AUSTRIANS POSITIVE ON NEED FOR SYRIAN WITHDRAWAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L VIENNA 000719

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ELA, EUR/ERA AND EUR/AGS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/07/2015
TAGS: PREL SY LE AU
SUBJECT: AUSTRIANS POSITIVE ON NEED FOR SYRIAN WITHDRAWAL
FROM LEBANON

REF: A. (A) STATE 39018


B. (B) VIENNA 654 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Ambassador W.L. Lyons Brown. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Ambassador presented reftel demarche on March 7 to
MFA Secretary General (deputy minister equivalent) Johannes
Kyrle. Ambassador stressed that what Syrian President Bashar
al-Asad had said in his March 5 was not enough: compliance
with UNSCR 1559 means a full and immediate withdrawal. The
Ambassador said it was important that the withdrawal include
intelligence and security forces, which Asad had not
mentioned in his speech. The timing is important, the
Ambassador said: Syrian troops and intelligence forces had
to be out by the time of Lebanon's scheduled April elections
in order for those elections to be free. The Ambassador said
we are also calling on the Government of Lebanon to permit
international election observers and to fully cooperate with
the UN enquiry into the assassination of former Prime
Minister Hariri.


2. (C) The Ambassador particularly encouraged Kyrle to make
a public statement to this effect, and to deliver this
message through the Austrian mission in Damascus.


3. (C) Kyrle agreed with all of our points. He undertook to
look into the matter of a public statement, but said Austria
would be supportive.
Brown