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