MAURITANIA: EGYPT MAINTAINING A LOW PROFILE ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 006494 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/23/2015 TAGS: PREL PGOV MOPS KDEM EG MR SUBJECT: MAURITANIA: EGYPT MAINTAINING A LOW PROFILE ON COUP REF: STATE 153870 (NOTAL) Classified by ECPO Counselor John Desrocher for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) During an August 22 meeting on other topics with MFA Cabinet staff member responsible for Arab affairs, Alaa Hadidi, poloff inquired into GOE policy toward the recent coup d'etat in Mauritania. Hadidi acknowledged Egypt's relatively quiet public posture on the coup and stated that Egypt was taking a "wait and see" approach. Egypt, he added, had neither sent envoys to Nouakchott nor received representatives of the military regime ("as some states recently have" - i.e., Algeria and Morocco). The Egyptian ambassador to Mauritania, he said, continued to report on events from the capital but was not meeting with coup leaders. Hadidi suggested that the U.S. had offered coup leaders "de facto recognition" by meeting with them. Poloff responded by stating USG policy on the coup (reftel), stressing condemnation of the take-over and support for African Union leadership on the issue. ¶2. (C) Poloff inquired whether the coup leaders intended to send a representative to attend the Arab League's annual meeting of foreign ministers scheduled for September 6 in Cairo. Hadidi was uncertain but responded to poloff's question on GOE visa policy by noting that Egypt "would not deny visas" to government representatives to attend Arab League events in Cairo. He added that it would be "logical to assume" that the new military regime would want to send a senior representative to the meeting in order to seek diplomatic support and recognition from the other 21 Arab League member states. 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. JONES