Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06DAMASCUS214
2006-01-20 12:37:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Damascus
Cable title:  

AHMADINAJAD'S PHOTO OP VISIT TO DAMASCUS

Tags:  PGOV PREL ECON SY IR 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0008
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDM #0214/01 0201237
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 201237Z JAN 06
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6634
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 0585
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L DAMASCUS 000214 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

PARIS FOR ZEYA; LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/12/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON SY IR
SUBJECT: AHMADINAJAD'S PHOTO OP VISIT TO DAMASCUS

REF: FBIS GMP 20060119527007

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Stephen A. Seche, per 1.4 b,d.

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAMASCUS 000214

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

PARIS FOR ZEYA; LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/12/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON SY IR
SUBJECT: AHMADINAJAD'S PHOTO OP VISIT TO DAMASCUS

REF: FBIS GMP 20060119527007

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Stephen A. Seche, per 1.4 b,d.


1. (SBU) Syrian President Bashar al-Asad and Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinajad met for three hours the
afternoon of January 19, shortly after the latter's arrival
in Damascus. The talks were attended by PM Naji al-Otri, FM
Shara'a, Iranian FM Manouchehr Mottaki, and several other
ministers on each side. There was a brief one-on-one at the
end of these talks. Shara'a met separately with his
counterpart later. The two leaders also held a joint press
conference, and in the evening, Asad hosted a dinner for
Ahmadinajad. At the Asad Library, the Iranian leader offered
remarks that one contact characterized as heavy on ideology
and answered questions for a select group of Syrian
political, cultural, and scientific figures.


2. (SBU) On the morning of January 20, his second and final
day in Damascus, Ahmadinajad visited the Shia shrine of Sitt
a-Zeinab, in the outskirts of Damascus, another in the Old
City, and attended Friday prayers at the Ommayyad Mosque. He
was scheduled to have lunch with Asad, meet with business
leaders at the Iranian Embassy at 1530 hours, and then depart
Syria.


3. (U) At their press conference (reftel),the two leaders
emphasized progress in the development of bilateral relations
and said they had discussed mechanisms for accelerating this
progress. They did not announce any major bilateral economic
or political agreements, however. Ahmadinajad mentioned that
the higher joint committee of the two countries will meet in
February in Damascus, led by the Syrian PM and the Iranian
VP, to follow up on possibilities for cooperation that had
been raised in his talks with Asad. Asad voiced his support
for "Iran's right to obtain peaceful nuclear technology and
welcomed the continuation of the dialogue on this issue
between Iran and the concerned international parties." Both
men made remarks on Iraq, the Palestinian issue, and Lebanon.
Asad stressed "our support for stability in Lebanon and the

need to support the resistance" and "prevent interference in
Lebanon's internal affairs or any attempts toward
internationalization."


4. (U) Both men voiced support for the Palestinian right to
resistance "against repressive Israeli actions" and the right
of return of the Palestinian refugees. They also voiced
support for the stability and the political process in Iraq
and the withdrawal of foreign forces ("foreign occupiers,"
according to Ahmadinajad) in accordance with a set timetable.


5. (U) At the Asad Library, Ahmadinajad made somewhat
incoherent remarks on Jews living in the occupied
territories, posing the question whether the West would be
willing to open its doors "to these immigrant Jews" so that
they can travel to any part of Europe they wish and guarantee
their security and promise not be become anti-Semitic. He
also criticized what he called the "slogan of democracy,"
saying that it was used to disguise aggression and arms
races.


6. (C) On the economic side, the area where observers
thought there was the most chance for "deliverables," PM
Mohammad Naji al-Otri January 19 announced a number of
economic and commercial agreements that would be concluded
either during the summit or in the month following it, but
gave no specifics. The current level of economic cooperation
between the two countries is very modest and efforts to
deepen economic ties have borne little fruit thus far. Even
with trade sanctions in place, the US is still a more
important trading partner for Syria than Iran. The Iranian
joint ventures that are being pursued, reportedly totaling
$700 million USD, have had difficulty coming to fruition.
The Syrian-Iranian Auto Manufacturing Company (SIAMCO),a USD
60 million joint venture established in October 2004 between
Syrian Mahmoud H,meisho of the El Sultan Company and the
Iranian Khodro Industrial Group, which was supposed to
produce its first automobiles this month, announced a
six-month production delay days before the summit. Contacts
state that another project involving the Khodro Group, a USD
200 million project announced two years ago to expand a
cement factory near Hama, has not begun production and is
still waiting on Khodro to deliver the parts for two
production lines. PM Otri also mentioned a new joint project
to do with oil, but our contacts in the industry have been
dismissive of Iran's ability to contribute to developing
Syria's oil sector, pointing to the disarray in Iran's own
oil industry as proof of the paucity of Iran's potential
contribution.


7. (C) Comment: Barring last minute developments, the visit
seems to have broken no new political or economic ground and
appears designed primarily as an extended photo opportunity,
showing the U.S., the Europeans, and regional powers like
Saudi Arabia and Egypt that the two beleaguered countries
have options and troublesome cards to play, if their
interests are ignored. Asad seemed to take care in his
public statements to avoid comments that might exacerbate
concerns in the West about a strategic partnership between
Damascus and Tehran. His remarks at the press conference
were substantially shorter and more tempered than
Ahmadinajad's. Nevertheless, the visit underscores that the
countries' long-standing bilateral relationship, developed
over the past two and half decades, appears to have grown
somewhat warmer during Bashar al-Asad's tenure in office,
especially in the past 18 months. If Asad remains under
intense international pressure, he is likely to continue to
reach out to the Iranians for support.

SECHE