ISOLATING SYRIA AT THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY: EGYPT

S E C R E T CAIRO 006913

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/06/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON PTER EG SY LE UNSC UNGA
SUBJECT: ISOLATING SYRIA AT THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY: EGYPT
AND ARAB LEAGUE SECRETARY GENERAL

REF: A. STATE 159137 (NOTAL)


B. STATE 163365 (NOTAL)

Classified by ECPO Minister Counselor Michael Corbin for
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (S) During their September 4 introductory meeting, the
Ambassador and Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit touched on Syria.
The Ambassador sought Egyptian support to press Damascus and
Lebanon to follow through with UNSCR 1559 implementation,
removing all Syrian operatives from Lebanon, ending Syria's
economic blockade of Lebanon, and disarming Lebanon's
militias. Responding, Aboul Gheit cautioned the U.S. to
"keep working on Syria: keep the pressure on, but don't
break (the regime)." Should Syria collapse, he warned, the
problems in the Fertile Crescent will "torment you for
eternity." The Minister asked rhetorically "do you want to
create a third crisis point for yourselves; with all your
problems in Iraq and the ongoing process in Israel, do you
really want a third point of difficulty in the Levant?" The
Ambassador replied that a crisis would be avoided if Syria
took the simple steps outlined by the international community.


2. (S) During a September 6 introductory call on Arab League
Secretary General Moussa, the Ambassador again raised Syria,

SIPDIS
per reftel demarches, and requested Moussa to press Syria to
be more cooperative on Iraq, Lebanon, and elsewhere in the
region. Moussa called on the USG to work privately to open
channels with Asad, and recognize the powerful constraining
forces within in his regime. Moussa offered his assistance
in mediating any such effort, suggesting that the U.S. open
private discussions with Damascus on "four or five files" of
critical importance with Syria's power brokers ("people of
weight").


3. (S) Poloff delivered ref A demarche September 1 to MFA
Cabinet staff member Amr Sherbiny (protect),and on September
5 to Arab League Chief of Cabinet Hesham Youssef. Both
welcomed the clarifications of U.S. policy, commenting that
Washington was taking a "very tough" approach toward Syria at
the coming UN General Assembly. Promising to share the USG
message within the GOE bureaucracy, Sherbiny offered his
personal assessment that seeking to undermine Asad in such a
public manner in New York could be "counterproductive."
Nevertheless, Egypt understood the need to maintain
diplomatic pressure on the SARG over Lebanon, Iraq, and the
Israel-Palestinian conflict. Egypt, he said, had so far
refused to agree to a SARG request to hold a "bi-national
committee" meeting. This committee is an approximately
bi-annual exercise where the two countries seek to strengthen
bilateral relations. Sherbiny said that Egypt had responded
to Syria that it was "considering" hosting such an event, but
that the GOE had no intention of actually doing so at the
present time.


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