Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06DAMASCUS1361
2006-03-27 16:56:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Damascus
Cable title:  

SYRIAN VP VISITS EGYPT, SAUDI, AND IRAN

Tags:  PREL PGOV SY LE EG IR SA 
pdf how-to read a cable
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DE RUEHDM #1361 0861656
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 271656Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7946
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD PRIORITY 0723
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L DAMASCUS 001361 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

PARIS FOR ZEYA, LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/26/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV SY LE EG IR SA
SUBJECT: SYRIAN VP VISITS EGYPT, SAUDI, AND IRAN

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Stephen A. Seche for reasons
1.4 b/d

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAMASCUS 001361

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

PARIS FOR ZEYA, LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/26/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV SY LE EG IR SA
SUBJECT: SYRIAN VP VISITS EGYPT, SAUDI, AND IRAN

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Stephen A. Seche for reasons
1.4 b/d


1. (U) Syrian VP Farouk al-Shara'a met with Egypt's
President Mubarak March 23 in Sharm El Sheikh, Saudi King
Abdullah March 24 in Jeddah, and Iranian President
Ahmadinejad March 25 in Tehran. In his first regional trip
since becoming VP, Shara'a delivered to each leader a letter
from Syrian President Bashar al-Asad and discussed the
upcoming Arab League (AL) summit in Khartoum, Syria's
bilateral relations with each respective country, and
developments in Lebanon, Iraq and Palestine, according to
media reports. In Egypt, Shara'a downplayed to reporters the
idea that his discussions with Mubarak had focused on steps
to improve Syria's relationship with Lebanon, despite the
fact that Lebanese PM Siniora met earlier in the day with
Mubarak.


2. C) Egyptian DCM Ashraf Hamdy told Charge March 26 that
Shara'a sought support for Syria's position at the AL summit.
When asked what that entailed, Hamdy said the Syrians wanted
a statement of support at the summit opposing the sanctions
being imposed on Syria, in particular the recent 311
sanctions on the Syria Commercial Bank. According to Hamdy,
the Syrians are more worried about the impact of those
sanctions than they are letting on in public. (Note: On
March 26, the official Syrian Arab News Agency quoted Syria's
FM Walid Muallim as saying that foreign ministers would send
the AL a draft resolution condemning sanctions against Syria
and calling on Washington to lift them.) Shara'a also sought
Mubarak's support for raising this sanctions issue at the
meeting in May of Western finance ministers with their Arab
counterparts in Sharm, where terrorist financing would be
discussed, according to Hamdy. (Note: We presume this
meeting refers to the World Economic Forum on the Middle East
May 20-22 in Sharm El Sheikh.)


3. (C) Al Hayat correspondent Ibrahim Hamidi said March 26
that Shara'a had several goals for his trip to Egypt and
Saudi Arabia. First, Shara'a sought Egyptian and Saudi help
to persuade other Arab countries to refrain from calling for
improved Syria-Lebanon relations, Hamidi said. The SARG
wants the Lebanese national dialogue to conclude with a set
of recommendations before Syria enters into talks with
Lebanon, Hamidi said. Second, the SARG wanted to coordinate
with Egypt and Saudi Arabia on an Arab financial aid
agreement for the incoming Palestinian government, Hamidi
said. Third, Shara'a wanted to elicit Arab support for an
Arab League statement supporting Syria against U.S. pressure
and calling for the easing of sanctions, Hamidi stated.
Fourth, Shara'a sought to have dropped from the summit's
agenda a proposal to send Arab forces to Iraq, said Hamidi
without elaboration. Finally, by ending Shara'a's regional
tour with a stop in Tehran, the VP sought to underscore the
SARG's ability to operate in the middle ground between Egypt
and Saudi Arabia on one hand and Iran on the other, Hamidi
asserted.


4. (C) When asked whether Shara'a's travel indicated
continued or increased influence over the SARG's foreign
policy, Hamidi responded that he saw the trip rather as a
sign of a shift in Shara'a's role. In the past, former
Syrian VP Khaddam had played the role of the "bad cop" by
advocating hard-line positions within the SARG, while Shara'a
delivered a relatively more moderate message, Hamidi
asserted. Now, Shara'a has assumed the "bad cop" role by
playing a lead role on the Iran file, while new FM Walid
Mu'allim delivers more moderate messages aimed at the West
and its allies, such as those he delivered in his mid-March
meeting with UN Special Envoy Terje Roed Larsen in Moscow and
in late March to Qatar's Emir, Hamidi stated.
SECHE