SARG CHOOSES CONFRONTATIONAL STANCE IN MEETINGS

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAMASCUS 000959 SIPDIS SIPDIS NEA/ELA TREASURY FOR GLASER/SZUBIN/LEBENSON NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/SINGH EB/ESC/TFS FOR SALOOM E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/06/2016 TAGS: ECON ETRD EINV SY SUBJECT: SARG CHOOSES CONFRONTATIONAL STANCE IN MEETINGS WITH EU DELEGATION Classified By: Charge d'Affaries Stephen Seche, reasons 1.4 b/d ¶1. (C) Diplomats at the EC mission in Damascus were quick to downplay the importance of the visit last week of EU parliamentarian and President of the Parliament's Delegation for Relations with the Mashrek, Beatrice Patrie. SARG dailies reported that Patrie met with both Abdallah Dardari, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, and Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem to improve dialogue and pave the way for the completion of the Syria-EU Association Agreement. However, an economist at the mission, Fabrice Ferandes, stated that Patrie decided to visit Damascus only as an "add-on" to her trip to Lebanon, and that she held her meetings and returned to Beirut in the same evening. He described Patrie as being in "listening mode," which he said indicated a significant departure from her position last year when she visited Damascus as an advocate for the Partnership Agreement. Loic Lallemand Zeller, Political/Economic Chief at the EC Mission, stated that while Patrie and Dardari discussed the status of economic reforms in Syria, Patrie made it clear to both Dardari and Muallem that the EU Council of Ministers is no closer to finalizing the Agreement. ¶2. (C) The EC diplomats described Dardari and Muallem's position as confrontational, and stated that they used the meetings to emphasize that the SARG was placing less political and economic significance on completing the Agreement. According to Ferandes, Muallam told Patrie that Syria was not interested in pursuing the Agreement if the EU continued to put conditions on its completion, particularly in the realm of civil society. Dardari also made it clear that Syria did not need a completed Agreement to pursue its reform agenda at its own pace. In spite of the SARG position, and his claim that Patrie knew before her visit that the SARG was going to shut down the EC-funded Civil Society Training Center (septel),Ferandes stated that Patrie did not issue any stern statements. Patrie further indicated that the EU would continue ongoing technical assistance and capacity-building programs in line with the genderal framework of the Agreement, which is consistent with the EU's policy as described by the EC diplomats of furthering incremental reforms through engagement regardless of the obstacles. ¶3. (C) Comment: The EU is intent on pursuing a policy of engagement with Syria to the extent that the SARG will allow it. However, in previous meetings, the same EC diplomats expressed their growing concern that the SARG, and Dardari in particular, is seeming more indifferent to participating in their development assistance programs. Muallam and Dardari's statements indicate that the SARG increasingly is willing to adopt a confrontational stance with the EU, and, perhaps because of its belief that the Association Agreement is dead on arrival, no longer sees it as a prize worthy of concessions. SECHE