VZCZCXYZ0015
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #0621/01 0892047
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 302047Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7707
INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION PRIORITY 6071
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 5932
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 1160
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1196
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO PRIORITY 6327
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO PRIORITY 0887
RUEHVL/AMEMBASSY VILNIUS PRIORITY 0012

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 000621 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
WHA FOR CHARLES SHAPIRO, PATRICK DUDDY, DOUG BARNES, BRUCE 
FRIEDMAN, DREW BLAKENEY 
P FOR HEIDE BRONKE 
EMBASSY VILNIUS FOR THOMAS P. KELLY 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/30/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PARM MARR ECON AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: FOREIGN MINISTER SEES WAY AHEAD ON 
BILATERAL RELATIONS 
 
Classified By: Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary: "Let's put recent events behind us and move 
forward on our positive agenda" Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana 
told Ambassador Wayne March 29, offering no rebuttal to the 
Ambassador's conveyance of Washington's serious displeasure 
with the GoA decision to allow Chavez's March 9 anti-US 
rally.  Taiana indicated that he wanted to avoid continued 
public back and forth on the issue and focus on moving ahead 
where it is in our common interest.  When the Ambassador 
indicated his worry about future outbursts of criticism from 
President Kirchner, Taiana said that he knows "we have our 
work cut out for us," and at the end of the meeting suggested 
meeting on a regular basis every few weeks.  Taiana noted the 
positive tenor of recently concluded military-military 
bilateral working group meetings between the Ministry of 
Defense and the Defense Department.  The Ambassador agreed 
and thanked Taiana for his support in submitting authorizing 
legislation for the upcoming UNITAS exercise in May.  When 
Ambassador informed Taiana that U.S. Interpol Executive 
Committee representative Tom Fuentes would be visiting 
Argentina in late April, Taiana suggested that it would be a 
good opportunity to discuss next steps on the AMIA case as 
the decision to publish the Red Notices is taken up by the 
Interpol General Assembly in November. 
 
¶2.  (C) Taiana offered a brief readout of Senator and First 
Lady Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's trip to Venezuela and 
Ecuador, stating that she was warmly received by the Jewish 
community in Venezuela.  He informed the Ambassador that the 
First Lady has been invited to participate in a May 3 
American Jewish Congress meeting along with Secretary Rice 
and the Latvian President, and that the First Lady would 
likely attend.  He also noted that in Ecuador, she had 
advised the Correa administration "not to default" on their 
debt, and shared in some depth his views on Correa and his 
team.  When asked about President Kirchner's upcoming trip to 
Venezuela, he downplayed the visit explaining that the trip 
was to attend a regional energy summit long in the works.  He 
indicated that Kirchner's visit to Bolivia was not confirmed, 
bu that he would likely look to finalize an agreement to 
begin construction of the Argentine-Bolivian gas pipeline. 
On the recent GoA decision to end the 1995 oil and gas accord 
in the Falklands/Malvinas, Taiana went on at length asserting 
that the UK frequently and erroneously characterizes 
Argentina's actions to defend its sovereignty claims over the 
disputed islands as "hostile", as if the actions were acts of 
aggression.  He reiterated that the GoA is bound to resolve 
the Falklands/Malvinas dispute diplomatically in its 1994 
constitution, but that it will continue to push its claims. 
End Summary. 
 
------------------------------------------- 
Taiana and Ambassador Agree to Move Forward 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C) "Let's put recent events behind us and move forward 
on our positive agenda" Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana told 
Ambassador Wayne March 29, offering no rebuttal to the 
Ambassador's conveyance of Washington's serious displeasure 
with the GoA decision to allow Chavez's March 9 anti-US rally 
during President Bush's Uruguay visit.  Taiana noted that 
only he and Interior Minister Fernandez were the only ones to 
respond to Under Secretary Burns' 3/22 Council of the 
Americas criticism of the decision and stressed that he 
wanted to avoid any continued public back and forth on the 
issue.  When the Ambassador indicated his worry about future 
outbursts of criticism from President Kirchner, Taiana said 
that he knows "we have our work cut for us," and agreed we 
should move ahead where it is in our common interest. 
 
¶4.  (C) Referring to a March 27 Clarin story that alleged, 
among other things, that the Ambassador had bypassed 
Assistant Secretary Shannon and gone directly to higher 
levels to recommend that the USG formally complain to 
Argentina in response to the anti-U.S. rally, and a March 22 
Buenos Aires Herald story that incorrectly reported that the 
GoA barred U.S. landings and overflights during President 
Bush's regional visit earlier this month, Taiana noted that 
the press seemed to be intent on escalating U.S.-Argentine 
tensions.  He thanked the Ambassador for quickly clarifying 
the Clarin story, adding that he was glad he did not have to 
respond to the allegations in the story.  The Ambassador 
commented that the press always likes a good fight and 
explained that Embassy had also submitted a correction to the 
Buenos Aires Herald story, expressing appreciation for the 
GoA's cooperation in facilitating the air transportation 
logistics during President Bush's visit. 
 
¶5.  (C) Highlighting the positive aspects of our 
relationship, the Ambassador and Taiana concurred this week's 
MoD-DoD bilateral working group meetings were very positive. 
The Ambassador stated that Deputy Assistant Secretary of 
Defense Johnson was pleased with the exchange, and Taiana 
said he had received a similar readout from Defense Minister 
Garre.  The Ambassador thanked Taiana for his support in 
submitting authorizing legislation for the upcoming May 
UNITAS exercise.  Taiana said the exercise has a long 
tradition in the region and noted that "even Venezuela 
participates."  He stressed that the Argentine military 
values the opportunity to improve the interoperability of our 
forces, especially at the technical level.  The Ambassador 
then noted that the positive outcome of the Interpol 
Executive Committee decision on the AMIA case in Lyon on 
March 15 is yet another example of how bilateral cooperation 
can yield mutually beneficial results.  When he informed 
Taiana of U.S. Interpol Executive Committee Representative 
Tom Fuentes' upcoming trip to Argentina in late April, Taiana 
suggested that it would be a good opportunity to discuss 
next steps on the AMIA case as the decision to publish Red 
Notices is taken up by the Interpol General Assembly in 
November. 
 
------------------------------------------- 
First Lady's Trips to Venezuela and Ecuador 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (C) Taiana offered a brief readout of Senator and First 
Lady Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's trip to Venezuela and 
Ecuador.  He explained that the First Lady had been invited 
to participate in a commemoration ceremony of the 40th 
anniversary of the 15,000-strong Venezuelan Jewish 
Association, and added that President Kirchner was honored 
that his wife had been invited.  He stated that the First 
Lady has long been interested in the region's Jewish 
communities and served on the Congressional committee charged 
with monitoring the AMIA investigation.  According to Taiana, 
the First Lady's speech was "warmly received", at which point 
he observed that her speeches tend to make him nervous 
because she tends to speak extemporaneously as opposed to 
read from prepared speeches.  Taiana disclosed that while in 
Venezuela, the American Jewish Congress extended an 
invitation to the First Lady to participate in an early May 
conference along with Secretary Rice and the President of 
Latvia.  He indicated that the First Lady would most likely 
attend. 
 
¶7.  (C) Taiana said Fernandez de Kirchner's visit to Ecuador 
also went well, noted that the First Lady advised the Correa 
administration "not to default" on their debt. He stressed 
that Correa is a "very pragmatic and good man" who bases his 
decisions on common sense.  Taiana asserted that Correa and 
his team comes from outside the political system and so they 
have not yet been corrupted.  Correa and his team's naivet, 
however, may prove to be Correa's biggest weakness, Taiana 
cautioned, citing as an example Correa's decision not to run 
any candidates in last year's Congressional elections. 
Taiana noted that although Correa is firmly against 
dollarization because it has resulted in high domestic prices 
and has eroded Ecuador's export competitiveness, he will 
maintain the policy as long as oil prices remain high and 
remittances continue to flow in from abroad. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
Upcoming Kirchner Travel to Venezuela and Bolivia 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶8.  (C) When asked about President Kirchner's upcoming April 
16-17 trip to Venezuela, Taiana downplayed the visit 
explaining that the trip was to attend a regional energy 
summit long in the works.  He indicated that Kirchner's visit 
to Bolivia was not confirmed, but that he would likely look 
to finalize an agreement to begin construction of the 
Argentine-Bolivian gas pipeline. 
 
---------------------------------- 
Falklands/Malvinas Islands Dispute 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (C) On the recent GoA decision to end the 1995 oil and 
gas accord in the Falklands/Malvinas, Taiana went on at 
length asserting that the UK frequently and erroneously 
characterizes Argentina's actions to protest the 
"colonization" of the disputed islands as "hostile," as if 
the actions were acts of aggression.  Taiana said he believed 
such statements were political efforts designed to minimize 
the legitimacy of the GoA's claims to the islands, but 
worried that if the UK really believes the GoA intends to try 
to forcefully gain control of the islands, "they really do 
not understand what is going on in Argentina." 
 
¶10.  (C) The Ambassador told Taiana that the UK wants to 
emphasize a positive agenda with regard to the islands. 
Taiana reiterated that the GoA is committed to pursuing a 
negotiated solution according to diplomatic norms, 
international law, and as set forth in Argentina's 1994 
constitution.  He stressed the administration realizes that, 
given the UK's political and military strength, it cannot be 
forced to negotiate, but that the GoA will never give up its 
claims to the islands.  According to Taiana, moreover, the UK 
has refused since 1994 to participate in the bilateral 
defense working group, which he described as one of a series 
of confidence building measures that could help smooth 
diplomatic tensions.  He maintained that both parties must 
derive equal benefits from agreements related to the islands. 
 He also explained that the GoA rejected the UK's invitation 
for a joint commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the 
Falklands/Malvinas war because the events planned by the 
British are more a "celebration" than a commemoration. 
 
¶11.  (C) Taiana also admitted that he was torn over the 
efforts of the families of fallen Argentine soldiers to 
commemorate the 25th anniversary of the war.  He said a 
committee representing the families had initiated a movement 
to travel to the islands to visit the Argentine cemetary 
there and erect a statue in memory of the war's victims, but 
he was concerned that the UK was portraying these efforts as 
its own initiative.  Planning Minister Julio De Vido the same 
day announced the GoA will ban oil companies who operate or 
have operated on the islands from doing business in 
Argentina.  In concluding the meeting, Taiana suggested he 
and the Ambassador meet on a regular basis every few weeks, 
to which the Ambassador agreed. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶12.  (C) Taiana's comments reflect the MFA,s commitment to 
work at damage control.  The FM pointed out that only he and 
Cabinet Chief Alberto Fernandez reacted to Under Secretary 
Burn's 3/22 Council of the Americas remarks, criticizing the 
GoA's decision to host Chavez's anti-U.S. rally, confirming 
our hunch that the quick ministerial criticism was aimed at 
avoiding a presidential response.  So far, Kirchner has kept 
mum, but we (and we believe the FM) do not discount the 
possibility of a future public rebuke given his tendency to 
lash out at the slightest provocation. 
WAYNE