US embassy cable - 05MADRID3566

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 003566 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, ECON, SP, American - Spanish Relations 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH PSOE PRESIDENT MANUEL 
CHAVES 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Eduardo Aguirre for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary. Ambassador met on October 6 with Manuel 
Chaves, national President of the governing Spanish Socialist 
Workers' Party (PSOE), as well as President of the Autonomous 
Community of Andalusia. Their discussion touched on US-Spain 
relations, initiatives in the Middle East and North Africa, 
the controversy over the proposed Catalan regional statute, 
and the Odyssey Marine Exploration case. Chaves underscored 
the importance of Turkey's entry into the European Union for 
the success of the Alliance of Civilizations initiative, as 
well as on the best outcome for the Catalan statute. End 
summary. 
 
---------------------------- 
US-Spain Bilateral Relations 
---------------------------- 
 
2. (SBU) The Ambassador described the excellent reception he 
had received during his first three months in Spain, and said 
he had arrived at the perfect moment, when both President 
Bush and the GOS were ready to get the bilateral relationship 
back on track. Chaves said that the US and Spain's 
disagreement on Iraq and Spain's troop withdrawal in 2004 
were just one episode in a relationship that had always been 
strong in the past. He pointed out that the American presence 
at the Spanish bases in Rota and Moron (both located in 
Andalusia) had always been positive for Spain. He said that 
he, like the Ambassador, was optimistic about the future of 
the relationship. 
 
3. (SBU) The Ambassador thanked Chaves for his long-time 
support in Rota and Moron. He said the military relationship 
between the two countries had continued to be strong in the 
past couple of years, and the US was pleased with Spanish 
assistance in Afghanistan, where they command a Provincial 
Reconstruction Team and co-lead a Forward Support Base, and 
in Iraq, since the Spanish are to begin bringing Iraqi 
security forces to Spain for training. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Muslim Outreach and the Middle East 
----------------------------------- 
 
4. (U) The Ambassador spoke of Andalusia's rich cultural 
heritage as a land where Christians, Muslims and Jews had 
lived together in the past. He described the Embassy and USG 
efforts to support religious tolerance and reach out in 
particular to Muslims, stressing the USG's conviction that 
terrorism is not representative of Islam. He said he was 
pleased to be speaking later that evening about tolerance and 
diversity at the Fundacion Tres Culturas, an organization 
co-sponsored by the governments of Morocco and Andalusia and 
dedicated to promoting cultural understanding. He said he 
looked forward to future collaborations of this type in the 
future. 
 
5. (C) Chaves acknowledged the good work of Tres Culturas, 
and brought up the Spanish-proposed Alliance of Civilizations 
initiative. He said the Spanish government believed the 
Alliance was an extremely important project, and was 
determined that the UN High-Level Group (HLG) not be simply a 
talk shop, but come up with concrete proposals. 
Significantly, he added that he had "told the President 
(Zapatero) that the Alliance of Civilizations will be useless 
if Turkey is not brought into the European Union." 
 
6. (U) The Ambassador replied that the US hoped to support 
the Alliance, and was pleased that Spain was to contribute to 
the G-8's Broader Middle East and North Africa initiative. 
 
--------- 
Catalonia 
--------- 
 
7. (U) Discussion turned to the Catalan regional statute, 
which the Ambassador said he had been following with 
interest. He asked Chaves for his insights as to what this 
issue means for Spain. Chaves first described the current 
state of affairs: the draft statute, which has been passed by 
the Catalan regional parliament, and which many politicians 
in the rest of Spain claim is unconstitutional, is now with 
the National Congress, where amendments can be proposed. He 
said that if the various national and Catalan regional 
parties could reach an agreement on changes to the draft, 
Congress could pass the revised statute and send it back to 
Catalonia for another vote in the regional parliament. The 
Catalan Region would then organize a referendum to give the 
Catalans the opportunity to accept or reject the final text. 
If the national parties cannot come to agreement on 
revisions, Congress would have to reject the statute 
outright, a result Chaves described as the "worst possible 
outcome." 
 
8. (SBU) Chaves said he thought it was crucial that the 
parties negotiate a solution acceptable for all sides in the 
National Congress, otherwise the Catalans would blame Madrid 
once again for thwarting its ambitions, and it would breed 
resentment in the region, as well as in the rest of Spain. 
(Comment: This would clearly be a bad outcome for Zapatero's 
PSOE government as well.) 
 
------- 
Odyssey 
------- 
 
9. (U) The Ambassador also brought up the ongoing case of the 
American company Odyssey Marine Exploration and its 
outstanding request to explore the shipwreck of the HMS 
Sussex off the coast of Spain. Chaves said he was familiar 
with the case, though he was not up to date on where it 
currently stands. He promised to do some research and get 
back to the Embassy on the issue. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
10. (C) As President of the PSOE, and given his long 
experience in the party, Chaves's opinions carry significant 
weight in the national government. A well-read man with 
extensive knowledge of and interest in the United States, 
Chaves remains an important interlocutor for the Embassy on 
issues of US national interest. 
AGUIRRE