(S) COALITION FUEL SUPPLIES FROM KUWAIT OK FOR TWO

S E C R E T KUWAIT 000130 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/NGA CPA FOR AMBASSADOR RICHARD JONES E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/11/2014 TAGS: PREL MARR MOPS IZ KU SUBJECT: (S) COALITION FUEL SUPPLIES FROM KUWAIT OK FOR TWO WEEKS; GOK REQUESTS NEGOTIATION TEAM QUICKLY REF: A. KUWAIT 127 ¶B. STATE 4882 Classified By: (U) CDA FRANK URBANCIC, REASON: 1.4 (B, D) ¶1. (U) This is an action request. See paragraph 3. ¶2. (S) At the instruction of Kuwaiti Foreign Minister, Shaykh Dr. Mohammed Al Sabah Al Salem Al Sabah, who was in Yemen, MFA U/S Khaled Salman Al Jarallah called Charge January 11, 2004, to reply to Charge's January 10 demarche (reftel A) and to confirm that the GOK will not cut off fuel supplies for American aviation now. Al Jarallah stipulated, however, that this commitment was good for only two more weeks. He asked the USG to put together a team to come to Kuwait within the two weeks to strike a new deal with the GOK in how future fuel supplies for coalition forces will be handled. ¶3. (S) COMMENT: From intonation and body language in discussions on the topic over the last week, we infer that the GOK has concluded that the end of major hostilities in Iraq has brought us to a new stage in Kuwaiti support for US operations in Iraq. The primary interest we detect in Kuwaiti comments is in how the fuel will be paid for in the future. Embassy believes that the interagency US team which comes to Kuwait to discuss future supplies should be as broad-based as possible and empowered to engage the GOK across the board on the future of the strategic alliance. The more specific we can be with the Kuwaitis on how we see the military relationship developing in the future, the more flexibile we believe the Kuwaitis will be on making significant new commitments for aid-in-kind fuel for Iraqi operations. ¶4. (U) Baghdad minimize considered. URBANCIC