Berlusconi y Putin

Cable de la primera visita del embajador de Obama a Berlusconi

'Il Cavaliere' enumera a David H. Thorne en una comida en 2009 "las muchas y estupendas cualidades de Putin como líder".

02 dic 2010 - 21:34CET

ID:	226129
Date:	2009-09-21 11:31:00
Origin:	09ROME1077
Source:	Embassy Rome
Classification:	CONFIDENTIAL
Dunno:
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C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 001077 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/22/2019 TAGS: PREL, PGOV, NATO, IT, AF, RU, IR SUBJECT: BERLUSCONI REAFFIRMS AFGHAN COMMITMENT DURING AMBASSADOR'S COURTESY CALL Classified By: Ambassador David H. Thorne for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D) 1. (C) Summary: During Ambassador Thorne's first call on PM Berlusconi, the PM appeared elated by President Obama's decision on missile defense; reaffirmed Italy's commitment to the Afghanistan mission, despite the fatal September 17 attack on an Italian convoy, while noting the need for a "transition strategy"; agreed on the need for firm allied unity in the face of Iranian intransigence; and said Italy would support Chicago's bid to host the Olympic Games in 2016. End Summary. 2. (C) Amb. Thorne, accompanied by DCM Dibble, paid his first call on PM Berlusconi on September 18. The PM, accompanied by U/S Gianni Letta, Russia advisor Valentino Valentini, and NSA-equivalent Bruno Archi, thanked the Ambassador for U.S. condolences over the previous day's lethal VBIED attack on an Italian military convoy in Kabul. Berlusconi noted that he had been up almost the entire night in Council of Ministers deliberations dealing with the aftermath of the incident (note: the deaths have provoked a huge emotional reaction in the Italian public and press, and September 21 has been declared a day of national mourning in honor of the 6 killed and four wounded). He reiterated the themes he has sounded publicly in the past 24 hours about the need for Italy and other allies to stay committed to the mission despite this and other attacks, thus his public call for a "transition strategy," not an "exit strategy," as some politicians (most notably the leader of the Lega Nord, the junior partner in Berlusconi's own governing coalition) had demanded since the attack. 3. (C) Berlusconi appeared elated over the President's September 17 announcement that the U.S. would substantially revise missile defense plans for Europe. Saying he had considered former Secretary of State Rice a friend, the PM said he had nonetheless told her he disagreed strongly with her over U.S. plans to deploy missile defense installations to Poland and the Czech Republic; Berlusconi termed it a return to the Cold War. The PM offered a long and familiar discourse on (in his eyes) Putin's many fine qualities as a leader, terming President Medvedev somewhat dismissively Putin's "apprentice." He asserted that under former President Bush and now with President Obama he had managed to play a useful, mediating role in U.S.-Russian relations, due to his exceptionally close relationship with Putin, the real center of power in Russia. 4. (C) On Iran, Berlusconi agreed with Amb. Thorne's call for close U.S.-Italian coordination, citing the most recent IAEA report on Iran's apparent readiness to build a nuclear weapon and saying that stronger efforts by the international community would be needed in the coming months. The Ambassador briefed the PM on an undertaking by Paolo Scaroni, CEO of Italian Energy Parastatal ENI, to U/S Burns to convey formally to the USG all current ENI projects in Iran, as well as those ENI has suspended (at GOI/USG request) for the time being. Amb. noted that the Italian power company Edison, on the other hand, had recently told us that, GOI urgings to the contrary, it was proceeding with a major project in Iran. Berlusconi expressed surprise, and dismissed the notion that Edison would proceed (note: DCM followed up separately with Letta and Archi to relay details of recent exchanges with Edison). 5. (SBU) Responding to the Ambassador's request that Italy support the city of Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympics, Berlusconi indicated that Italy was prepared to support Chicago. Since Rome is considering a bid for the 2020 games, Berlusconi said, Italy would want to see a non-European city win the 2016 competition, since the OIC would not support back-to-back hosting of the Olympics by London, Madrid and Rome. THORNE