CYPRIOT FM TO VISIT CARACAS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NICOSIA 000006 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE, WHA/AND E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/06/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV CY VE SUBJECT: CYPRIOT FM TO VISIT CARACAS REF: A. 3/XA/1275-08 ¶B. 3/XA/1081-08 ¶C. TD-314/046059-08 ¶D. NICOSIA 2 Classified By: Ambassador Frank C. Urbancic, Reasons 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In his second official foray to Latin America -- his first took him to Havana in September -- Cypriot Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou will visit Caracas on January 10 for two days of meetings with BRV officials, then fly to Panama, Brazil, and possibly Costa Rica. A working-level Ministry official claims Kyprianou's travel motivations include desires to raise Cyprus's profile south of the border and expand its "global vision" in advance of its 2012 EU presidency. Much more likely, at least for the Venezuela leg, the FM is following far-left boss President Demetris Christofias's orders to strengthen bilateral relationships with nations having ideologically like-minded leaders. He also may be visiting those countries where Cyprus might open new embassies. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Since Christofias's election in February 2008, relations have warmed between Cyprus and Venezuela, with the latter nation establishing an embassy in Nicosia. In an unrelated visit to the Foreign Ministry on January 5 (Ref D), the DCM learned that FM Kyprianou would visit Venezuela in January as part of a multi-nation tour of Latin America. PolChief followed up with MFA Americas Desk Officer Nikos Panayi on January 8 and obtained both trip logistical info and a rather disingenuous explanation of Kyprianou's motivations. ¶3. (C) Kyprianou, accompanied by two staff, would conduct a multi-nation tour of Latin America beginning on January 10, Panayi reported. Details were sketchy, but the Minister would begin with a two-working-day stop in Caracas, proceeding to Panama, Brazil, and possibly Costa Rica. Most recent Cypriot diplomatic energy had been expended in Europe, Panayi explained, both in securing EU membership for Cyprus and in learning the Brussels ropes after becoming a member state in 2004. Now, however, the government hoped to extend its reach to the Americas. Cyprus already had announced its intention to open an embassy in Havana, and at least two other new missions would follow, Panayi continued. Gaining greater exposure to Latin American issues would also improve Cyprus's global vision in advance of Nicosia's assumption of the EU presidency in 2012. While Kyprianou would promote Greek Cypriot positions on the Cyprus Problem during every stop on the upcoming tour, that was not his primary purpose. ¶4. (C) Panayi claimed his government understood USG "sensitivities" concerning Caracas and Hugo Chavez. Three times he assured PolChief that Kyprianou would respect said sensitivities and stay true to EU common positions on Venezuela. Strangely -- especially considering Panayi is accompanying Kyprianou and preparing his briefing papers -- he could not offer details on the Minister's two-day Caracas program, claiming it was still in flux. A visit to counterpart BRV FM Nicolas Maduro looked certain, but Panayi was unsure whether Kyprianou would see Chavez. The FM would discuss "chapters of cooperation" with the Venezuelans, Panayi declared, without further elaboration. Kyprianou had no intention of calling on opposition or business leaders, or on dissidents and anti-Chavez NGOs, however. ¶5. (SBU) Cypriot media and the Foreign Ministry itself have devoted little coverage to Kyprianou's upcoming travels. A brief note in leading daily "Phileleftheros" on January 8 mentioned the Minister soon would travel to Italy and later Latin America, where he "hoped to improve bilateral relations with a number of countries, including Brazil, Panama, and Venezuela." The Ministry's website was updated to reflect the upcoming travel only after the meeting with Panayi. Curiously, it devoted nine lines to a detailed description of Kyprianou's short (one-day) Rome stop, but only two lines to the Latin American tour; the text exactly mirrored Phileleftheros's brief mention. ¶6. (C) COMMENT: The normally candid Panayi's specious explanation of the underpinnings of Kyprianou's Venezuela visit and his inability to offer details of the program lacked conviction and his countenance displayed a degree of NICOSIA 00000006 002 OF 002 discomfort we don't often see from our Foreign Ministry interlocutors. Combined with the MFA's scant mention of the Minister's Latin American travels, we suspect Kyprianou was following orders in taking this trip, not issuing them. The last six weeks have seen RoC President Demetris Christofias shedding joyful tears in Moscow, gratuitously lampooning NATO and vowing never to have links to the Alliance, and generally celebrating his "courage" in sticking to his Communist roots. In fact, the day that news of Kyprianou's Venezuela trip broke, the President was issuing public congratulations to Raul Castro on the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. Urbancic