CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION UPDATE: QATAR

C O N F I D E N T I A L DOHA 001474

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/24/2015
TAGS: PARM MARR PREL KTIA QA
SUBJECT: CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION UPDATE: QATAR

REF: STATE 146470

Classified By: Ambassador Chase Untermeyer for reasons 1.4 (d).


1. (C) Post delivered reftel points, including the offer to
meet Qatari officials at The Hague, to the MFA. Ambassador
had previously discussed Washington's offer to send officials
to Doha before or after Ramadan 2005 to discuss the CWC
Challenge Inspections issue. Post has also delivered the
draft MOU to the Qatari government. The GOQ acknowledges that
it is aware of the issue. Despite follow-up inquiries since
the fall of 2004, post has not been able to obtain any answer
from the GOQ.

Reasons for Stalled Action on CWC
--------------


2. (C) Post notes that bilateral relations, while excellent
in their military-to-military aspect, are complicated and
strained by differences over the satellite channel Al
Jazeera. A number of worthy initiatives, including
high-priority debt relief for Iraq, are caught up in this
issue. The Qatari Foreign Minister, Hamad bin Jassim Al
Thani, has told us that debt relief, for example, won't be
announced until misunderstandings over Al Jazeera are
resolved and relations return to a normal footing, to include
top-level meetings in Washington. Other activities are
similarly stalled.


3. (C) Post believes that, given ongoing efforts to improve
Al Jazeera, progress on CWC could come in late 2005 or early
2006, when we hope to resume the bilateral Strategic
Dialogue. In the mean time, post will continue to seek a
response from the GOQ.
UNTERMEYER