DELIVERABLES FOR THE US-EU INTERNATIONAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 004261 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/06/2015 TAGS: PREL PGOV EAID EIND ECON EG IZ EUN SUBJECT: DELIVERABLES FOR THE US-EU INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON IRAQ: EGYPT TO PARTICIPATE BUT NO NEWS ON PLEDGES OF ADDITIONAL SUPPORT REF: A. STATE 10322 ¶B. CAIRO 4125 ¶C. STATE 93742 Classified by ECPO Counselor John Desrocher for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Following a June 2 Iraq Steering Group meeting in Cairo (septel),Post delivered demarches in refs A and C to MFA Cabinet Staff member Alaa Hadidi, drawing on ref A talking points to encourage Egypt to show its support to the Iraqi Transitional Government during a June 22 Iraq ministerial meeting to be held in Brussels. Hadidi confirmed the expected attendance of Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit at the Brussels meeting and pledged Egypt's continued support and participation in planning for the conference. Hadidi had no response to poloff's request for an update on Egyptian assistance to Iraq nor on a request for Egypt to provide additional training for police and military forces or humanitarian supplies. Hadidi committed to sharing the contents of the demarche with MFA Chief of Cabinet Sameh Shukry and the Minister. ¶2. (C) Responding to Post's request for Egypt to fully upgrade its diplomatic relations with Iraq, Hadidi put the ball in Baghdad's court, arguing that Iraqi Foreign Minister Zebari had been told several times by Aboul Gheit that Iraqi Ambassadorial nominee Sofia Soheil was welcome to come and begin working at any time. She could present her credentials at any time to the Foreign Minister, he said, and she would be treated like any other Ambassador in Cairo. However, the Iraqi nominee wants to have a specific appointment with President Mubarak before she comes to Egypt, Hadidi asserted. This was impossible, Hadidi confided, as President Mubarak was not fond of diplomatic credentialing ceremonies and was awaiting a large enough group of applicants before holding a mass ceremony. Citing the Jordanian Ambassador as an example of a senior Arab diplomat not yet formally accredited but actively working in Cairo, Hadidi said that there was no restriction to Soheil's working in Cairo beyond "her own desire not to come." Hadidi cited a report from the Egyptian mission in Baghdad suggesting that Soheil was not interested in actually serving in Cairo and was "playing politics." ¶3. (C) Hadidi (protect),stating that his comments were "off the record," admitted that he had been instructed to "turn the page" with respect to the previous week's episode over Russian participation in the Steering Group meeting in Cairo (ref B). Nonetheless, in wake of Russia's inclusion in the June 2 meeting, Hadidi predicted that China and perhaps others not invited to Cairo "might make trouble" in Brussels. Visit Embassy Cairo's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/cairo You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. GRAY #4261