UAE VIEWS ON CAIRO FOREIGN MINISTERS' MEETING

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 003802 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/05/2015 TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV TC SUBJECT: UAE VIEWS ON CAIRO FOREIGN MINISTERS' MEETING REF: A. STATE 163365 ¶B. DUBAI 3667 ¶C. STATE 152459 ¶D. STATE 159137 Classified By: Ambassador Michele J. Sison, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (S) Summary: On September 4, the Ambassador delivered ref A demarche on the upcoming Cairo Arab League Foreign Ministers meeting during a call on Abdullah Rashid Al Noaimi, U/S for Foreign Affairs. Ambassador reinforced USG views on terrorism, Israel-Palestine, Syria-Lebanon and Iraq. Al Noaimi noted that these topics would be discussed at both the GCC Ministerial in Jeddah on September 5 as well as the Arab League FM meeting in Cairo. The UAEG is likely to adopt a common GCC stance on a variety of issues in both Jeddah and Cairo. Al Noaimi agreed that all nations should work together to discredit terrorist/extremist messages. He expressed regret over "politicization" of the Magen David Adom issue. Al Noaimi complained that the Arab world needed to rid itself of "old think" on the Israel-Palestine issue. He mentioned the possibility that the Arab League Foreign Ministers would issue "a middle of the road" statement on the Iraqi constitution. He also acknowledged that the UN and UAE had common goals on Syria and conceded that Bashar had "not done enough." End Summary. -------------- Terrorism -------------- ¶2. (C) Ambassador urged the UAEG to use the GCC Ministerial and Arab League FM meetings as opportunities to issue strong condemnations of terrorism. (NOTE: Al Noaimi's father, Rashid Abdullah Al Noaimi, UAE Foreign Minister, will lead the UAE delegations in both Jeddah and Cairo. End Note.) Praising UAEG's grassroots work against terrorism, including strong sermons condemning terrorism and extremism following the Sharm Al Sheikh and London attacks, Ambassador stressed the importance of support for the draft UN Comprehensive Convention on Terrorism. Al Noaimi responded that until recently, UAE nationals had continued to think of terrorists as isolated, disaffected groups. The London bombings had been a great shock. He stated that UAEG must reexamine the causes for terrorism and would go to the source in rooting it out. -------------- Israel-Palestine -------------- ¶3. (S) Ambassador complimented UAEG on its sizeable aid to the Palestinians, noting the Sheikh Zayed City building project in Gaza, while pointing out that Palestinian needs remained enormous. She urged that a strong commitment to increased assistance to the Palestinians through the Arab League would be especially welcome. Al Noaimi stated that UAEG at one time provided cash grants to the Palestinians, but noticing a lack of "trickle down," now prefers to assist through specific development projects such as the 100 million dollar Sheikh Khalifa residential city complex project. ¶4. (S) Ambassador pressed U/S on UAEG support for resolving the issue of Israel's Magen David Adom membership in the International Red Cross/Red Crescent. Al Noaimi responded that humanitarian issues "should not be politicized." He added that the UAE would have no comment on press reports (UAE daily Al Khaleej quoting Israel's "Ha'aretz") about Israeli delegation presence in Dubai. (Note: On September 5 "The Gulf Today" ran a front-page article from WAM, the UAEG news agency, denying the Israeli press report regarding an official Israeli presence in the UAE. The article quotes unnamed MFA official stating that the UAE continues to comply with the Arab Peace Initiative which links normalization of ties with Israel to the recognition of Israel. See ref B for details on the launching of CIDAC, Israel's Dubai trade office. End note.) ¶5. (S) Al Noaimi elaborated that the UAE did not need to have its trade and foreign policy dictated by the Arab League. He complained that we "need to get rid of the old minds," observing that "old think" -- through Egyptian and Syrian journalists "and other non-Emiratis" -- still dominates the UAE and Arab media. When Abu Mazen and Sharon were meeting face-to-face, who were these journalists to criticize those who wished to move forward? -------------- Iraq -------------- ¶6. (S) Ambassador asked UAEG to use its influence to urge a public statement from the Arab League applauding Iraqi success in completing a draft constitution. Al Noaimi agreed that the foreign fighters must go and said that the UAEG does not want to see factional strife in Iraq, commenting: "It is no time for Iraqi leaders to be playing with fire." Al Noaimi indicated that he was well aware of the joint US-UK demarche urging Arab governments to give public support for the Iraqi constitution, noting, "we must awaken the leadership to their future." Al Noaimi added that it was possible the Arab Foreign Ministers would issue a "middle of the road" statement on the Iraqi constitution. ¶7. (S) Al Noaimi said that the message that the UAEG wants to send the Sunni leadership in Iraq is that federalism does not mean division, as long as the framework is established and the boundaries are set. He noted that UAEG lived with a provisional constitution for 20 years and prospered under it, adding that he didn't know why the Iraqis need "a solid block" from the beginning. Constitutions could be amended as needed. "Federalism has been healthy for us," he added. Ambassador suggested that the message on the benefits of federalism would best be delivered if UAEG had its own ambassador in Iraq. (UAE is now represented at the Charge d'Affaires level.) Al Noaimi argued that current security concerns precluded installation of a UAE ambassador in Baghdad, but that the MFA would have a full mission when the situation permits. He acknowledged that Sheikh Hamdan, UAEG Deputy PM and MinState Foreign Affairs, had met with former Iraq PM Iyad Allawi in Morocco last week but offered no further information on the meeting. -------------- Syria-Lebanon -------------- ¶8. (S) Ambassador underscored that all nations should focus on "isolation, not engagement" vis-a-vis Syria. She stressed that the UN Summit would be an opportunity for the international community to reinforce concerns over Syria's support for the insurgency in Iraq, its interference in the internal affairs of Lebanon, its failure to expel Palestinian terrorists, and its poor human rights record. She argued that denying Syria the opportunity to use the UNGA summit as a platform for its own agenda will send a message that the international community is steadfast in its demands for change, ref D. Al Noaimi responded that the UAEG prefers an approach which would help President Bashar Al Asad free himself of the "old guard" which surrounds him, rather than to isolate him. Ambassador repeated that isolation, not engagement, is the best way to send the clearest, most direct message that support of Iraqi insurgents and interference in Lebanon will not be tolerated. Since it appears that the UAEG will engage Syria at UNGA, Ambassador urged the UAEG to use the opportunity to convey the message that Syria's behavior is not acceptable. Al Noaimi acknowledged common USG-UAEG goals and conceded that Bashar Al Asad has "not done enough." -------------- HLE, Reform Issues -------------- ¶9. (S) Ambassador noted that the USG would continue to work under UNGA President Jean Ping's leadership to facilitate the UN reform process. She also commented on the positive political developments underway in Iraq, Lebanon, and Egypt, citing the need for free and competitive elections as a central component of political reform, and reiterated US support of UAEG's moves in this direction. In an August 15 meeting with the Secretary, Sheikh Hamdan had stated that the UAE was on the threshold of major developments including the announcement of municipal and Federal National Council elections, she reminded Al Noaimi. He acknowledged that it was important that the UAE move forward in these areas. SISON