S/I SATTERFIELD MEETING WITH SPANISH FM MORATINOS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 000169 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/WE, NEA/RA, NEA/I, NEA/IPA E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/30/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR IR IZ SP SUBJECT: S/I SATTERFIELD MEETING WITH SPANISH FM MORATINOS FEBRUARY 11 MADRID 00000169 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Charge Arnold Chacon for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. S/I Satterfield, accompanied by Charge, briefed Spanish FM Moratinos on recent developments in Iraq, as well as Iraq's regional engagement with Arab states on February 11 and asked if Spain could make a commitment to send trainers to the NATO Training Mission-Iraq. Moratinos agreed in principle, subject to President Zapatero's approval. Moratinos expressed his concern that as humanitarian efforts in Gaza by the international community and Palestinian Authority were hampered by border controls and bureaucratic delays by Israel, that Hamas was gaining more credibility. With reference to his pending request for a February 23 bilateral meeting with Secretary Clinton, Moratinos said he hoped to discuss the NATO training mission and other issues. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) S/I Satterfield, accompanied by Charge, briefed Spanish FM Moratinos on recent developments in Iraq, as well as Iraq's regional engagement with Arab states on February ¶11. The recent Iraqi elections indicated a rebalancing toward more secular and nationalist parties and away from parties identified as "religious", such as the Sunni Iraq Islamic Party, or with Iran, such as the Shia ISCI party. In a historic shift, Iraq could be a source of stability and security in the Arab League and the GCC. Satterfield described Iraq's transition under the Security Agreement and Strategic Framework Agreement. He also noted NATO Assistant Secretary General Howard's recent visit aimed at concluding a continued training mission MOU. Noting that all of Spain's efforts were appreciated, Satterfield said that Spain could add significant value by contributing trainers from the Guardia Civil to the NATO Training Mission-Iraq (NTM-I). Satterfield asked if Spain could make a commitment to send trainers. -------------- SPAIN TO CONSIDER PROVIDING GUARDIA CIVIL PERSONNEL TO NATO TRAINING MISSION -------------- ¶3. (C) In response to Satterfield's remarks on positive trends towards moderation and consensus in Iraq, Moratinos agreed and said that Spain valued stability and peace in the region. He noted that Spain had always been actively engaged as one of the major financial donors to Iraq, referring to ongoing judicial and police training outside Iraq through EU mechanisms and the fact the Spanish always kept an operational Embassy in Baghdad. Moratinos said that Deputy Foreign Minister Angel Lossada's Iraq trip in December 2008 had been productive in terms of reinforcing Spain's continued financial and institutional support to Iraq. Following Moratinos' meeting with Iraqi FM Zebari at the February 5th Rome UNSC Expansion Meeting, he hoped to visit Baghdad sometime before June 2009 as a show of support for the U.S. review of its mission and goals. In keeping with Spain's ongoing support for Iraq, Moratinos agreed in principle with Satterfield's request, saying that President Zapatero would probably be receptive to the idea of Guardia Civil participation in the NATO training mission. (Note: Secretary General of the Presidency Bernardino was similarly positive on the possibility of Spain participating in the NATO training mission, see septel). Moratinos said that given the new U.S. strategy was more in line with Spain's vision for the Middle East, he hoped he could tell Secretary Clinton of Spain's training contribution at their first meeting. Satterfield assured Moratinos that Spain's contributions were valued and thanked him for his efforts, noting the Foreign Minister's long service on Middle East peace process issues as well. -------------- DESIRE FOR MORE HIGH LEVEL CONTACT -------------- ¶4. (C) Moratinos offered his views on the situation in Gaza, expressing his concern that everyone was wasting time laying groundwork for future dialogue and conferences when pressing humanitarian needs were not being adequately addressed -- except by Hamas. He said that control of Gaza again, by default, flowed to Hamas since its staff was actively distributing cash payments and initiating reconstruction projects. While the Palestinians should recognize the Palestinian Authority or the international MADRID 00000169 002.2 OF 002 community as benefactors, instead, obstructions by Israeli border controls and bureaucratic delays ensured Hamas gained more credibility each day. Citing Syrian complications and Egyptian sensitivities as items he wanted to discuss with U.S. interlocutors, Moratinos lamented that he was not able to arrange a meeting with Special Envoy Mitchell while they were both in the region at the same time or with NSA James Jones at the Munich Security Conference. ¶5. (C) COMMENT. While the overall tone of the meeting was welcoming and warm, grounded in previous participation through the Middle East Peace Process Quartet with Ambassador Satterfield, Moratinos anxiously awaits confirmation of his request for a February 23 meeting with Secretary Clinton and hopes to arrange for a President Obama-President Zapatero meeting in the near future to highlight Spain's international importance and contributions. When the Secretary meets with Moratinos, we recommend she ask Spain to participate in the NATO training mission. Clearly Spain is interested in the proposal, but they want to be asked at a senior level in Washington. END COMMENT. ¶6. (U) S/I Satterfield cleared this cable. CHACON