FM MU'ALLIM BRIEFS EU AMBASSADORS

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAMASCUS 001019

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

PARIS FOR ZEYA; LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/12/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV SY LE
SUBJECT: FM MU'ALLIM BRIEFS EU AMBASSADORS

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Kathy Johnson-Casares, per 1.4 b,d.


1. (C) Summary: Recently appointed FM Walid Mu'allim
provided EU Ambassadors a diplomatic tour d'horizon at a
dinner March 7 hosted by the Austrian Ambassador. According
to a Hungarian diplomat who attended the dinner, Mu'allim
offered no revelations or dramatic changes of course in his
remarks on Syria-EU relations, Lebanon, Iran and Iraq, and
relations with the U.S. Mu'allim denied the existence of any
secret deal with the U.S., describing relation with the U.S.

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as "very bad." He avoided answering questions about any
agreement between the SARG and UNIIIC chief Brammertz and on
the recent SARG closure of the EU-sponsored Human Rights
Center. Mu'allim arrived at the dinner an hour late because
he was held up meeting with Spanish FM Moratinos, who stopped
briefly at Damascus International Airport on his way back to
Europe from Afghanistan. End Summary.


2. (C) SARG-EU RELATIONS : At a dinner hosted by the
Austrian Ambassador March 7, FM Mu'allim briefed EU
Ambassadors (and those from Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria).
According to a readout provided to PolChief by the Hungarian
Charge Ferenc Toth, Mu'allim told the diplomats that the SARG
is still hopeful that the Association Agreement with the EU
would be signed but acknowledged that current prospects for
forward progress are not promising. Mu'allim noted that
Syria very much wanted to tap into the first-class expertise
that EU countries had to offer for the SARG's plans for
modernization and reform. He indicated, however, that if the
EU did not want to provide Syria with such resources, it
would look to others, even if the assistance was not up to
the level the Europeans had to offer. On the controversy
over the caricatures of the prophet Mohammed, Mu'allim
applauded the efforts of a few European countries like
Denmark to begin a "dialogue of civilizations" but noted that
a cultural dialogue without a political dimension would be
insufficient to address the problem.


3. (C) LEBANON: Regarding Lebanon, Mu'allim asserted that
the SARG wanted improved relations but blamed the current
poisonous bilateral atmosphere on anti-Syria incitement in
the Lebanese press, especially notable in Walid Jumblatt's
attacks on President Asad. According to Mu'allim, Syria has
fulfilled its obligations under UNSCR 1559 by withdrawing its
forces from Lebanon. Demarcation of the border at Sheba'a
farms is only possible after the withdrawal of Israeli forces
from there, since otherwise experts would not be able to get
into the area. In Mu'allim's view, the Sheba'a Farms
demarcation is driven by the issue of Hizballah disarmament.
He indicated that the SARG is ready in principle to establish
diplomatic relations with Lebanon but is waiting for the
appropriate time.


4. (C) IRAN: Mu'allim defended Syria's attempt to reinforce
its relations with Iran, noting that this was based on
long-standing ties that dated back to the Iran-Iraq war.
Syria's neighbors and others had periodically criticized this
effort to build good relations with Iran, but such criticisms
had repeatedly subsided, for example after the first Gulf
War, vindicating SARG policy. According to Ferenc, Mu'allim
pointed to widely-expressed fears in the region, especially
in the Gulf, about the use of any "military option" to
resolve the conflict over Iran's nuclear program, noting the
potential it would have to de-stabilize neighboring countries
and cause further hikes in the price of oil. Mu'allim made
passing reference to Syrian and Egyptian efforts to press for
a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East as a reasonable way to
address the conflict with Iran.


5. (C) IRAQ: Mu'allim stuck closely to the SARG's public
position on Iraq, asserting that his government wanted
stability there and was making efforts to improve economic
and political relations. He also expressed concern about the
dangers of increasing sectarianism there.


6. (C) RELATIONS WITH THE U.S.: Mu'allim denied the
existence of any "secret deal" with the U.S. and acknowledged
that bilateral relations were quite bad. He mentioned that
the U.S. was not planning to send an Ambassador to replace
Ambassador Scobey. He criticized what he described as U.S.
policy on Syria that was too heavily influenced by Israel.


7. (C) QUESTIONS WITHOUT ANSWERS: Mu'allim was asked about
any agreement between the SARG and UNIIIC chief Serge
Brammertz and about the closure of the EU Human Rights Center
in Damascus. He avoided providing any substantive response
to either inquiry.
JOHNSON-CASARES