SPAIN: INTERESTED IN JOINT OUTREACH DEMARCHES FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L MADRID 000341 SIPDIS FOR ELAINE SAMSON AND STACIE ZERDECKI OF EUR/WE FOR JANICE BELL OF INR FOR CARLOS GUZMAN OF ISN/CPI PASS TO BETH FLORES OF OSD E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/01/2019 TAGS: MNUC PARM PHSA PREL KNNP XL XM SP SUBJECT: SPAIN: INTERESTED IN JOINT OUTREACH DEMARCHES FOR PSI REF: A. SECSTATE 26136 ¶B. SECSTATE 26152 Classified By: Acting DCM William Duncan for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Embassy Madrid on March 31 provided a dip note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation to accompany REFTEL invitations to the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) meetings in Miami, FL during May 12-14. On March 24, POLOFF had advised Carlos Torres, Counselor for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament in the MFA,s DG for Strategic Affairs & Terrorism, of the impending invitation and provided the draft agenda. Reacting to the USG offer for Washington and Madrid to present joint demarches to specific Western Hemisphere countries cited in REFTEL A to join the PSI and/or attend the Outreach Meeting on May 14, Torres said it would be "very positive" for the Department to work with the Spanish Embassy in Washington, DC on this issue and suggested engaging the Embassy at the highest levels. He also specifically named Political Counselor Jose Maria Muriel as the diplomat with the non-proliferation portfolio and suggested that Muriel is well known to ISN officials within the Department. ¶2. (C) Torres observed that the PSI event in Miami would overlap with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty's PREPCOM meeting that will take place in New York City during May 4 - 14, which he suggested may cause Gonzalo de Salazar, the MFA's Sub-DG for Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, to miss the PSI events in Miami. ¶3. (C) POLOFF on March 25 briefly gave a verbal head's up about the impending invitation to Joaquin Collado, an adviser to Deputy Interior Minister Antonio Camacho whose portfolio includes counter-proliferation issues. POLOFF mentioned that the Ministry of Interior may be asked to participate in the Spanish delegation. CHACON