THE DEPUTY SECRETARY'S MEETING WITH EU HI-REP

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 002442

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DEPT FOR D, EUR/ERA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/07/2014
TAGS: PREL GZ IS IZ EUN USEU BRUSSELS
SUBJECT: THE DEPUTY SECRETARY'S MEETING WITH EU HI-REP
SOLANA

Classified By: USEU acting POL MINS-COUNS O'Hara, reasons 1.4 b and d


1. (C) Summary: Deputy Secretary Armitage and EU Foreign
Policy Hi-Rep Solana met June 2 and discussed the Mid-East
Peace Process (MEPP),Iraq and the forthcoming US/EU Summit.
Solana said the EU would be as supportive as possible
regarding the new government in Iraq. He also emphasized the
importance of getting a UNSC resolution on Iraq. On the
Mid-East, Solana enthusiastically embraced the possibility of
trying to move ahead on the Roadmap this year and said he
would be available to do whatever he could in this area..
Solana Cabinet member Paul Riederman told us afterwards that
Solana was very pleased with the meeting -- particularly with
the discussion of the MEPP. End Summary


2. (U) Deputy Secretary Armitage and EU Foreign Policy Hi-Rep
Solana met for 45 minutes June 2 in Brussels in Solana's
office. Afterwards, Deputy Secretary Armitage and Solana
held a joint 10 minute press conference at the EU. Attending
the meeting were USEU Ambassador Schnabel, D Special
Assistant John Gastright, USEU Acting Minister-Counselor
Harry O'Hara (notetaker),and USEU AID Counselor Pat Lerner;
on the EU side were Council North America Office head Jim
Cloos, Council European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP)
Deputy Claude-France Arnoult, Council Deputy Cabinet Head
Pedro Serrano, and Council Cabinet Advisor Paul Reiderman.

IRAQ AND NEXT EC PRESIDENT


3. (C) Deputy Secretary Armitage thanked Solana for his June
1 remarks expressing support for the creation of a new
government in Iraq, then updated Solana on the interim Iraqi
government, Brahimi's efforts, and US efforts to ensure the
passage of a UNSC resolution for Iraq. Solana asked how a
deadline for a US/MNF troop withdrawal from Iraq would be
handled. The Deputy Secretary noted that while a 12-month
review would be automatic, the new government could ask for
an earlier withdrawal.

SOLANA/IRAQ: INCREASING LEGITIMACY OF NEW GOVERNMENT


4. (C) Solana said that, much would depend on the quality of
the people in the new government in Iraq. He opined that
many in Iraq seem to view their new government as a rotation
of chairs. Solana said the new leaders would nonetheless face
the challenge of earning legitimacy in the street and
stressed that the EU wanted to help counter the perception
among many Iraqis that "nothing has changed," and noted that
an Iraqi constitution, which comes later, will be a tricky
but necessary part of the legitimization process. Deputy
Secretary Armitage observed that getting more Iraqi faces on

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Iraqi television -- and less American faces -- would help
with the image of the new government.

SOLANA'S "STATEMENT"


5. (C) Solana told the Deputy Secretary that he wanted to
make a "statement on Iraq." He said that the EU will be as
supportive as possible with the new government; passage of an
UNSC resolution is important; the EU wants success. He also
stressed that the current atmosphere (between the US and the
EU) is good and that we've passed a hurdle (from last year,
when transatlantic tensions were higher).
SOLANA'S THOUGHT-EXPERIMENTS ON IRAQ


6. (C) To the discomfort -- but not surprise -- of some of
his staff, Solana strayed from his brief and speculated about
how, if he was Prime Minister of Iraq, he would look at the
200,000 Iraqis that entered the Iraqi armed forces from
1993-2003, and try to rehabilitate them back into the Iraqi
military. He said that such an approach could help rebuild an
Iraqi army that could take on visible security tasks. Deputy
Secretary Armitage noted the importance of rebuilding the

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Iraqi military but he added that rebuilding the Iraqi police
is even more pressing due to the need for "law and order" as
a top issue for a majority of Iraqis today.


7. (C) Switching gears, Solana wondered if, as a result of
changes in Iraq and Turkey, the Turkish/Israeli "strategic"
partnership was in danger. Thinking out loud, he said that an
informal Israel-Turkey-Kurdish "triangle" is not functioning.
On Turkey, Solana noted that the EU will have important
decisions to make on Turkey and that Turkish/EU relations are
going to have to change. Solana's staff told us afterwards
that these remarks were unscripted but reflected Solana's
concerns that the special Turkish-Israeli relationship is
weakening, and that Turkey is increasingly uncomfortable with
what Solana views as Israel's influence with Kurds in Iraq.

MEPP/ROADMAP/QUARTET


8. (C) The Deputy noted that the May 4 Quartet talks had
gone well. Solana stressed the EU commitment to the roadmap
and reported that EU special Mid-East envoy Marc Otte was in
Cairo (June 2) and would meet with President Mubarak.
Restating previous EU markers, Solana said that for full EU
engagement, we need to see full Israeli withdrawal per the
roadmap. Solana expressed worry that the process could
freeze and that bigger problems would emerge in 2005. He
asked the Deputy "how much energy can the US put into this
during (U.S. Presidential) elections?" Deputy Secretary
Armitage replied that the US does not want to wait until
after November and that the Administration is eager to move
the process forward if the Palestinian Authority can get
approval from Arafat and Sharon can prevail on the Gaza
withdrawal. Solana warmly welcomed this and said that as fast
the US goes, the EU will go faster. Solana has been talking
to Mubarak, and the Egyptians are also ready to go. Solana
suggested the need to get the Quartet "on the ground" with
people in the region. He argued that this would strengthen
the ability of Jordan and Egypt to play a positive role.
Solana continued with the need to get momentum going and
stated that he, Solana, is ready to work this full-time,
"24/7."

US/EU SUMMIT REVIEW


9. (C) In response to the Deputy Secretary,s request for an
EU assessment of where we are concerning US/EU Summit
preparations, Cloos acknowledged that the &air agreement8
will not be ready for the Summit but said that even if the US
and EU cannot have an air agreement deliverable for the
Summit, perhaps we might find a way to say that we've made
progress. Cloos stressed how important Galileo is for the
Summit and noted how pleased he was that Galileo is just
about settled. Solana said that the US and the EU still have
time to work out a Broader Middle East and Northern Africa
(BMENA) statement. He noted EU concerns about having the
US/EU or any other outside structure "grading" the affected
countries in the region. He also reiterated an ongoing EU
concern that their Euro-Med/Barcelona process agreements not
be diluted at the G-8 or at the Summit. He said that the EU's
concerns in the region were not just strategic but were also
based on Europe's close proximity to the BMENA. He said that
this neighborhood concern needed to be accommodated. For
Solana, the terrorism declaration is going well and
Washington had given the EU's new counter-terrorism
coordinator, Gijs de Vries, a good and successful visit.

SUDAN/DARFUR


10. (C) The Deputy Secretary reviewed US concerns about the
difficult situation in Sudan, particularly Darfur, where the
US is pressing to ensure that humanitarian supplies get to
people in need. The Deputy said that the US needs to push
the Sudanese Government to allow this to happen. Solana said
that the EU may want to do something in the Sudan and is
considering sending in a team to look at the situation on the
ground. Without being more specific, Solana said that the EU
would also want to engage.


11. (U) Deputy Secretary Armitage has cleared this message.

Schnabel