ARAB LEAGUE MINISTERIAL DEMARCHE RECEIVED WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 005496

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/05/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV MEPN UNSC UNGA ARABL EG
SUBJECT: ARAB LEAGUE MINISTERIAL DEMARCHE RECEIVED WITH
LITTLE ENTHUSIASM

REF: STATE 145279

Classified by Charge d'Affaires Stuart Jones for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).

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Summary
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1. (C) The Charge delivered reftel demarche September 3 to
MFA Assistant Minister Hani Khalaf, and separately to Arab
League Chief of Staff Hisham Youssef. With regards to UNSCR
1701, both Khalaf and Youssef welcomed news of USG
humanitarian and military support for Lebanon and registered
strong pleas for the U.S. to press Israel to lift its air and
sea blockades. Neither offered positions on the
Venezuela-Guatemala competition for a UN Security Council
seat, but were critical of U.S. efforts at the United Nations
on Darfur. Regarding an Arab League proposal to bring the
Arab-Israeli dispute to the Security Council, Youssef
expressed strong disappointment with Washington's lack of
support for the initiative. Khalaf distinguished the Arab
Minister's proposal from the Amre Moussa proposal and urged
U.S. consideration. End summary.

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Egyptian MFA Assistant Minister
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2. (C) During separate September 3 meetings with MFA
Assistant Minister for Arab Affairs Hani Khalaf and Arab
League Chief of Staff Hisham Youssef, the DCM drew from
reftel background and talking points to discuss key items for
the upcoming Arab League foreign ministers meeting in Cairo
September 5-7. On Lebanon and UNSCR 1701, Khalaf welcomed
news of U.S. humanitarian and military support for Lebanon,
though he registered a strong plea for Washington to press
Israel to lift its air and sea blockades on Lebanon to "ease
civilian suffering." Khalaf did not offer views regarding
the Venezuela-Guatemala competition for a UN Security Council
seat.


3. (C) On Darfur, Khalaf complained that the Security
Council had passed UNSCR 1706 too hastily and without
sufficient consultation with neighbors (read: Arab states) or
Sudan. This haste, he said, left Arab leaders with little
room to maneuver Khartoum toward acceptance of a UN role in
Darfur. The Charge noted that intense consultations had gone
on for months and that Arab states had done little to
persuade Bashir to moderate his positions. Khalaf offered
little hope that the GOE would pressure the Bashir government
on Darfur, despite the urgency of the situation and the
importance of facilitating the introduction of UN forces
there.


4. (C) Drawing a distinction between the Amre Moussa/Arab
League initiative and the August 21 Arab ministerial decision
to seek a ministerial meeting at the UNSC on the Middle East,
Khalaf asked if Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit would
receive a separate response to his recent verbal message to
Secretary Rice. The FM, he said, had personally urged the

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Secretary - via Egyptian Ambassador Fahmy in Washington - to

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respond favorably to the ministers, August 21 proposal.
Parsing the language of the demarche, he argued against
treating the conflicts in the Middle East individually.
Rather, he said, they should be treated as a whole. Khalaf
stressed that the purpose of a UNSC meeting would be to
promote new solutions and establish timetables for the peace
process, not to criticize the United States or Israel.

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Arab League Chief of Staff
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5. (C) Youssef expressed deep disappointment with the USG
response to the Arab League proposal for a Security Council
Ministerial on the peace process, querying whether the U.S.
demurral was a function of timing, venue, or policy. He
stressed that the AL proposal was not aimed at blaming or
discrediting either Israel or the United States. On the
contrary, it was intended to revive the peace process,
"keeping doors open for other options that may allow this to
happen." He insisted that timing for a Ministerial meeting
during the UNGA was critical because: "the current situation
in the Middle East is explosive; this meeting could create an
improved atmosphere for implementing UNSCR 1701." Youssef
added that an Arab ministerial committee would meet September
6 in Cairo to discuss the proposal further. He expected that
meeting to produce new elements, but declined to share
specifics. He strongly urged the U.S. to re-consider its
decision and left the room briefly to convey the U.S.
response to Secretary General Amre Moussa. When he returned,

Youssef said Moussa had instructed him to reclama the USG
decision.


6. (C) On Lebanon and UNSCR 1701, Youssef similarly welcomed
news of U.S. humanitarian and military support for Lebanon,
and requested the U.S. press Israel to lift its land/naval
blockade on Lebanese ports. Regarding Darfur, Youssef stated
that a Sudan ministerial committee would meet September 6 in
Cairo and discuss next steps in responding to UNSCR 1706. He
declined to speculate on likely outcomes.
JONES