LEBANON : PM SINIORA ON DONORS CONFERENCE,

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIRUT 002767

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NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/MARCHESE/HARDING

E.O. 12958: DNG: CO 08/24/2016
TAGS: PREL LE
SUBJECT: LEBANON : PM SINIORA ON DONORS CONFERENCE,
ARMISTICE AGREEMENT, ARMS SMUGGLING, HARIRI TRIBUNAL

REF: A. STATE 139905

B. STATE 140003

Classified By: Jeffrey D. Feltman, Ambassador. Reason: 1.4 (d).

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Summary
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1. (S) In an August 25 conversation with the Ambassador,
Prime Minister Siniora revealed Lebanon's tentative
delegation list, plans, and priorities for next week's
Stockholm Conference on assistance to Lebanon. Siniora
maintained that the 1949 Armistice Agreement should be
revived and form the framework for a border settlement
between Lebanon and Israel. He reported that the GOL is
ready to accept German assistance (but not monitoring) in
combatting arms smuggling, and that the legal ground was
ready for the formation of a special tribunal in the
assassination of former PM Hariri. End Summary.

Stockholm Conference
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2. (U) The Ambassador and pol/econ chief called on Prime
Minister Fouad Siniora August 25 to present Ref (A) demarche
and discuss other current issues. The PM was accompanied by
Advisor Rola Noureddine and Senior Advisor Mohamed Chattah,
former Lebanese Ambassador to Washington and current member
of the GOL Reconstruction Committee.


3. (C) Noureddine and Chattah, who are both attending the
Stockholm Conference, offered a preliminary list of the other
GOL delegates:

-- Nabil Jisr, the new chief of the Council for Development
Reconstruction (CDR);
-- Ghassan Taher, Advisor to the Prime Minister;
-- Ziad ("Alex") Hayek, Advisor to the Prime Minister;
-- Jihad Azour, Minister of Finance
-- Sami Haddad, Minister of Economy and Trade
-- Nayla Mouawad, Minister of Social Affairs and Development
-- Fawzi Salloukh, Minister of Foreign Affairs
-- Yaacoub Sarraf, Minister of Environment
-- Mohammed Safadi, Minister of Public Works

Noureddine warned that the list was not yet complete and
would likely be broadened to ensure a balance of confessional
affiliations. In addition to Lebanese officials,
Geneva-based UN official Ross Mountain is expected to
accompany the Lebanese delegation.


4. (C) As for GOL priorities in Stockholm, Chattah said that
he expects to receive a draft list tonight, which he will
circulate more wdiely on August 28. Chattah said the
priorities document will place crisis needs in the context of
larger needs. In addition to the priorities list, the GOL
presentation will include a pledge form, a powerpoint
presentation, and a "little movie." Finally, the PM is
preparing a speech for the Conference.


5. (C) Chattah noted that the GOL is sending a message that
the Stockholm Conference "is not the grand donors
coordination meeting but is just an appetizer" which will
focus on urgent and humanitarian needs.


6. (C) The Ambassador's inquiry on who should be the
principal GOL point of contact for donor coordination sparked
some discussion among the PM and his advisors. The PM
suggested that all coordination could flow between Chattah
and his other advisor Ziad ("Alex") Hayek, but after some
back and forth the group appeared to decide that the new
Council for Development and Reconstruction head Nabil El Jisr
should serve as principal GOL point of contact for donor
coordination.


7. (SBU) The PM and his advisors listened carefully as the
Ambassador laid out Ref (A) points on the $230 million
humanitarian, reconstruction and security assistance to
Lebanon package. They noted the breakdown of the package's
components and asked for clarifications. In addition, they

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seemed aware of the 25,000 metric ton grain shipment to be
delivered to Lebanon. The PM expressed his appreciation for
the U.S. help in ensuring that Lebanon continues to enjoy at
least a one-month supply of fuel for electricity generation.

Armistice Agreement and Political Settlement
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8. (S) The Ambassador noted recent statements in the Council
of Ministers referring to the 1949 Armistice Agreement
between Israel and Lebanon and said that the Agreement, in
Israel's view, had been abrogated by the 1969 Lebanon-PLO
Cairo Agreement. The PM responded that the Cairo Agreement
itself was made null and void during the period following the
1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, rendering, in his view, the
Armistice Agreement once more in effect.


9. (S) Furthermore, GOL legal advisors had analyzed the
Armistice Agreement and believed that the annex regarding
limitations on numbers of troops allowed to deploy in the
border zone could be applied to the part of the Blue Line
along the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (which was not
envisioned as part of the original Armistice agreement).
Chattah hopes that the UN Security Council addresses the
issue of the Shebaa Farms soon, and noted that if the area is
not placed under UN trusteeship, then the Armistice Agreement
may apply to the Israeli forces in that area.


10. (S) The Ambassador asked how the GOL expects to gain
Israeli acceptance of reapplying a modified version of the
Agreement. The PM responded that he would talk to UN
Secretary-General Annan and try to convince him to talk to

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the Israelis. The UN Secretary-General, Siniora added, is
the "only credible go-between on this issue" for Lebanon and
Israel. (Comment: It is unclear whether Siniora meant to
suggest that the USG could not be trusted as an honest
broker. End Comment.) The PM stressed the importance of the
Agreement as a framework for border security, asking "if
there is no Armistice then there is a peace treaty or there
is war -- what else is there?"


Arms Smuggling
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11. (S) The PM noted that in his latest conversation with the
Secretary, he learned that the U.S. is keenly interested in

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Lebanese enforcement of border controls and customs. He
suggested that USG officials could be in touch with the
Ministry of Finance to monitor and assist with the efforts of
the Customs Service (which reports to the Ministry of
Finance) to combat smuggling. The PM noted that in the
previous day's Council of Ministers Meeting, the Council had
voted to "empower" the Prime Minister to ask the German
goverment for assistance in equipping and training the
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) or whomever the PM should
designate in order to combat smuggling at Lebanon's "land and
sea borders." When pressed, the PM and his advisors allowed
that the Beirut International Airport is included in this
mandate, although there remained some ambiguity -- perhaps
linguistic -- over whether the "air border" is specifically
captured in the Council's decision. At any rate, the PM's
plans as he described them appeared to include the
installation of scanning equipment at the airport as well as
customs outposts on the border crossings and at seaports.
Post will follow up on these details with the Finance
Ministry, LAF and other agencies as appropriate. PM Siniora
made it clear that he did not expect the Germans to monitor
or control the borders, which would be left to the Lebanese.


12. (S) Pressed for details regarding the GOL's
communications with the Germans, the PM said that he had
already asked Chancellor Merkel for assistance and received a
positive reply. The GOL planned to transmit a letter or
diplomatic note to the GOG today (which we saw in draft form
being passed between Chattah and the PM). Chattah, in his
donor coordination role, clarified that any anti-smuggling
assistance received from other countries would be separate
from those countries' UNIFIL contributions and roles --
implying that UNIFIL would not be asked to take a substantial
role in anti-smuggling assistance.

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Hariri Assassination Tribunal
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13. (S) The Ambassador asked for the PM's opinion regarding a
draft GOL-UN/OLA agreement necessary for the establishment of
an special tribunal with international character to try
suspects in the Hariri assassination (called for by UNSC
Resolution 1664, ref b). He responded that he was happy with
the draft agreement and that his office had "prepared all the
documents needed" for the Council of Ministers and Parliament
pass the agreement into Lebanese law. The GOL will await the
visit of UN Legal Adviser Nicolas Michel to sign the draft
agreement before presenting it to the Cabinet. When asked by
the Ambassador whether the GOL is ready for the USG to push
for the establishment of the tribunal, the PM responded "yes."

Other Remarks
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14. (S) The PM said he would in all likelihood not/not be
going to the UN General Assembly, given that the President
will head the Lebanese delegation. When pressed, he admitted
he had no desire to repeat the experience to which the
Lebanese delegation had been subjected during the March Arab
Summit in Khartoum.


15. (S) The PM confided that his government was facing much
criticism and many difficulties. He noted especially, as he
has said to the press, that he has come under fire for
allowing only a partial resumption of Middle East Airlines
flights (to Amman),and told us he had threatened his critics
with a cancellation of even this modest air link if they did
not cease their "blackmail" of his government. He also
complained of the continuing shortages of fuel, electricity
and basic needs and the criticism he has faced as a result.
He noted, "You live here" and can appreciate how much people
are being hurt.
FELTMAN