JORDAN: COMING TO CLOSURE ON AN ARTICLE 98

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 005685 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/29/2014 TAGS: PREL US JO KICC SUBJECT: JORDAN: COMING TO CLOSURE ON AN ARTICLE 98 AGREEMENT REF: STATE 145167 Classified By: Amb. Edward W. Gnehm for reasons 1.5 (b) (d) ¶1. (U) This is an action request for the Department. Please see para 4. ¶2. (C) Ambassador raised forcefully with Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher the USG's strong desire to come to closure on an Article 98 agreement in two separate meetings on July 7 and 8. The Ambassador noted that the GOJ has yet to respond formally to the latest USG draft language. The U.S., he argued, has come a long way to address Jordan's concerns but, because of federal/state jurisdiction issues, cannot provide a 100 percent guarantee of U.S. domestic prosecution of alleged offenders. The Ambassador suggested that USG and GOJ reps sit down soon and iron out a final, mutually agreeable text. ¶3. (C) Muasher responded that the King's commitment to sign an Article 98 agreement with the U.S. still stands, but Jordan has legitimate concerns. The negotiation process has been hampered, he argued, by the "episodic" nature of discussions thus far. Muasher said that he is willing to sit and work on a final text, and suggested that someone come from Washington to Amman the week of July 18-22 to finalize language. All of Jordan's key players -- Muasher, the MFA legal advisor, and Jordanian UN PermRep Prince Zaid -- will be in Amman that week. -------------- ACTION REQUEST -------------- ¶4. (C) We need a further push if we are to get GOJ agreement to an Article 98 agreement text. Post believes the best way to do this would be to have an empowered officials come from Washington the week of July 18-22 to thrash through the final details of text. Please advise. Visit Embassy Amman's classified web site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ or access the site through the State Department's SIPRNET home page. GNEHM