US embassy cable - 03VATICAN531

UNCLAS VATICAN 000531 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/WE (MENNUTI) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, PHUM, PREL, VT 
SUBJECT: VATICAN HAPPY WITH TRIPS MORATORIUM, PRESSES FOR 
FINAL AGREEMENT 
 
REF: A) STATE 26895 B) VATICAN 307 C) 02 VATICAN 6064 
 
1.  DCM SHARED REF A FOLLOW-UP POINTS ON THE TRIPS MORATORIUM 
WITH VATICAN DFM MONS. PIETRO PAROLIN AND IO DIRECTOR MONS. 
OSVALDO NEVEZ ON FEBRUARY 2.  BOTH EXPRESSED GRATITUDE FOR 
THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND REAFFIRMED THE HOLY SEE'S 
APPRECIATION FOR THE U.S. NEED TO DEFEND INTELLECTUAL 
PROPERTY IN ORDER TO ENSURE CONTINUED RESEARCH AND 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
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DEVELOPMENT AGAINST INFECTIOUS DISEASES.  THEY WELCOMED THE 
U.S. MORATORIUM AS A TEMPORARY MEASURE TO ENSURE 
PHARMACEUTICAL ACCESS FOR THE NEEDIEST COUNTRIES, BUT 
REITERATED THEIR DESIRE TO SEE AN AGREEMENT REACHED AS SOON 
AS POSSIBLE TO IMPLEMENT THE DOHA DECLARATION. 
 
2.  MONSIGNOR NEVES WENT OUT OF HIS WAY TO EXPLAIN THAT 
FOREIGN MINISTER TAURAN'S DECEMBER NOTE VERBALE URGING THE 
U.S. NOT TO BLOCK CONSENSUS ON DOHA (REF C) WAS THE RESULT OF 
PRESSURE ON THE HOLY SEE DELEGATION IN GENEVA FROM "A NUMBER 
OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES" AND REFLECTED THE HOLY SEE'S 
PERCEPTION AT THAT TIME THE USG WAS BLOCKING CONCLUSION OF A 
FINAL AGREEMENT.  THEY SAID THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND WHY OTHER 
COUNTRIES WITH R AND D INTERESTS WERE WILLING TO SUPPORT THE 
TEXT, WHILE THE U.S. WAS NOT.  THE HOLY SEE NOW HAS A MORE 
COMPLETE APPRECIATION FOR THE U.S. POSITION, HOWEVER, AND 
BOTH OFFICIALS REPEATED THAT THE U.S. TRIPS ENFORCEMENT 
MORATORIUM WAS A "VERY IMPORTANT" MEASURE.  PAROLIN AND NEVES 
UNDERSCORED THAT THE HOLY SEE WAS "PLEASED" WITH THE FACT 
THAT THE USG WAS GOING AHEAD WITH THE MORATORIUM IMMEDIATELY 
AND HAD BEEN JOINED BY THE EU. 
 
3.  LOOKING TO THE NEXT ROUND OF NEGOTIATIONS IN GENEVA, 
NEVES SAID THE HOLY SEE WOULD CONTINUE TO PRESS FROM A 
PRINCIPLED HUMANITARIAN POSITION FOR A FINAL AGREEMENT ON 
IMPLEMENTING DOHA AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.  NEVES OFFERED THAT 
THE DISCUSSIONS HAD REACHED A "TECHNICAL LEVEL" AT WHICH HE 
BELIEVED MIDDLE GROUND COULD BE REACHED QUICKLY.  ASKED WHAT 
INSTRUCTIONS THE HOLY SEE WOULD SEND ARCHBISHOP DIARMUID 
MARTIN, ITS GENEVA PERMANENT OBSERVER, THEY SAID HE WOULD 
RECEIVE INSTRUCTIONS TO "PRESS ALL SIDES TO REACH A FINAL 
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PAGE 03        VATICA  00531  100944Z 
AGREEMENT."  (NOTE: MARTIN WILL VISIT ROME IN MARCH AND WE 
WILL SEEK TO REVIEW THE HOLY SEE'S POSITION ON TRIPS WITH HIM 
AT THAT TIME.) 
 
4.  IN CONCLUDING, DEPUTY FM PAROLIN, IN AN EFFORT TO SMOOTH 
OVER DIFFERENCES ARISING FROM THE CRITICAL STANCE THEY HAD 
ADOPTED IN DECEMBER (REFS B AND C), INTERJECTED THAT THE HOLY 
SEE "WANTED TO STRESS THAT IT IS HAPPY AND SUPPORTS" THE 
PRESIDENT'S STATE OF THE UNION ANNOUNCEMENT THAT THE USG 
WOULD INCREASE HIV/AIDS FUNDING BY USD 10 BILLION.   HE ALSO 
NOTED THAT THE HOLY SEE IS AWARE THAT AMERICAN PRIVATE SECTOR 
SUPPORT FOR HUMANITARIAN AND MEDICAL RELIEF IN THE DEVELOPING 
WORLD IS AN IMPORTANT, ALBEIT SOMETIMES OVERLOOKED, 
CONTRIBUTION.  (NOTE; THE CATHOLIC CHURCH'S CONTRIBUTION IS 
ALSO IMPORTANT AND OFTEN OVERLOOKED -- IT PROVIDES NEARLY 25 
PERCENT OF AIDS CARE WORLD-WIDE). 
 
NICHOLSON 
 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
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 2003VATICA00531 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED