Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05PARIS2660
2005-04-19 17:56:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Paris
Cable title:  

SAUDI CROWN PRINCE VISIT FOCUSES ON LEBANON, CLOSE

Tags:  PREL SA SY LE ECON PARM FR 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 002660 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2015
TAGS: PREL SA SY LE ECON PARM FR
SUBJECT: SAUDI CROWN PRINCE VISIT FOCUSES ON LEBANON, CLOSE
TIES WITH CHIRAC, BUT CONCLUDES NO NEW CONTRACTS


Classified By: Acting DCM Josiah Rosenblatt, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 002660

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2015
TAGS: PREL SA SY LE ECON PARM FR
SUBJECT: SAUDI CROWN PRINCE VISIT FOCUSES ON LEBANON, CLOSE
TIES WITH CHIRAC, BUT CONCLUDES NO NEW CONTRACTS


Classified By: Acting DCM Josiah Rosenblatt, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary and comment: GoF contacts report that Lebanon
and Syria were the main topics of Saudi Crown Prince
Abdullah's recent meetings with President Chirac, with both
sides agreeing on the need for full Syrian withdrawal, rapid
formation of a Lebanese government and holding of free and
fair legislative elections on time. GoF contacts reported
that the Saudis were looking for French reassurance that
UNSCR 1559 did not target Syria, and President Chirac
affirmed that the GoF was focused on Lebanese sovereignty,
not regime change in Damascus. Other topics discussed during
the Abdullah visit included Iraq, Middle East peace efforts,
Iran and terrorism (see text of joint communique in para 7.)
GoF contacts stressed that the Abdullah visit was
fundamentally political in nature and not focused on
concluding new commercial contracts, in the wake of erroneous
French press speculation that major contracts would be
concluded during the visit, including a protocol to order
some 48 Rafale fighters from the GoF. End summary and
comment.


2. (C) Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah paid an official visit to
France April 13-15, his first since 2001. President Chirac
hosted the Crown Prince for a dinner on April 13 and a
working lunch April 14, while PM Raffarin hosted a dinner for
the Crown Prince on April 14. Chirac reportedly had two
one-on-one discussions with Abdullah April 13 and 14, while
FM Barnier had a similar one-on-one discussion with Saudi FM
Saud al-Faisal April 13. We received readouts on the
Abdullah visit April 18 from Presidential Middle East Advisor
Dominique Boche and MFA DAS-equivalent for Iraq/Iran/Arabian
Gulf Affairs Antoine Sivan, who both cautioned that they did
not have many details on the Chirac-Abdullah discussions due
to the closed nature of the meetings. French and Arab media
coverage of the visit highlighted the close, personal ties
between Chirac and the Crown Prince, who praised Chirac for
his morality, sincerity and humanity in an April 13 "Le

Monde" interview. Chirac, in remarks welcoming the Crown
Prince April 13, reaffirmed the GoF's desire to take its
strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia to a higher level,
and paid tribute to Crown Prince Abdullah's ambitious program
to transform Saudi Arabia, "while respecting its special
identity." French press also noted that Chirac took the
unusual step of accompanying the Crown Prince to the airport
for his April 15 departure.


SYRIA/LEBANON
--------------


3. (C) Boche and Sivan reported that Lebanon and Syria were
the main topics of the Chirac-Abdullah discussions, with both
sides agreeing on the need for full Syrian withdrawal, rapid
formation of a Lebanese government and holding of legislative
elections on time, or with a slight technical delay at most.
(Note: On the latter point, a well-informed local Lebanese
journalist told us that Saudi FM Faisal met privately with a
number of Lebanese opposition members and Lebanese Christian
Presidential hopefuls while in Paris, and reportedly told
them that they should be willing to accept a slight delay in
the elections if necessary, but they should insist on a date
certain for the ballot if it were to begin after the May 31
deadline. End note.) Boche described the Saudis as
especially sensitive to the issue of Syrian stability. On
this point, he noted that Chirac reassured the Crown Prince
that UNSCR 1559 was focused on Lebanon's sovereignty and
independence and that France was not seeking regime change in
Syria. On Lebanon's situation post-Syrian withdrawal and
post-elections, Boche said the Saudis maintained that, in
accordance with the Ta'if accords, Lebanon should maintain a
special relationship with Syria, albeit a more equal one than
the past. Boche said the Saudis were also concerned about the
"strategic void" vis-a-vis Israel which the Syrian withdrawal
would create, an argument which he noted was similar to
Hizballah's justifications for not disarming. Nonetheless,
Boche said the Saudis shared French views on the urgency of a
Syrian withdrawal, and the need to remain vigilant on the
withdrawal of undeclared security services. On assistance to
Lebanon after elections, Boche said Chirac and Abdullah
agreed that we would need to wait to hear the views of
Lebanon's new elected government, once it appears, and that
Lebanon should not be placed under international tutelage.

MIDDLE EAST PEACE EFFORTS
--------------


4. (C) Boche noted that the Crown Prince raised the relaunch
of his peace initiative at the recently concluded Arab League
summit in Algiers and emphasized that the Arab world needed
to reiterate is readiness for peace. Boche added that Chirac
and Abdullah agreed that Gaza disengagement needed to succeed
and that the international community, particularly Israel,
needed to do more to help President Abbas. Saudi FM Saud
al-Faisal, in an interview published April 16 in the French
daily "Le Figaro," criticized Israel for rejecting the Saudi
peace proposal out of hand and said that Gaza withdrawal
would "lead nowhere" if it did not lead to further Israeli
withdrawals, roadmap implementation, and a return to the
Madrid Conference principles.

IRAQ, IRAN
--------------


5. (C) Sivan described a total convergence of views between
Chirac and the Crown Prince on Iraq, with both sides agreeing
on the need for all of Iraq's communities (read Sunnis) to be
included in the Transitional Government and constitutional
drafting process. He added that the Saudis expressed concern
about Iranian infiltration in Iraq and the degree of Iranian
influence on Iraq's Shi'a leadership. The Saudis expressed
similar concern regarding the progress of Iran's nuclear
program, which they viewed as unjustified, and were
supportive of EU-3 efforts to resolve the issue
diplomatically with Tehran. Sivan said the Saudis also
expressed concern about Kurdish separatism in Iraq, but to a
lesser degree than their concerns on Iraqi Shi'a issues.
Boche commented that the Saudis were not thrilled with the
selection of Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani as Iraq's
president, but that they were nonetheless committed to
working with Iraq's new government.


NO CONTRACTS CONCLUDED
--------------


6. (C) Amid widespread French media focus on the potential
commercial windfall of the Crown Prince's visit, Boche
stressed that the focus of the visit was essentially
political in nature and that no major contracts had been
concluded. While the GoF sought to increase it commercial
ties with Saudi Arabia, Boche claimed that French economic
relations with Saudi Arabia were largely symbolic and had
long been overshadowed by political cooperation. Therefore,
new contracts were not a GoF objective for this visit.
(Comment: French press speculated on potential breakthroughs
on a number of major contracts with a combined value between
10 to 20 million euros, including the long-discussed,
estimated 7 billion USD "Miksa" electronic border monitoring
project pursued by Thales for over 10 years; a proposed
purchase of 48 French Rafales fighter aircraft from Dassault;
an order for 20 Airbuses from Saudia Airlines; and the
construction of a rail line from Jeddah to Mecca. An April 15
report in the French economic daily "Les Echos" claiming that
a protocol had been signed to purchase, before the end of
2005, some 48 Rafales with an option to purchase up to 48
more, was later denied by Dassault. End comment.) On other
economic issues, Boche noted that the GoF offered support for
Saudi Arabia's WTO accession and conclusion of an FTA between
the EU and the GCC in the joint communique issued April 15
(see para 7).

TEXT OF SAUDI-FRENCH COMMUNIQUE
--------------


7. (U) The following is a GoF English-language translation of
the April 15 joint Saudi-French communique. Begin text:

At an invitation by President of the French Republic Jacques
Chirac, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn
Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Vice
President of the Council of Ministers and Head of the Saudi
Arabian National Guard, visited France on an official visit
from April 13-15, 2005. The two parties conducted in-depth
discussions on matters of common interest concerning the
means of strengthening and developing bilateral relations.

With regard to the situation in Lebanon, the two countries
have noted Syria's commitment to withdraw in accordance with
UN Security Council Resolution 1559. The two countries
support the independence of Lebanon, its security and its
stability. They also call for the formation of a Lebanese
government as rapidly as possible and the holding of free and
democratic elections within the prescribed deadlines.

The two countries stressed the importance they ascribe to the
Security Council resolution providing for the establishment
of an international commission of inquiry to elucidate the
circumstances of the assassination of Lebanon's Prime
Minister Rafik Al-Hariri and they demand of the Lebanese
authorities to cooperate, under the resolution, with a view
to establishing the truth and punishing those involved in
this terrorist crime.

The two countries reiterated their encouragements for the
actions conducted with a view to restarting the peace process
in the Middle East in accordance with the international
resolutions and the roadmap, which provides for a solution
based on two independent states living side by side in peace
and security. They also welcomed the reaffirmation by the
Arab countries, at the close of the Algiers Summit, of their
commitment to the peace initiative put forward by Prince
Abdullah and adopted by the Arab Summit in Beirut.

They reaffirmed their commitment to peace and security in
Iraq, to the safeguarding of its unity and its sovereignty.
They called for participation of all Iraqi people in the
political process. Saudi Arabia and France also insisted on
the need to activate international cooperation in the fight
against terrorism and its sources of financing. They have
planned to deepen their cooperation in this regard within the
framework of the United Nations.

France expressed its satisfaction with regard to the moderate
oil policy conducted by Saudi Arabia that aims to preserve
stability in the oil market as well as to foster global
economic growth. The two countries have agreed to strengthen
their cooperation on the economy, investments and cultural
ties within the framework of their strategic relations.
Saudi Arabia has also declared that it appreciates French
support for its joining the World Trade Organization and its
signing the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union
and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

End text.

WOLFF