LEBANON: FM SALLOUKH SEES OPENING FOR REGIONAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 002768

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/SINGH/HARDING

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/25/2016
TAGS: IS LE MOPS PGOV PREL PTER SY
SUBJECT: LEBANON: FM SALLOUKH SEES OPENING FOR REGIONAL
PEACE TALKS

REF: SECSTATE 139905

Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman. Reason: Section 1.4 (b).

SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C/NF) The Ambassador delivered on August 25 the
Department's demarche on the upcoming Stockholm Conference to
Foreign Minister Salloukh. FM Salloukh stated that Prime
Minister Fouad Siniora will lead the delegation and his
office was presently formulating a list of assistance
priorities. Salloukh indicated this list would be made
available to the donor community before the conference
convenes. The Foreign Minister also discussed the upcoming
UN General Assembly meeting and said that President Emile
Lahoud will head Lebanon's delegation to New York, along with
the Foreign Minister. Prime Minister Siniora may also
attend, possibly with other Ministers, depending on whether
side meetings would be held on other significant issues.
Similar to the position taken by PM Siniora in other fora, FM
Salloukh called upon the U.S. to convince Israel to lift the
"punishing" air and sea blockade of Lebanon. FM Salloukh
expansively discussed the possibility to press for a
comprehensive peace agreement that would involve all regional
powers. End summary.

DEMARCHE DELIVERED
--------------


2. (C/NF) Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh met with the
Ambassador and poloff at the foreign ministry on August 25.
He responded to the talking points on the Stockholm
Conference by noting that the Office of the Prime Minister
was presently engaged in drafting a list of prioritized
projects for the international donor community. Salloukh
said that PM Siniora would personally lead the delegation to
Stockholm and would most likely be accompanied by himself as
Foreign Minister, Minister of Economy and Trade Sami Haddad,
Minister of Social Development Nayla Mouawad, and Minister of
Health Mohammad Khalifeh. He indicated the delegation would
be considerably empowered by the unanimous support of the
Council of Ministers.


3. (C/NF) FM Salloukh acknowledged that the Government of
Lebanon needed to do a far better job in clearly defining
its needs for the international community and then
prioritizing them. He admitted that, as in so many issues,
the Government was thinly staffed in these areas and the
resulting lack of clear guidance would soon hinder the
critical reconstruction effort. Salloukh said one way the
GOL was handling the enormous scale of the effort was by
asking international donors to "adopt" projects, and even
whole villages, and then manage the projects themselves. But
he acknowledged that greater GOL guidance was essential and
agreed that an "Office of Reconstruction" should be
established in the Office of the Prime Minister to serve as
an effective focal point for both international organizations
and donor countries.


4. (C/NF) The Foreign Minister listened carefully to the
Ambassador's outline of the President's proposed USD 230
million assistance package, and in particular asked questions
about the USD 72 million component dedicated for improvement
of Lebanon's security services. Salloukh asked whether
advanced scanners used for border checkpoints would be part
of the package.

MOVING TOWARD SECURE BORDERS
--------------


5. (C/NF) When FM Salloukh urged the U.S. to use its
influence to convince Israel to lift immediately the
"punishing" air and sea blockade, the Ambassador inquired
what the Government was doing to strengthen its borders in
accordance with UNSCR 1701. Salloukh admitted that much
needed to be done (and disingenuously added that Syria also
wanted stronger borders to prevent undefined smuggling
activity from Lebanon into Syria),but insisted that
Lebanon's sovereignty had to be maintained in the process.


6. (C/NF) Salloukh said that Defense Minister Elias Murr
and Interior Minister Ahmad Fatfat had briefed the Council of
Ministers Thursday night on what steps had already been taken
and what still needed to be done. Without getting into
actual deployment specifics, Salloukh maintained that the LAF

BEIRUT 00002768 002 OF 002


has assigned an additional 7,600 troops to the Syrian-Lebanee
border areas. (Note: Recent Embassy Beirut DAO
conversations with senior LAF commanders indicate there has
been a concerted effort to bolster border troop levels over
the past week, but at lower numbers than those quoted by FM
Salloukh. End note.)


7. (C/NF) Sallaoukh also confirmed reports that PM Siniora
has held detailed discussions with a team from the German
government on the deployment of a "highly sophisticated"
network of surveillance sensors, as well as a training
package, that if properly implemented would provide a high
level of confidence that the country's border with Syria were
being properly monitored. FM Salloukh would not give a
timetable for the installation of such a system, but did
indicate the seriousness of the proposal by revealing that PM
Siniora had discussed it personally with German Chancellor
Angela Merkel.

LAF'S MISSION IN SOUTH LEBANON
--------------


8. (C/NF) When queried on the actual objectives of the LAF
as they deployed to the south, FM Salloukh stated that
although the LAF are regarded as "brothers" by Hizballah, the
army was acting under orders to confiscate any weapons that
were "found." When asked whether the army, if they
encountered an attempted shipment, would stop and seize the
shipment, Salloukh responded emphatically with a straight
face, "but of course."


9. (C/NF) FM Salloukh said that if the Government (with
presumed German assistance) could establish an effective,
modern surveillance system on the border, the LAF would
utilize its full capability. He then unexpectedly went
further and insisted, without amplification, that it was in
the Syrian government's "interest" to allow the establishment
of a secure border.

AN OPENING FOR A REGIONAL PEACE PROCESS
--------------


10. (C/NF) Responding to a question on whether an
opportunity was being created by the emerging LAF/IDF
coordination process in Naqoura, FM Siniora expanded the
issue considerably by suggesting that the recent round of
hostilities may have created an opening for a genuine effort
to reach a comprehensive solution of most of the region's
long-standing issues.


11. (C/NF) FM Salloukh energetically argued that Israel
must now understand the centrality of Palestinian aspirations
for statehood. Insisting that it was not only an issue that
could no longer be ignored, he argued that a just resolution
would unravel the decades-old animosity between Israel and
the Arab world. He stated that at the recent Arab League
meeting in Cairo both he and Arab League Secretary General
Amr Mousa discussed the opportunity at length and intended to
bring a new proposal to the attention of UN Secretary General
Kofi Annan as soon as possible. He reasoned, "Not only is
our (Lebanon's) problem derived from the plight of the
Palestinians, but so is almost every problem in the Middle
East," and then confided, "we're not going to liberate
Jerusalem, but we must give the Palestinians their own state."
FELTMAN