US embassy cable - 05LIMA2302

UNCLAS LIMA 002302 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PINS, PE, CI 
SUBJECT: PERU AND CHILE SETTLE DIFFERENCES OVER 1995 ARMS 
DELIVERY TO ECUADOR 
 
REF: A. LIMA 2226 
 
     B. SANTIAGO 1070 
     C. LIMA 2180 
     D. LIMA 2061 
 
1.  SUMMARY:  A Joint Declaration, signed by the Foreign 
Ministers of Peru and Chile on May 22, has settled the 
bilateral squabble over Chile's delivery of arms to Ecuador 
during the 1995 Peru-Ecuador border conflict.  The Joint 
Declaration referred to the Chilean Foreign Ministry's Public 
Declaration of May 11, 2005, added that Foreign Minister 
Ignacio Walker had formally notified his Peruvian counterpart 
of Chile's "official explanations and excuses" for the 
shipment of arms, and concluded that these explanations 
sufficed to close the matter.  The Joint Declaration also 
noted that the Ministers of Foreign Relations and Defense 
(known as the "2x2" meetings) of both countries would meet in 
the coming weeks.  An unofficial Embassy translation of the 
Joint Declaration is at paragraph 4.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  Peruvian Prime Minister Carlos Ferrero called a press 
conference as soon as the Joint Declaration was published to 
announce that the GOP, "officially declares that the matter 
is closed."  As to the actual dates of the 2x2 meeting, 
Ferrero said that this would likely be determined following 
President Alejandro Toledo's early June return from a trip to 
Israel and China. 
 
3.  COMMENT:  The phrase "official explanations and excuses" 
seems to have been enough to forge a compromise between the 
Peruvian Government's prior insistence on a formal apology 
(Refs A/D) and Chile's position that its explanation in 1995 
and its public statement of May 11 were sufficient (Ref B). 
Peruvian Foreign Minister Manuel Rodriguez' release from a 
local hospital on May 20, following a lengthy illness, 
appears to have facilitated the diplomatic negotiations that 
resolved this latest irritant in an always delicate bilateral 
relationship.  END COMMENT. 
 
4.  Begin Text of Joint Declaration: 
 
The Ministers of Foreign Relations of Peru and Chile, at the 
express instructions from Presidents Alejandro Toledo and 
Ricardo Lagos, held conversations over the last days on the 
sale and delivery of military material from Chile to Ecuador 
in 1995. 
 
In these conversations, the Minister of Foreign Relations of 
Chile made reference to the Public Declaration of his Foreign 
Ministry dated May 11, 2005, and officially presented the 
explanations and excuses for the actions that occurred in 
January-February 1995.  The Ministers of Foreign Relations of 
Peru and Chile regretted the occurrence of these actions. 
 
With these expressions, the Governments of Peru and Chile 
consider that the situation generated by this matter has been 
overcome.  They also reiterate the spirit that animates their 
respective governments to conduct bilateral relations on the 
basis of understanding, cooperation and mutual respect. 
 
In this spirit, the Foreign Ministers agreed that, in the 
following weeks, there will be held a meeting of the 
Permanent Committee of Political Consultation and 
Coordination made up of the Ministers of Foreign Relations 
and Defense of both countries. 
 
The Heads of State of Peru and Chile have held conversations 
and expressed their satisfaction at the resolution of this 
situation. 
 
Lima and Santiago, May 22, 2005. 
 
Manuel Rodriguez Cuadros 
Minister of Foreign Relations of Peru 
 
Ignacio Walker Prieto 
Minister of Foreign Relations of Chile 
 
End text. 
 
 
STRUBLE