MFA UNDERSECRETARY SAYS SYRIAN PRESIDENT'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 004903 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR NEA/ARPI; LONDON FOR TSOU; PARIS FOR ZEYA E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/26/2015 TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV SY KU SUBJECT: MFA UNDERSECRETARY SAYS SYRIAN PRESIDENT'S WILLINGNESS TO CHANGE HAMPERED BY THOSE AROUND HIM Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (C) During a November 27 meeting, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Khaled Al-Jarallah shared his views on the recent Syrian decision to send officials to Europe in for questioning by the Mehlis commission. Al-Jarallah said the SARG's decision to cooperate was the right one. Al-Jarallah commented that he suspected that President Bashar al Asad's willingness to cooperate but may feel constrained by the potential reactions of hard-liners in the regime. He speculated that al Asad would be even more cooperative if he had some "guarantee of support" from the international community. Al-Jarallah was unsure how to convey such expressions of support, but felt strongly that al Asad needed sustained encouragement to behave in a positive way with regard to global issues, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iraq, and Lebanon. Greater cooperation would prevent the creation of a vacuum that would be detrimental to the entire region. ¶2. (C) The Ambassador countered that the international community has been clear about what it sought from Syria: positive changes by the regime, not regime change. Unfortunately, there is not enough evidence that al Asad was willing to change and was focused on the long-term. Al-Jarallah agreed that change was needed and said the Syrian President seemed confused about which path to take. His statements during his CNN interview were positive, but he gave a very negative speech to the Syrian parliament. Al-Jarallah said that the December 7-8 summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in Mecca presented an opportunity for regional leaders to share their concerns with al Asad. ********************************************* 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 ********************************************* TUELLER