ARAB LEAGUE'S MOUSSA ON SYRIA/LEBANON DIPLOMATIC

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 000175 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/15/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER EG SY LE SUBJECT: ARAB LEAGUE'S MOUSSA ON SYRIA/LEBANON DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS REF: A. FBIS GMP20060113735001 ¶B. CAIRO 135 (NOTAL) Classified by Ambassador Francis Ricciardone for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (S) On January 14, Arab League Secretary General Amre Moussa provided the Ambassador a readout on recent Arab mediation efforts with Syria and Lebanon, and reaffirmed that the Arab League and others remained committed to full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions. He said he had merely conveyed to the Syrians general Lebanese pleas to reduce Syrian-Lebanese tensions, including mutual security guarantees and border demarcation. A deal involving Hizballah was not now on the table, according to Moussa, but the question would arise at a later stage. Moussa said a January 13 Al Hayat article (ref A) accurately described a Saudi-Syrian proposal to improve Lebanese-Syria relations. Moussa disavowed public accusations against him by Lebanese opposition leader Walid Jumblatt. On Iraq, the AL was awaiting final vote results before advancing plans for its next conference. He expressed concerns that Iraqi Shia leader al Hakim's public rejection of further constitutional amendments would create serious problems. Moussa does not know yet whether he will be asked to remain for another 5-year term at the helm of the League when his term expires in May, and indicated he is not eager for a second term. End Summary. -------------- Moussa's Role Between Syria and Lebanon -------------- ¶2. (S) Moussa said his efforts to help resolve the conflict between Syria and Lebanon were prompted by growing Arab concerns that the escalating crisis could spin out of control, concerns made more acute with the murder of Lebanese opposition figure Gibran Tueni. Moussa, in Jeddah for an OIC summit at the time of Tueni's killing last month, flew immediately to Beirut. During two meetings with Lebanese PM Seniora, Moussa said the Lebanese leader indicated a willingness to talk with Syria and requested Moussa to find "common ground" and a "place to start." Moussa heard similar pleas from other prominent Lebanese he met during an impromptu gathering at the Tueni residence, many of whom feared further Syrian-inspired murders. Moussa said the Lebanese believed mutual security assurances, border demarcation, a reduction in media attacks, and establishment of diplomatic relations were among the priorities for healing rifts with Damascus. ¶3. (S) Moussa said he took that message to Damascus the following day, meeting first with President Asad and later with Foreign Minister al Shara'a, telling Asad that it was widely believed Syria was behind the spate of killings in Lebanon. Moussa shared with Asad the list of lebanese concerns, not least a purported Syrian "hit list" of further assasination targets. Asad reportedly expressed a willingness to cooperate to address Syria's "image" problem. Asad was willing to work on border demarcation and conceeded that establishing diplomatic relations with Beirut was "no longer taboo." He was cautiously willing to "coordinate" positions with Beirut over Israel, to curb media attacks on Lebanese politicians, and to address mutual security concerns. Asad instructed his Foreign Minister to sit with Moussa and draft an "agenda" to share with the Lebanese on moving forward in these areas. Moussa later met with Lebanese community leader in Damascus Nasri Khoury who pressed for normalization of economic relations between Syria and Lebanon. Damascus had committed to full cooperation on the Mehlis/UNIIIC investigation with no preconditions, Moussa noted. ¶4. (S) On return to Cairo, Moussa briefed President Mubarak and drafted a letter to Lebanese PM Seniora detailing what he had heard in Damascus. Nonetheless, Lebanese opposition figure Walid Jumblatt vehemently attacked Moussa for concocting a "plot" - accusations Moussa "chose to ignore" - but which prompted French President Chirac to call Mubarak seeking an explanation. Jumblatt, Moussa added, believes himself to be at the top of Syria's "hit list" and is understandably "disturbed." -------------- Saudi-Syrian-Egyptian Diplomacy -------------- ¶5. (S) With former Syrian VP Khaddam's recent defection and verbal attacks on President Asad, Moussa said, the Saudi regime reacted nervously, sending its Foreign Minister promptly to Damascus to arrange a summit between Asad and the Saudi King. Moussa interjected his own surprise over the Khaddam defection and expressed concerns about Syrian regime stability. The Khaddam affair put the Syrians once again on the defensive. During the Syrian-Saudi summit, Moussa said, a 7-point paper was drafted on improving Syrian-Lebanese relations (printed accurately, Moussa said, in the January 13 edition of Al Hayat - ref A). According to Moussa, the Lebanese rejected the initiative: PM Seniora conveyed this message to President Mubarak recently in Sharm El Sheikh. COMMENT: Ref B (Notal) reports a contrasting slant from the GOE, that Mubarak had rejected the Moussa initiative and had urged Seniora to do so. END COMMENT. -------------- No Deal on Hizballah -------------- ¶6. (S) The Ambassador made clear US objection to any initiative that might undermine implementation of UNSCR 1559 and others regarding Syria and Lebanon. We especially opposed any initiative purporting to legitimize Hizballah as a "resistance movement." Moussa insisted that any discussion on Hizballah was premature and could hinder progress in other, more essential, areas. But, he asserted, dealing with Hizballah would "have to come," perhaps after bilateral security concerns and the UNIIIC investigation are adequately addressed. -------------- Iraq: Hakim's Constitution Comments Troubling -------------- ¶7. (C) Moving briefly to Iraq, Moussa expressed strong concerns over public comments by Shia political leader Abdel Aziz al Hakim, in which he reportedly asserted the Shia would not permit changes to the constitution. It is up to the elected Parliament to decide such issues, and any rejection of further amendments will have a negative impact on efforts at reconcilation, Moussa said. Moussa said that AL efforts to assist with the reconciliation process would await official release of election results. -------------- Moussa Unsure of Another Term -------------- ¶8. (C) Moussa's 5-year term of office as Secretary General of the Arab League will expire this May, following the Arab League's next summit to be held in Khartoum, Sudan. Asked if he sought another term, Moussa said it was his preference to do something else, but that the decision depended upon President Mubarak and the decisions of heads of state at the summit. RICCIARDONE