A/S SILVERBERG'S VISIT TO BERLIN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BERLIN 003492 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/14/2016 TAGS: UNHRC UNIFIL UN SU IR LE SY EUN GE SUBJECT: A/S SILVERBERG'S VISIT TO BERLIN Classified By: A/S SILVERBERG FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) (Summary) A/S Kristen Silverberg met Commissioner for Global Affairs, Peter Wittig, State Secretary Reinhard Silberberg, Deputy National Security Advisor Rolf Nikel, and other German officials and opinion leaders in Berlin on December 4 and 5 to discuss UN policy issues such as Iran, Lebanon, North Korea, Darfur, and UN reform. A/S Silverberg also raised concerns about the disproportionate number of resolutions and special sessions focusing on Israel in comparison to gross human rights violators such as Burma and the DPRK. Wittig briefed the A/S on his recent trip to Lebanon with Foreign Minister Steinmeier and discussed his UN priorities. Apart from some differences on Iran and disagreements over the wisdom of engaging with Syria, the discussions revealed a common approach toward most UN agenda issues. (End summary) The Germans in Lebanon -------------- ¶2. (C) Wittig, a former German ambassador to Lebanon, accompanied Steinmeier to the Middle East region on a four-day visit which ended in Damascus on December 4. Wittig provided an outbrief of this visit in his meeting with A/S Silverberg, saying that the Germans feel the maritime UNIFIL is going well and that they feel satisfied with Germany's first-ever contributions to a blue-hat mission. Wittig also commented favorably on the Germans' cooperation with the Lebanese navy, which, although it is still small and relatively weak, is mainly Christian and is loyal to the Lebanese Government, he said. Wittig said the outlook for this mission is good in the near term. ¶3. (C) Of far greater concern was the land border between Lebanon and Syria. In addition to scanners that Germany has already provided, Wittig said that Germany is considering contributing additional equipment such as automobiles and communications gear to the Lebanese border police. But he said unequivocally that German advisors would not get involved directly in patrolling or monitoring the borders. Wittig said that the success in this effort depended largely on the capacity of the Lebanese army, police, special security forces, and customs officers to sustain training and patrols. He said he could not evaluate how effective the Lebanese police was in preventing arms smuggling. However, he said that the Syrians know they are "being watched", which may be reducing weapons smuggling for the time being. ¶4. (C) Wittig also said that Siniora discussed with Steinmeier possible compromise for proposals for forming a new Cabinet. Siniora said that one option was to expand the size of the cabinet to 30 and give the opposition 9 seats, reserving 19 for Siniora's party and filling two "neutral" seats with technocrats. This would prevent the opposition from having a blocking minority but also keep the ruling party from retaining a two-thirds majority. Wittig said he saw no evidence of progress on Hizbollah's disarmament, and he did not expect any so long as no progress was made toward a political settlement. ¶5. (C) According to Wittig, Steinmeier plans during the German EU presidency, when Germany will represent the EU in the Quartet, to energize the Mid-East Peace Process. Steinmeier also favors broadening the Quartet's focus on Israel and Palestine to also include the situation in Lebanon. ¶6. (C) In A/S Silverberg meeting with State Secretary Reinhard Silberberg, Silberberg also said that Steinmeier is seeking a "constructive role" for Syria in the region and said that Syria's cooperation is needed for resolution between Israel and Palestine. Silberberg said the Hariri tribunal is a key focus of negotiations with Syria. Silverberg observed that it would be difficult to get a Chapter 7 resolution in the UN to form the legal basis for the tribunal. She noted in a separate meeting with Deputy National Security Advisor Rolf Nikel that getting consensus on a Chapter 7 resolution would be a challenge as the Russians are likely to resist this effort. Nikel agreed on this point. Darfur - Optimism Lacking by All -------------- ¶7. (C) A/S Silverberg's discussions with Wittig and other German officials revealed a shared sense of concern regarding the situation in Darfur. There was also agreement that AMIS is not working well. Wittig agreed that Secretary General-designate Ban should be encouraged to keep the pressure on President Bashir. (Note: Ban arrived for meetings in Berlin on December 6. End Note). A/S Silverberg said it was unacceptable to allow Bashir to thwart the will of the international community. ¶8. (C) In a separate meeting, State Secretary Reinhard Silberberg discussed German and EU concerns with funding for the AMIS mission and said that finding the finances to support the AU in Darfur remains difficult. Wittig suggested the need for increased cooperation between the EU and the UN on military missions, saying that blue helmet missions should not be comprised only of "third-world" members. ¶9. (C) Deputy National Security Advisor Rolf Nikel agreed with A/S Silverberg that Bashir's behavior was not acceptable and said he was pessimistic about the effectiveness of sanctions in Sudan. The Chancellor's view, he said, is that Germany will stay on its current course of supporting robust assistance in Darfur. Iran Sanctions Still Contentious -------------- ¶10. (C) During A/S Silverberg's meeting with Deputy National Security Advisor Nikel, Nikel said the "perfect solution" on the Iran nonproliferation issue would not happen. He emphasized that, although possible sanctions on Iran must be credible, unity among the EU, the US, Russia, China, and Islamic countries must stay strong. Nikel said that a divided stand on Iran would be the worst outcome because Iran could exploit it. ¶11. (C) On the prospect of targeted financial sanctions, Nikel noted that the German government has some concerns about outstanding export guarantees, and it does not want Iran to use sanctions as an excuse for not repaying its debts. The Germans agreed that sanctions are important, but raised practical concerns and repeatedly stressed the importance of maintaining international solidarity. A/S Silverberg replied that, while the U.S. agrees consensus is important, it should not come at the cost of a strong and meaningful UN Security Council resolution that creates tangible costs for Iran in its pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability. ¶12. (C) State Secretary Silberberg said that he thought the Russians were showing some signs of flexibility on the issue of Iran sanctions, and now may be the time to reach agreement. He noted, more pessimistically, that little can be done to make an impact on Iran's behavior, and said that Iran probably will not give up its nuclear program in spite of whatever resolution the international community agrees on. UN Reform and the Human Rights Council -------------- ¶13. (C) A number of German interlocutors raised questions about the USG's view on the Human Rights Council (HRC). All expressed the hope that the U.S. would be a candidate to join the Council next year. A/S Silverberg reinforced U.S. concerns about the disproportionate number of resolutions and special sessions the HRC handles on Israel, a point which was met with general agreement by the Germans, and on the failure of the HRC to address other issues. Wittig noted that the NGO community in Germany had been very hopeful about the HRC but that the government had always been more skeptical because of the Council's composition. Wittig said constructive participation by the Latin American countries will be key to the success of the HRC, but conceded that current trends do not appear promising. ¶14. (C) A/S Silverberg noted that the U.S. and its allies have had more success in dealing with human rights issues in the Third Committee. MFA Office Director for Human Rights Peter Rothen agreed and said that Germany strongly believed in the need to continue introducing country-specific resolutions. Wittig also said that "Germany likes country-specific resolutions." ¶15. (C) Wittig expressed satisfaction for both the German and U.S. contributions to the Democracy Fund. When A/S Silverberg raised the proposed Entrepreneurship Fund, Wittig expressed interest, although he said that the Finance Ministry makes it difficult for the Foreign Ministry to contribute to such funds. ¶16. (C) Most German interlocutors expressed high hopes for Secretary General-designate Ban on reform issues. Wittig and SIPDIS Silverberg agreed that momentum for reform is currently lacking. Wittig agreed with A/S Silverberg that Ban would be wise to put ethics reform at the top of his agenda to set a positive tone for his tenure. ¶17. (C) Wittig ended his meeting with A/S Silverberg by noting the persistent gap between the EU and the USG on the scale of assessments. Silverberg underscored the firmness of the U.S. position that the twenty-two per cent ceiling could not be increased. Silverberg and Wittig agreed that countries like China with fast-growing economies could contribute more. ¶18. (C) Deputy National Security Advisor Rolf Nikel agreed with A/S Silverberg on the need for continued reform in the UN and said that there is broad consensus in Germany on the need for "multilateral diplomacy." Like other German interlocutors during A/S Silverberg's visit, Nikel expressed strong interest in who would be the likely candidates for the new U.S. ambassadorship to the UN. TIMKEN JR