Donostia-San Sebastián International Peace Conference announced "definitive cessation of its armed activity". They said they were ending their 43-year armed campaign for independence and called on Spain and France to open talks. The Spanish government insisted that it will not negotiate on demands for Basque self-determination until ETA disbands. Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero described ETA's announcement as "a victory for democracy, law and reason". Donostia-San Sebastián International Peace Conference The International Conference to Promote the Resolution of the Conflict in the Basque Country — more widely known as the Donostia-San Sebastián International Peace Conference — was a conference aimed at promoting a
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to withdraw their soldiers. This declaration moved Bush to send a letter expressing discontent to the Spanish premier. American troops were subsequently instructed to not take part during the traditional military parade on the Spanish national holiday in 2004 and in 2005, something which they used to, as both the Spanish and American armies –being NATO allies– are part of joint humanitarian missions; American troops returned to the military parade in 2006; this time Zapatero, being the Spanish premier, stood. Zapatero publicly stated his support for John Kerry as a candidate running in the U.S. Presidential election in 2004. After