SYRIAN ENVOY DUE IN KUWAIT; GOK TO URGE

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 004639 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR NEA E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/29/2015 TAGS: PREL SY KU SUBJECT: SYRIAN ENVOY DUE IN KUWAIT; GOK TO URGE COOPERATION WITH UN INVESTIGATION Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Ministry of Foreign Affairs Under Secretary Khaled Al-Jarallah told Ambassador October 30 that Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Walid Al-Muallim, with a letter from Syrian President Bashar Al-Asad in hand, would arrive in Kuwait October 31 and would meet with Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. Al-Jarallah speculated that the SARG, in a calculated move, dispatched Al-Muallim rather than Foreign Minister Farouk Al-Shara as his deputy "is more welcome in the region." According to the U/S, the GOK "hopes to hear something positive" about SARG cooperation with the UN investigation regarding the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. ¶2. (C) Ambassador urged Al-Jarallah to give Al-Muallim a clear message to cooperate fully with UN investigator Detlev Mehlis. Al-Jarallah predicted that Shaykh Sabah would deliver the same message to Al-Muallim as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak conveyed to Al-Asad October 28: the SARG needs to cooperate with the UN and cease support for certain Iraqi and Palestinian groups. Al-Muallim is to arrive in Kuwait after stops in Qatar and Saudi Arabia. ********************************************* Visit Embassy Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website ********************************************* LEBARON