EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTER PROMISES "CONSTRUCTIVE"

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 003794 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/18/2016 TAGS: PREL PHUM MEPN KPAL EG IS SUBJECT: EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTER PROMISES "CONSTRUCTIVE" POSITION AT UNHRC INAUGURAL AND OIC CONFERENCE REF: A. STATE 99490 ¶B. CAIRO 3758 ¶C. CAIRO 3743 ¶D. CAIRO 3658 (NOTAL) ¶E. USUN 1073 Classified by Ambassador Francis Ricciardone for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) I conveyed ref A points to Egyptian Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit on June 19, making clear I was doing so on direct instructions from the Secretary. I reminded him that I had raised the same issue with him last week (ref B). Claiming he was not current on the state of play due to recent travel and heavy VIP host duties, Aboul Gheit said he was unaware of any moves afoot in the Arab group or OIC against Israel or any single country. He promised to delve into the issue immediately and to instruct Egypt's delegation to "work constructively" at the UNHCR inaugural session. ¶2. (C) I also asked Aboul Gheit to work at tomorrow's OIC conference in Baku to prevent a replay of the Singapore NAM statement earlier this month that had let Iran off the hook. Although we had no independent confirmation, we were concerned that the Saudis (ref C) or others might try to soften public OIC statements on Iranian proliferation. I urged him to press the OIC to support the message that he and President Mubarak reportedly had pressed upon Larijani in Cairo last week (ref D): seize the diplomatic opportunity on offer to Iran from the P5 plus 1. Aboul Gheit said that he would not travel to Baku, but that he would appropriately instruct the Egyptian delegation, which would be leaving for Baku within the hour. ¶3. (C) Comment. The least support from the Egyptians for "constructive" positions at Geneva or Baku would be a significant departure from traditional practice (ref E) in multilateral fora. End comment. RICCIARDONE