RUSSIAN FM MEETS SYRIAN PRESIDENT; SARG SAYS NO TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAMASCUS 004419 SIPDIS SIPDIS PARIS FOR WALLER, LONDON FOR TSOU E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/10/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV SY LE SUBJECT: RUSSIAN FM MEETS SYRIAN PRESIDENT; SARG SAYS NO TO EUROPEAN BORDER GUARDS Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Michael H. Corbin for reasons 1.4 b/d ¶1. (C) Visiting Russian FM Sergei Lavrov met for an hour September 7 in Damascus with Syrian President Bashar al-Asad followed by separate hour-long meetings with Syrian VP Farouk al-Shara'a, and FM Walid Mu'allim, according to a senior Russian diplomat here. The conversations focused on implementation of UNSC Resolution 1701 and ways to revive the stalled Middle East peace process, the diplomat said. ¶2. (C) In comments to the press, Shar'a stated that regional stability would only come with Israel's compliance with UN resolutions, adding that "latest developments have highlighted the need for a wide-scale international cooperation, far from the one-polar hegemony and Israeli arrogance," according to the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). Lavrov, who earlier in the day visited Beirut, left Damascus for Israel, according to regional media. The Russian Ambassador to Damascus has been urging Moscow to push Syria to enter bilateral negotiations with Israel over the Golan Heights, the diplomat said. Such an initiative would depend on how the Israelis viewed such a proposal, the diplomat said. ¶3. (U) Contradicting Italian reports of progress in Italy-SARG discussions on implementing 1701, SANA described as "unfounded" discussions of a SARG agreement to permit European guards to supervise the Syria-Lebanon borders. Separately, on September 9, Asad spoke by phone with Italian PM Romano Prodi about technical training for Syrian guards, who would be deployed on the Syria side of its border with Lebanon, according to SANA. CORBIN