KUWAIT REINFORCES NEED FOR SUNNI PARTICIPATION IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 001560

SIPDIS

FOR NEA/ARPI - BERNS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV IZ KU KUWAIT IRAQ RELATIONS
SUBJECT: KUWAIT REINFORCES NEED FOR SUNNI PARTICIPATION IN
SHAPING IRAQ'S FUTURE; FORMAL REQUEST FOR IRAQI ENVOY SOUGHT

REF: A. KUWAIT 1467

B. KUWAIT 1460

Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) The Ambassador briefed April 17 Ministry of Foreign
Affairs Under Secretary Khaled Al-Jarallah on recent trips of
senior U.S. officials to Iraq, stressing the shared
U.S.-Iraqi commitment to building a transparent system of
governance, ensure security within Iraq and along its
borders, and change attitudes toward the military.
Al-Jarallah agreed that good governance was needed and in
order to achieve it, Sunni participation was essential in
drafting the constitution, which he described as "the way to
the future." He added that among Iraq's most severe problems
was the lack of Sunni political participation and lamented
their future isolation if they continued to remain outside
the process. He praised the efforts of Vice President Shaykh
Ghazi Al-Yawer to promote Sunni involvement and said if
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia had a direct channel to Iraq's Sunni
community, they would use it to encourage full political
participation. Al-Jarallah was also complimentary of Foreign
Minster Hoshyar Zebari, a "really good guy for the Iraqis and
the region" who knows how to work with other countries.


2. (C) Turning to Iraqi-Kuwaiti relations, Al-Jarallah
reported the Iraqi Ambassador in Amman had requested agrement
for Faeq Al Shaykh Ali as the Iraqi ambassador to Kuwait. In
principle, Kuwait has accepted the nomination but is waiting
for an official government-to-government communication before
announcing the resumption of full bilateral relations.
(Note: Al-Jarallah left the impression that the GOK wanted
to be sure that Faeq Al Shaykh Ali is the genuine candidate
of the Iraqi government.)


3. (C) As reported ref a, Al-Jarallah informed the
Ambassador that the Istanbul Neighboring Countries Meeting
scheduled for April 18-19 had been postponed at the request
of the ITG until April 27 so that Prime Minister Designate
Ibrahim Al-Jaafari could attend. He added that Foreign
Minister Shaykh Dr. Mohammed Al-Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah would
represent Kuwait.


4. (U) Baghdad: Minimize considered.

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LEBARON