PREPARATIONS FOR IRAQ NEIGHBORS' CONFERENCE,

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 000007 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/03/2010 TAGS: PREL PGOV IZ JO SUBJECT: PREPARATIONS FOR IRAQ NEIGHBORS' CONFERENCE, JANUARY 6 REF: A. 04 AMMAN 10192 ¶B. 04 STATE 275109 ¶C. 04 AMMAN 10314 Classified By: Charge David Hale, Reasons 1.4 (B) & (D) ¶1. (C) Foreign Minister al-Mulki updated Charge on January 3 on plans for the Iraq neighbors, ministerial, scheduled to be held in Amman on January 6. All neighboring states have confirmed Foreign Ministers, attendance, except Iran. Mulki has had several phone conversations with Iranian Foreign Minister Kharrazi, which sound as though they have been held in the same barbed spirit as recent public exchanges between the two countries. At this stage, Mulki said, Tehran is sending someone below Kharrazi,s rank. At the IIG,s request, he had earlier told Charge, AL SYG Moussa would not be invited. ¶2. (C) Mulki said the draft communique was negotiated and very nearly ready; he would provide a copy to Charge late on January 3. He described it as strongly supportive of U.S. and IIG objectives to encourage maximum (ie, Sunni) participation in Iraq,s elections, without delay ) in keeping with the President,s message to King Abdullah during the November 2004 visit. ¶3. (C) Mulki also previewed his January 4 trip to Beirut. He undertook to press there on the importance of implementation of UNSCR 1559, keeping the Syrian hand out of the Spring parliamentary elections, and on containing Hizballah, especially from persisting in the shipment of terrorist material and personnel through Jordan into the West Bank. He would be reinforcing these points in a phone call with Shara later on January 3. HALE