GOI: NO BASHAR VISIT PLANNED, BUT SYRIA MUST DO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 007797 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/05/2015 TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER IN SY IZ SUBJECT: GOI: NO BASHAR VISIT PLANNED, BUT SYRIA MUST DO MORE REF: A. STATE 185426 ¶B. DAMASCUS 5248 ¶C. NEW DELHI 6841 Classified By: DCM Robert Blake, Jr. for Reasons 1.4 (B, D) ¶1. (C) Summary: India's West Asia Envoy C Gharekhan told us he is unaware of plans for Syrian President Bashar al-Asad to visit New Delhi, but agreed that Damascus is eager to exploit any opportunity for high-level visits to dispel its deep isolation. Syria must do more for its own sake and Iraq's sake to stop insurgent traffic across its border, he stressed. Gharekhan plans to visit the Middle East in November, and believes that India can support US-led efforts for Israeli-Palestinian peace. End Summary. Asad's Isolation -------------- ¶2. (C) DCM and Poloff called on India's West Asia Special Envoy C Gharekhan on October 6 to deliver Ref A demarche regarding a possible visit to New Delhi of Syrian President Bashar al-Asad, emphasizing US concerns that Asad not be allowed to exploit high-level meetings to dispel Syria's international isolation. Gharekhan commented that Syria, while "very isolated" even from its Arab neighbors, will exploit any visit, including Indian Minister of State for External Affair E Ahamed's recent "pro-forma" trip to Damascus (Ref B),to appear more acceptable to the international community. However, he stated that he had heard of no plans for Bashar to visit New Delhi. Damascus at a Crossroads -------------- ¶3. (C) Gharekhan observed that Syria is at a crossroads, and Damascus must decide in which direction to turn. While Bashar may have started out with reformist intents, he is unable to "disentangle himself" from Syria's old guard. In the meantime, Gharekhan said, Syria's policies have estranged it from Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, and Bashar has found that Egypt's Mubarak is too preoccupied with domestic concerns to assist Syria. ¶4. (C) Agreeing that Syria has not been helpful in Iraq, Gharekhan recounted that during his June visit to Damascus (Ref C) he emphasized to Foreign Minister Shara that Syria has a stake in Iraq's stability and must prevent transit of fighters and weapons across its borders into Iraq. When Shara pushed back, saying Syria was doing its "best," Gharekhan told him that "those who matter," meaning the Iraqis, do not accept that, and Syria needs to do better for the sake of its own relations with its neighbors. Gharekhan added that during his visit to Iraq in May, Iraqi officials had told him that they knew the meeting places and times where Syrian intelligence agents briefed foreign fighters en route to Iraq. He said he urged Shara to ask the Iraqis for this information if Shara was interested in stopping insurgents from using Syrian territory. Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Gharekhan stated that he has no plans for travel to Damascus, but will make a trip to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Cairo, and possibly Amman in early November, with the goal of giving impetus to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. India is not looking for a "big role" in the peace process, he said, but believes that it could play a supporting role in American-led efforts for peace. ¶6. (U) Visit New Delhi's Classified Website: (http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/sa/newdelhi/) Mulford