PM Key on Media Strategy after Military Review Briefing; His

C O N F I D E N T I A L WELLINGTON 000081 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP (A/S CAMPBELL, DAS REED),EAP/ANP STATE PLEASE PASS TO DOD OSD (DASD SCHER, MARY BETH MORGAN) E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/25 TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR NZ SUBJECT: PM Key on Media Strategy after Military Review Briefing; His Prospective Bilateral Visit CLASSIFIED BY: Robert J Clarke, Charge' d Affaires, State, Wellington; REASON: 1.4(B),(D) ¶1. (C) Summary: On February 22, the Ambassador accompanied a Washington visitor to a " courtesy call" on Prime Minister (PM) John Key which turned into an hour plus discussion. PM Key noted that he (in contrast to MFAT) was not concerned about immediately devising a "media strategy" after the recent briefing on the USG review of bilateral military RELATIONS delivered by DAS Frankie Reed and DASD Bob Scher. He expressed confidence that he could handle any related questions if they came up (which they have not in several encounters with the media that the PM has subsequently had). Key also raised the topic of a bilateral visit to the Washington DC in a manner that indicated how important confirming the visit for June is to him. End Summary. MILITARY REVIEW RESULTS--NO IMMEDIATE MEDIA STRATEGY NECESSARY ¶2. (C) PM Key is not worried about immediately developing a media strategy and common press guidance on results of the U.S. review of bilateral military relations. These results had been confidentially briefed to the Foreign Affairs (MFAT) and Defense ministries by DAS Reed and DASD Scher on February 18. Key said he did not expect questions to come up about the military review until a specific event, such as announcement of a rescheduled visit by the Secretary, or his own trip to the United States, got reporters focused on that long-standing topic. If he did receive questions, Key said, he was comfortable talking in general terms about the on-going, developing bilateral relationship and referring reporters with any questions on the military review to U.S. authorities. (Note and comment: Key's attitude is precisely opposite to that of MFAT which has been arguing that a pro-active press strategy (i.e. a US-authorized press line) is needed now. Since February 22, the PM has had several encounters with the press and no questions on the military review came up. End note and comment.) PM KEY STILL HOPES FOR A JUNE BILATERAL VISIT TO WASHINGTON ¶3. (C) PM Key also lobbied for an early decision on a pending bilateral visit to Washington DC. He did so in a way that began indirectly but ended by underscoring for the Ambassador the importance to the Prime Minister of fixing a date, preferably (for him) of June 2010. He claimed that he was not merely focused on that aspect of US-NZ relations, and understood that President Obama was busy, and knew that final decisions on scheduling dates would eventually be made. However, after the circuitous lead-in, Key explained why combining a bilateral visit with the April 2010 Nuclear Security Summit (which he will attend) would not work. He recounted the conversations at APEC which led him to believe he had a firm invitation from POTUS for a separate bilateral visit in the first half of 2010 (i.e. NLT June). Key said the exchanges resulted in him briefing the press in a certain way about the "invitation," which he said he would not have done if he had thought the offer were actually more casual and indefinite. Expectations in NZ were set, Key said, and the matter potentially could turn into a POLITICAL embarrassment for him. Key noted that his June schedule was "still empty." ¶4. (C) Comment: The manner in which PM Key pitched the bilateral visit indicated to the Ambassador that nailing down a June visit is of intense importance to Key. The Ambassador gathered from the exchange that June is being held open by the GNZ in hopes of a confirmation for a bilateral visit then in the near future. Key, who has not previously raised this topic personally (leaving that to FM McCully and MFAT) clearly hoped his explanation might result in an early confirmation for June. End Comment. CLARKE