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.

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SPAIN TO CONSIDER PROVIDING GUARDIA CIVIL PERSONNEL TO NATO
TRAINING MISSION
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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.

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DESIRE FOR MORE HIGH LEVEL CONTACT
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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

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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