Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado said that there were plenty of undemocratic, corrupt political leaders in Africa so President Robert Mugabe should not be held to a different standard.
He was responding to a plea by United States ambassador to Portugal Alfred Hoffman that Portugal should do everything possible to stop President Robert Mugabe from attending the European Union-Africa summit in Lisbon because his presence would send a terrible message about good governance and human rights.
Amado criticised the British government for focusing so energetically on Mugabe when there were many other leaders who should receive the same level of attention.
The critical point, he said, was that the summit should take place as Europe was working to secure with the Africans a joint plan of action that would establish collaborative efforts in a range of key areas, including security and peacekeeping.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 07LISBON2730, PORTUGUESE FM AMADO ON RUSSIA, IRAN, KOSOVO, AND
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|
Reference ID |
Created |
Classification |
Origin |
VZCZCXRO0741
PP RUEHDBU RUEHDU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHMR RUEHRN RUEHROV
DE RUEHLI #2730/01 2991748
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P 261748Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY LISBON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6382
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA PRIORITY 0029
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA PRIORITY 0034
RUEHSB/AMEMBASSY HARARE PRIORITY 0034
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PRIORITY 0486
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA PRIORITY 0174
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 LISBON 002730
SIPDIS
NOFORN
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/25/2017
SUBJECT: PORTUGUESE FM AMADO ON RUSSIA, IRAN, KOSOVO, AND
EU-AFRICA SUMMIT
REF: LISBON 2720
Classified By: Ambassador Alfred Hoffman for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).
Summary
——–
¶1. (C) Ambassador hosted FM Amado for a very friendly,
two-and-a-half hour one-on-one lunch at the Residence on
October 24. Amado said the EU would press President Putin
during the October 26 EU-Russia summit to agree to additional
UN sanctions on Iran and to invite the OSCE to observe the
December 2 Duma elections. He was optimistic about the
Russian response on the latter point. On Kosovo, Amado did
not speculate on how individual Member States might respond
to a UDI by Kosovo, but rather stressed the importance of
maintaining a common EU approach if the Troika negotiations
are unsuccessful. He did not address the state of planning
for an ESDP mission. He underscored Portugal,s
determination to proceed with an EU-Africa summit in spite of
concerns about Robert Mugabe,s attendance. End Summary.
EU-Russia Summit
—————————
¶2. (C) Iran: The Ambassador encouraged Portugal to press
President Putin to hold firm on Iran, particularly to push
Tehran to fully implement the IAEA workplan and to comply
fully with previous UN Security Council Resolutions. Amado
replied that it is their intention to continue to be strong
on Iran, to collaborate with us in ensuring Iran is not
allowed to develop a nuclear weapon capability. Amado
reassured the Ambassador that the EU would press the Russians
on the need for further sanctions but did not address
directly the question of autonomous measures.
¶3. (C) CFE: The Ambassador expressed his hope that the EU
would press the Russians not to suspend implementation while
talks continue on the way forward. Amado replied that he
thought significant headway had been made on this topic and
he was hopeful there would be a satisfactory resolution.
¶4. (C) Election Observation: Amado said the EU would press
the Russians to issue the OSCE an invitation to send an
election observation mission for the December 2 Duma
elections and was optimistic that Putin would agree.
Kosovo
———-
¶5. (C) Amado said he and his EU counterparts have been
consumed by negotiations on the EU’s constitutional reform
treaty and were proud to have secured final agreement of
heads of state and government at the October 18-19 informal
European Council gathering in Lisbon. Now they will begin
to focus more intensively on Kosovo. If it appears by
mid-November as though the Troika negotiations are making
little progress, he will work hard to build a consensus EU
approach on the way forward. He speculated that a number of
EU Member States would recognize a unilateral declaration of
independence by Kosovo, but underscored his strong preference
for the EU, to the extent possible, to act in unison after
December 10. No matter what happens, Amado said, it is
essential that the EU speak with one voice on Kosovo.
Energy
———
¶6. (C) Asked whether he was troubled by the efforts of
Portugal’s primary energy company, Galp, to increase
collaboration with Gazprom, Amado said no, he did not think
those efforts diminished the importance of energy security
and the need to maintain some measure of freedom of choice
from Russia. He added that the main reason GALP is exploring
collaborative activities with Venezuela’s national oil
company is because Galp’s CEO lived and worked in Venezuela
for many years. Amado was skeptical, though, that those
explorations would result in much concrete collaboration.
GTMO detainee resettlement
————————————–
¶7. (S/NF) The Ambassador asked whether the GOP had made any
decision in regard to the recent request by S/WCI Ambassador
LISBON 00002730 002 OF 002
Williamson, during his October 10 visit to Lisbon (reftel),
that Portugal accept a number of individuals currently
incarcerated at Guantanamo. Amado said he was receptive to
the idea, noting that Portugal and other EU Member States
need to help us close the detention facility at Guantanamo.
Given the internal political difficulties generated by the
whole issue of CIA overflights and renditions, Amado said his
government would not be able to be the only Member State that
says yes — it would need the political cover of acting as
part of a group. If a number of EU countries agree to
accept detainees, though, Portugal would be likely to do so
as well. He indicated that he had discussed this issue with
the British, but noted that the Austrian Chancellor had not
raised it on the margins of the October 18-19 informal
European Council meeting, as the Austrians had told
Ambassador Williamson they would do.
EU-Africa Summit
————————
¶8. (C) The Ambassador urged Portugal to do everything
possible to ensure Robert Mugabe does not attend the
EU-Africa summit in Lisbon in early December, noting that his
presence would send a terrible message about good governance
and human rights. Amado noted that there are plenty of
undemocratic, corrupt political leaders in Africa, and that
Mugabe should not be held to a different standard. He
criticized the British government for focusing so
energetically on Mugabe when there are many other leaders who
should receive the same level of attention. The critical
point, though, was that the summit take place, as Europe is
working to secure with the Africans a joint plan of action
that will establish collaborative efforts in a range of key
areas, including security and peacekeeping.
France in NATO
———————
¶9. (C) Amado expressed strong support for President
Sarkozy,s efforts to have France reintegrated into NATO’s
unified military command. He encouraged the United States to
support this energetically, saying it was his view that
giving the French a leadership role would strengthen the
Alliance.
Comment
——
¶10. (C) This was intended as the Ambassador’s farewell
meeting with Amado and, as usual,
their conversation was a warm and useful exchange. On the
positive side, we were heartened
to hear that the EU plans to press the Russians on many of
the key issues, although they are
not likely to be as assertive as we would like. Amado’s
remarks on the resettlement of
Guantanamo detainees were very forward-leaning — it will be
essential to be able to reassure
him that there are other EU Member States prepared to join
Portugal in accepting at least
some detainees. We were disappointed, but not surprised, at
Amado’s remarks on Mugabe. As
we have reported previously, the Portuguese don’t like Mugabe
any more than we do, but if
his presence in Lisbon is the price of ensuing the EU-Africa
summit takes place, they are
willing to pay that price.
Hoffman
(32 VIEWS)
