in positive terms of President Obama's engagement in the peace process and in dealing with the challenges of Iran. ¶6. (SBU) Peres addressed a litany of concerns about Iran and President Ahmadinejad and then freely associated Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez with his Iranian counterpart. Although Ahmadinejad was a threat, Peres insisted that "he was not nervous," suggesting that the Iranian President was "doing a great job" of organizing internal opposition to his rule and external opposition to his threats and his Holocaust denials. ¶7. (SBU) Peres concluded with strong comments taken up widely in the press, including in Caracas: "I don't think they [Ahmadinejad and Chavez] have a future and I don't think I have to respect them. Their own people will take care of them. It won't take a long time." "I am not nervous," he added, despite what he described as the Iranian Government's desire not only to destroy Israel but also to dominate its Arab neighbors via nuclear weapons. Peres, indeed, was mocking of Chavez, adding that he did not reject all of the Venezuelans initiatives, praising his condemnation of Jacuzzis and his admonitions against wasting water by singing in the shower. Abbas Follows: CFK Calls for Greater U.S. Effort -------------- --- ¶8. (SBU) Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas visited November 22-24 and was also warmly received by CFK, the GOA and a cross section of Argentine society. In a joint press conference following her November 23 meeting with Abbas, CFK spoke forcefully of the importance of the Palestinian Constitution, questioning "fundamentalists who do little for the Palestinian question." She urged the international community to demand the complete cessation of new Israeli settlements in Palestinian areas and said that Israel must accept a return to pre-1967 borders. She called for support for the roadmap and added that "the United States could do more than it is doing." Abbas also requested that the United States insist that Israel halt settlement activities. ¶9. (SBU) In a public speech also organized by CARI, Abbas spoke to several hundred people overflowing a smaller venue, including the Israeli Ambassador and members of the Argentine Jewish Community. Abbas was warmly introduced by Foreign Minister Taiana who reiterated Argentine support for an end to terrorism and a return to 1967 borders. He also expressed concern about Israeli abuses in Gaza. ¶10. (SBU) Abbas gave solemn remarks focusing on the evolution of the peace process, including the Palestinian Authority's (PA) acceptance of Israel. He rejected any return to violence and had strong and critical words for Hamas. In particular, he scored Hamas for blocking free electoral processes in Gaza to determine future Palestinian leadership and policies. Abbas' first smile during his remarks came when he was told that 15 of the 45 submitted questions referred to Hamas. ¶11. (SBU) Abbas expressed concerns about the current Israeli Government's commitment to peace, but emphasized that over 70 percent of Israeli's wanted to move forward in the peace process. He said that the PA could not pursue a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state but that they had supported an Arab league proposal to bring the question to the UN Security Council. Asked whether Argentina could usefully play a role in the peace process, Abbas suggested it was possible, noting the GOA's good relations with both the PA and the Government of Israel. He noted that Norway, a small country well removed from the conflict, had played an unexpected and decisive role in the 1990s and that another country might do the same. ¶12. (SBU) Asked about the United States' role, Abbas said that he perceived that President Obama had good intentions and that his Administration had made positive moves. Still, he said, the USG could put greater pressure on Israel over settlements. "No one can pressure Israel except the United States," he added. Comment -------------- ¶13. (SBU) Peres and Abbas both sustained positive and well covered visits to Argentina. Although Peres' comments on Venezuela generated modest controversy, the GOA did not react with any real irritation over his sharp treatment of Chavez. By and large, the GOA came across just where it wanted to: as a friend of Israel, supportive of certain demands against Iran and its President, and as a strong advocate for Palestinian rights and aspirations. If the Abbas visit was slightly overshadowed by Brazilian President Lula's reception of Ahmadinejad (which earned an above-the-fold photo on November 24 in daily "La Nacion"),the contrast was probably not unwelcome by a government looking to be seen as serious and balanced in foreign policy. MARTINEZ