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### Viewing cable 05MADRID2478, SPAIN: AMBASSADOR AGUIRRE'S MEETING WITH FM

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
05MADRID2478 | 2005-06-28 14:18 | 2010-12-07 12:00 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Madrid

`

    This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

` `

    C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 002478

    SIPDIS

    DEPARTMENT FOR EUR A/S FRIED AND EUR/WE
    NSC FOR NSA HADLEY
    DOD FOR OSD/ISP

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/28/2015
    TAGS: PREL PGOV SP
    SUBJECT: SPAIN: AMBASSADOR AGUIRRE'S MEETING WITH FM
    MORATINOS

    Classified By: Ambassador Eduardo Aguirre; reasons 1.4 (B) and (D)

    ¶1. (C) Summary: One day after his June 27 arrival in Spain,
    US Ambassador Eduardo Aguirre met with Foreign Minister
    Moratinos to lay the groundwork for a new relationship after
    a year of difficult relations with the Socialist government,
    but also to make clear US concerns about Spanish policy
    toward Venezuela and Cuba and the lingering wounds in
    Washington over the Zapatero government's harsh rhetoric on
    Iraq and US electoral politics last year. Ambassador Aguirre
    urged Moratinos to undertake high level public statements to
    educate the Spanish public about the government's support for
    and active role in Iraq reconstruction and democratization,
    despite the withdrawal of Spanish troops. Moratinos took
    note of this suggestion, underscoring Spanish financial
    support for Iraq reconstruction, training of Iraqi security
    forces and assistance in judicial training. Moratinos told
    Aguirre he wants to work closely with him to avoid
    misperceptions and misunderstandings between the two
    countries. END SUMMARY

    ¶2. (C) Ambassador Aguirre thanked Moratinos for the warm
    welcome he had received already from the Spanish government,
    and for the speed in which the Spanish government has enabled
    him to get started. Copies of his letters of credence were
    accepted upon arrival, enabling his meeting with Moratinos to
    focus on substance rather than courtesies. The King had
    agreed to include him in a June 29 Ambassadorial credentials
    ceremony at the Royal Palace, which opens the door for an
    early meeting with President Zapatero. The Ambassador told
    Moratinos that this quick start fit with his personal style
    and his desire to be active as the face and the voice of
    US-Spain relations. Ambassador Aguirre underscored to
    Moratinos he plans to engage the Spanish public and press as
    well as the government to convey US views and explain US
    policies. He said President Bush, NSC Advisor Hadley and
    Secretary Rice want him to turn a new, fresh page in the

    SIPDIS
    relationship, with the Ambassador as the face and voice of
    the Administration. The Ambassador invited Moratinos to join
    him as a partner in this endeavor.

    ¶3. (C) Moratinos welcomed the Ambassador's active approach
    and said that the Spanish government had wanted to ensure a
    rapid start to his tenure in Madrid. King Juan Carlos
    personally decided to include the Ambassador in the
    already-scheduled June 29 credentials ceremony for several
    other Ambassadors, even though these ceremonies usually take
    place at least a month or more after an Ambassador's arrival
    in country.

    ¶4. (C) Ambassador Aguirre,s arrival, Moratinos said,
    provides an opportunity to clear up misperceptions about the
    Zapatero government's policies and intentions, which had
    taken root after the Spanish troop withdrawal and during the
    US electoral campaign. Moratinos wants the US to understand
    that the Zapatero government seeks to create an atmosphere
    with the US of friendship and collegiality, and would like
    Washington to understand that his government is not
    anti-American nor ideological in its approach. While lines
    of communication were good, particularly after the series of
    high level meetings such as Moratinos with Secretary Rice and
    Defense Minister Bono with Secretary Rumsfeld, Moratinos
    hoped the arrival of a new US Ambassador offered the
    opportunity to develop a close dialogue and full cooperation
    with the Bush Administration. Moratinos said he had
    responded to a Spanish TV reporter's question June 27 about
    whether Presidents Bush and Zapatero would meet by saying
    that he had offered a broad time frame for a possible meeting
    within the tenure of the current Spanish legislature (which
    has at least 3 more years to go). Moratinos said he hoped
    that relations by then would have improved to such an extent
    that such a meeting could be possible.

    ¶5. (C) On Venezuela and Cuba, Moratinos worried that our
    policy differences had contributed to misperceptions between
    Washington and Madrid. He told the Ambassador that Spain
    shared U.S. objectives aimed its policies toward results and
    deeds. He urged cooperation between Spain and the US on
    these and other Latin America issues, which would have a
    significant force-multiplying effect. On the positive side,
    Moratinos pointed to Spain's full support and leadership role
    in Afghanistan as a major positive element in our
    relationship. As an example, Moratinos noted Defense
    Minister Bono's appearance in the Spanish Parliament June 22
    to announce additional troop deployments to support
    legislative elections there.

    ¶6. (C) Ambassador Aguirre said his focus would be on tangible
    results in the relationship and would not measure success by
    high-level visits (which he also stressed to the Spanish
    press after the meeting). The Ambassador urged Moratinos to
    work with him to turn our difficulties over Cuba and
    Venezuela into a net positive in our relationship, by
    remaining on the same page and avoiding steps that legitimize
    and encourage Chavez and Castro.

    ¶7. (C) On Iraq, the Ambassador told Moratinos that while the
    US had put the troop withdrawal issue behind us, there
    remained considerable lingering concern and irritation over
    the Zapatero government's rhetoric in the months following
    the withdrawal and during the US electoral campaign. This
    irritation will not easily dissipate but could be
    ameliorated, the Ambassador suggested, by new, positive
    public rhetoric by Zapatero and his team emphasizing that
    Spain recognizes progress made in Iraq. New Spanish rhetoric
    could note that Spain, along with the United States is now
    focused on the here and now and the future of Iraq, including
    reconstruction, democratization and capacity-building for
    Iraqi security forces. Such statements, aimed at educating
    the Spanish public about current goals and objectives in Iraq
    rather than dwelling on the past, would be noticed and
    welcomed in Washington. Moratinos said he would "take good
    note" of this advice, underscoring Spain's active role in
    providing financial support for reconstruction and
    development, training Iraqi security forces and judicial and
    related training.

    ¶8. (C) Ambassador Aguirre pointed to the Middle East and
    North Africa as areas in which the US and Spain shared common
    objectives and as ripe for opportunities to work together.
    Moratinos agreed, welcoming Secretary Rice's activism in the
    region. It would be very useful, Moratinos said, if all of
    the players in Washington, the EU and its members, the
    Quartet, could unify their messages both to Israel and the
    Palestinians. In North Africa, Moratinos said that
    competition among the players does not have to be the norm
    and that there is space for all, including in the area of
    commercial interests such as in oil and natural gas. He
    urged the development of a common strategic vision in this
    region.

    ¶9. (C) In a one-on-one session after the meeting, Moratinos
    again underscored to the Ambassador his government's desire
    to avoid misunderstandings with the United States and to open
    a new chapter in the relationship. The Ambassador said that
    he would work toward this end, but would also be frank but
    constructive about policy differences.

    AGUIRRE

`