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FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0174
INFO MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0004
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 0001

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001338 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PTER PHUM AR
SUBJECT: Argentina: Well-Received Visits by Shimon Peres and Mahmoud 
Abbas; CFK Asks U.S. to Do More for Middle East Peace 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: President Fernandez de Kirchner (CFK) received 
separate visits from Israeli President Shimon Peres (November 
16-18) and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (November 
23-24), and joined top GOA officials, and a wide range of 
Argentines, in offering both very warm receptions.  CFK rejected 
the idea that Argentina should be concerned about Venezuelan ties 
to Iran during a press conference with Peres.  In her press 
appearance with Abbas she suggested that the United States "could 
do more than it is doing" for Middle East Peace.  She generally 
presented a balanced GOA policy toward the region, condemning 
terrorism, questioning extremism among Palestinians, strongly 
rejecting holocaust denial, and supporting a two-state solution. 
Peres and Abbas gave heavily attended public speeches.  Peres made 
some headlines by lumping Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and 
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez together as unpopular and failing 
leaders who would soon be dismissed by their people.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
Peres Visit: Champions Peace, Warns of Iran 
 
------------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶2. (SBU) Israeli President Shimon Peres' visited Argentina November 
15-17 at the head of a delegation including government officials 
and business representatives.  Peres had last been in Argentina in 
¶1994.  The Nobel Laureate was hailed as a leader for peace in 
visits with President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (CFK), Chief 
of Cabinet Anibal Fernandez, and Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana.  On 
receiving Peres, Taiana affirmed that Argentina's position was to 
"contribute to the search for peace, which must be based on the 
rights of the Palestinians to their own state and of Israel to live 
within recognized and secure borders." 
 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) In the joint press conference offered by Peres and CFK 
following their meeting, Peres said that he had decided not to 
raise Israel's concern about Venezuela's close ties with Iran and 
instead focused solely on Iran.  He said he shared his strong 
concerns about Iranian President Ahmadinejad's Holocaust denial and 
his decision to name Ahmad Vahidi as Defense Minister.  Vahidi, he 
noted, was wanted by Argentina for his role in the 1994 terrorist 
attack on a Buenos Aires Jewish Community Center, AMIA, which left 
85 dead and hundreds injured.  (Peres visited both AMIA and the 
site of the Israeli Embassy destroyed in a 1992 car bomb in Buenos 
Aires.) 
 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) Asked by the press about Argentina's close ties with 
Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, CFK said that "Argentina will not 
permit that anyone chose its enemies and neither will it presume to 
choose the enemies of others."  CFK said that Argentina was 
"militant" in "viscerally and completely rejecting any act of 
anti-semitism or xenophobia."  She added a strong rejection of 
those denying the holocaust and reiterated Argentina's condemnation 
of terrorism. 
 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) Peres spoke November 17 to an invitation-only crowd of 
over five hundred organized by the Argentine Council on 
International Relations (CARI), chaired by former Foreign Minister 
and CARI President Adalberto Rodriguez Giavarini and introduced 
warmly by Cabinet Chief Fernandez.  Peres spoke briefly and then 
took mostly friendly written questions.  He described the difficult 
process of making peace but concluded that "we are very close."  He 
had warm and friendly words about Palestinian Authority President 
Abbas, though he spoke openly about the challenges Abbas faced 
within the Palestinian community.  He also spoke in positive terms 
of President Obama's engagement in the peace process and in dealing 
with the challenges of Iran. 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Peres addressed a litany of concerns about Iran and 
President Ahmadinejad and then freely associated Venezuelan 
President Hugo Chavez with his Iranian counterpart.  Although 
Ahmadinejad was a threat, Peres insisted that "he was not nervous," 
suggesting that the Iranian President was "doing a great job" of 
 
 
organizing internal opposition to his rule and external opposition 
to his threats and his Holocaust denials. 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) Peres concluded with strong comments taken up widely in 
the press, including in Caracas: "I don't think they [Ahmadinejad 
and Chavez] have a future and I don't think I have to respect them. 
Their own people will take care of them.  It won't take a long 
time."  "I am not nervous," he added, despite what he described as 
the Iranian Government's desire not only to destroy Israel but also 
to dominate its Arab neighbors via nuclear weapons.  Peres, indeed, 
was mocking of Chavez, adding that he did not reject all of the 
Venezuelans initiatives, praising his condemnation of Jacuzzis and 
his admonitions against wasting water by singing in the shower. 
 
 
 
Abbas Follows: CFK Calls for Greater U.S. Effort 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas visited 
November 22-24 and was also warmly received by CFK, the GOA and a 
cross section of Argentine society.  In a joint press conference 
following her November 23 meeting with Abbas, CFK spoke forcefully 
of the importance of the Palestinian Constitution, questioning 
"fundamentalists who do little for the Palestinian question."  She 
urged the international community to demand the complete cessation 
of new Israeli settlements in Palestinian areas and said that 
Israel must accept a return to pre-1967 borders.  She called for 
support for the roadmap and added that "the United States could do 
more than it is doing."  Abbas also requested that the United 
States insist that Israel halt settlement activities. 
 
 
 
¶9. (SBU) In a public speech also organized by CARI, Abbas spoke to 
several hundred people overflowing a smaller venue, including the 
Israeli Ambassador and members of the Argentine Jewish Community. 
Abbas was warmly introduced by Foreign Minister Taiana who 
reiterated Argentine support for an end to terrorism and a return 
to 1967 borders.  He also expressed concern about Israeli abuses in 
Gaza. 
 
 
 
¶10. (SBU) Abbas gave solemn remarks focusing on the evolution of 
the peace process, including the Palestinian Authority's (PA) 
acceptance of Israel.  He rejected any return to violence and had 
strong and critical words for Hamas.  In particular, he scored 
Hamas for blocking free electoral processes in Gaza to determine 
future Palestinian leadership and policies.  Abbas' first smile 
during his remarks came when he was told that 15 of the 45 
submitted questions referred to Hamas. 
 
 
 
¶11. (SBU) Abbas expressed concerns about the current Israeli 
Government's commitment to peace, but emphasized that over 70 
percent of Israeli's wanted to move forward in the peace process. 
He said that the PA could not pursue a unilateral declaration of a 
Palestinian state but that they had supported an Arab league 
proposal to bring the question to the UN Security Council.  Asked 
whether Argentina could usefully play a role in the peace process, 
Abbas suggested it was possible, noting the GOA's good relations 
with both the PA and the Government of Israel.  He noted that 
Norway, a small country well removed from the conflict, had played 
an unexpected and decisive role in the 1990s and that another 
country might do the same. 
 
 
 
¶12. (SBU) Asked about the United States' role, Abbas said that he 
perceived that President Obama had good intentions and that his 
Administration had made positive moves.  Still, he said, the USG 
could put greater pressure on Israel over settlements.  "No one can 
pressure Israel except the United States," he added. 
 
 
Comment 
 
------- 
 
 
 
¶13. (SBU) Peres and Abbas both sustained positive and well covered 
visits to Argentina.  Although Peres' comments on Venezuela 
generated modest controversy, the GOA did not react with any real 
irritation over his sharp treatment of Chavez.  By and large, the 
GOA came across just where it wanted to: as a friend of Israel, 
supportive of certain demands against Iran and its President, and 
as a strong advocate for Palestinian rights and aspirations.  If 
the Abbas visit was slightly overshadowed by Brazilian President 
Lula's reception of Ahmadinejad (which earned an above-the-fold 
photo on November 24 in daily "La Nacion"), the contrast was 
probably not unwelcome by a government looking to be seen as 
serious and balanced in foreign policy. 
MARTINEZ