FURTHER FINNISH RESPONSE TO UNSC RESOLUTION 1701

C O N F I D E N T I A L HELSINKI 000800 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/14/2013 TAGS: PREL PGOV MOPS EUN FI SUBJECT: FURTHER FINNISH RESPONSE TO UNSC RESOLUTION 1701 REF: A. HELSINKI 798 ¶B. STATE 132517 Classified By: PolChief Gregory Thome, Reasons 1.4 (b and d). ¶1. (U) As indicated Reftel A, the GOF welcomed UNSC Resolution 1701; the text of the Finnish Foreign Ministry's Statement on Behalf of the EU Presidency has been forwarded to the Department. In a subsequent conversation with PolChief July 14, Office Director for the Middle East Eija Rotinen offered several additional comments. ¶2. (C) The GOF acknowledges the hard work that went into crafting a resolution that has won the support of Lebanon, Israel, Hizbollah and the Arab League. 1701 did what needed immediate doing: it ended the violence, Rotinen said. However, she continued, Finland shares US concerns that winning wide support for 1701 required avoiding a hard discussion within the resolution of exactly how 1559 is to be implemented. The GOF understands that Hizbollah must be disarmed if there is to be any long-term peace. However, many potential troop-contributing nations might balk at the idea of being called upon to forcefully disarm an unwilling Hizbollah; "if the mandate for the international force is too strong, it might prove hard to fulfill the commitment" of 15,000 troops, Rotinen said. She agreed that much hard work remained, both in carefully crafting the terms of reference for the international force and in convincing the international community to fulfill this mission. ¶3. (C) For its part, the GOF will support a strong disarmament mandate and intends to contribute troops. President Tarja Halonen and Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja have publicly called for a Finnish contribution of about 200 soldiers, and Rotinen confirmed that the GOF is preparing legislation to request a supplemental budget authorization from Parliament. She expressed some concern that the death of a Finnish UNIFIL officer in early August may become an issue during the Parliamentary debate. However, our early soundings with key MPs indicate generally wide support for a GOF contribution. WARE