SPAIN'S NUCLEAR SECURITY SUMMIT SHERPA TRAVELS TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 000984 SIPDIS STATE FOR T; IO/GS FOR DETEMPLE, HUSKEY; EUR/WE FOR MCKNIGHT, ZERDECKI ISN FOR JENKINS, AMOROSO NSC FOR HOLGATE, CONNERY, SAMORE DOE FOR NA-1, NA-24, NA-25 E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/04/2019 TAGS: AORC PREL PTER KNNP IAEA ENRG TRGY SP SUBJECT: SPAIN'S NUCLEAR SECURITY SUMMIT SHERPA TRAVELS TO WASHINGTON REF: A. LP 09-106794D ¶B. STATE 94449 ¶C. WHITE HOUSE 2530331 ¶D. WHITE HOUSE 2530205 ¶E. UNVIE VIENNA 00442 ¶F. MADRID 902 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Arnold A. Chacon for reasons 1.4 (b) a nd (d) ¶1. (C) President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has named Deputy Foreign Minister Angel Lossada (Ref A) as Spain's Sherpa to the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) that President Obama will host in the Washington DC area during April 12-13, 2010 (Refs B-D). On October 8 Lossada will attend separate meetings in Washington with US Sherpa Gary Samore of the NSC and Ellen Tauscher, U/S of State for Arms Control and International Security. Zapatero - who will next meet President Obama for a bilateral meeting at the White House on October 13 - is "personally very interested" in the NSS, according to Anibal Villalba Fernandez, who advises Zapatero on foreign and security issues. According to Villalba, Zapatero has been closely following President Obama's non-proliferation speeches in Prague, at UNGA and at the special session of the UNSC that the President chaired in September and is in full agreement with these policy initiatives. ¶2. (C) POLOFF on October 6 provided Villalba handouts from the NSS Kickoff Meeting in Vienna on September 15 on the margins of the IAEA General Conference (Ref E). Villalba inquired as to how the countries that received invitations to the NSS were chosen and added that Spain was flattered to be invited and hoped that its presence would be "useful." He asserted that Spain will use its upcoming EU Presidency to support the NSS. Villalba provided the Embassy a courtesy copy of a signed letter by Zapatero accepting the President's invitation to attend the NSS and said the Spanish Embassy in Washington has been asked to deliver the original. Villalba, who told POLOFF that he was the one who drafted the non-pro and disarmament portions of Zapatero's briefing papers in advance of the October 13 meeting, identified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as the two key arenas to bolster further international support for non-pro and disarmament issues. Villalba also volunteered to share with POLOFF any readout he hears on the non-pro and disarmament portions of the October 13 meeting. ¶3. (C) Villalba indicated that either himself or Miguel Aguirre de Carcer, the MFA's Special Ambassador for Disarmament, would serve as Spain's sous-Sherpa and asked whether the upcoming Sherpa Summit in Japan would be open to sous-Sherpas as well. (See Ref F for details on Aguirre de Carcer's role within Spain's non-pro and disarmament policymaking process.) A Lieutenant Colonel in the Army, Villalba has held his current post since February 2009, when he was named the first military adviser to a Spanish President since 2003. Villalba is known to the Embassy Madrid Defense Attache Office as street smart officer who engages well on diplomatic issues, is politically savvy and is close to Zapatero. Villalba, who speaks fluent English, previously served as a political adviser to the EUFOR Commander in Bosnia. Spain has not made a final decision on who will be the working level POC. ¶4. (C) Meanwhile, Carlos Torres, Counselor for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament in the MFA's DG for Strategic Affairs & Terrorism, was Spain's representative at the NSS Kickoff Meeting. In a September 23 meeting with POLOFF, Torres asked for a contact in Washington to discuss technical issues related to the NSS. He also has asked whether the USG would like the GOS to deliver a specific briefing at the Summit or if there were other ways that Spain could contribute to the success of the event. Post requests guidance on the most appropriate contact for Spain to have on MADRID 00000984 002 OF 002 technical issues. CHACON