Cablegate: Demarche Request: Summit of the Americas

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS LIMA 004267

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KSUM ECON PGOV PE
SUBJECT: DEMARCHE REQUEST: SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS
DECLARATION (PERU)

REF: A. STATE 178321

B. STATE 175049
C. LIMA 3824

1. (U) With Foreign Minister Oscar Maurtua unavailable (he
attended a decentralized Cabinet meeting in Tacna on 9/27 and
was departing with President Toledo for the South American
Community of Nations Summit in Brasilia on 9/29), the
Ambassador raised the USG's concerns over the Summit of the
Americas Declaration (Ref A) at a 9/28 lunch with the Foreign
Ministry's Vice Minister of Foreign Relations Javier Gonzales
Terrones, Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Eduardo
Chavarri, and Director of North American Affairs Nestor
Popolizio.

2. (U) VM Gonzales, who gave no indication that he was
aware of the substantive issues involved, expressed optimism
that a Summit Declaration would eventually be agreed to,
commenting that Latin Americans tend to improvise a solution
at the last minute while Americans approach these matters in
a more organized manner. Popolizio, who participated in SOA
negotiations in his prior assignment as DCM at Peru's Embassy
in Washington, fixed on the Ambassador's observation that the
Argentines had insisted on chairing all working groups at the
last SIRG (Ref B), noted that chairmanship of working groups
had been shared between participating delegations during
other Summit discussions, and said that he would discuss
Peru's involvement in the upcoming SIRG in Washington with
the Ministry's Multilateral Affairs bureau.

3. (SBU) Polcouns presented the demarche on the Summit of
the Americas Declaration (Ref A) to Julio Garro, the Foreign
Ministry's Director of Multilateral Affairs on 9/27. Garro
was sympathetic to our concerns over the Summit Declaration,
said that Peru agreed with the need to come to closure at the
Washington SIRG, and added that Under Secretary for Political
Affairs Fernando Rojas would head Peru's delegation to that
meeting.

4. (SBU) COMMENT: The Summit of the Americas has not/not
been a priority issue for the Foreign Ministry's Bureau of
Multilateral Affairs, which has been concentrating its
limited resources on the UN General Assembly and the South
American Community of Nations (where President Toledo will be
handing over the Presidency to his Brazilian counterpart
Lula). The decision to send U/S for Political Affairs Rojas
(number three at the Ministry) to head Peru's delegation,
however, provides an indication that Peru is taking a more
serious look at the SOA process. USOAS may wish to follow-up
on our lobbying in Lima for a more forceful and positive
Peruvian role at the Washington negotiations by making a
similar push with Peru's OAS delegation. END COMMENT.
STRUBLE

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