SAUD AL-FAISAL ASKS THE US TO CALL FOR A CEASEFIRE

C O N F I D E N T I A L JEDDAH 000511 PLEASE PASS TO THE SECRETARY'S PARTY AND TO A/S WELCH E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/30/2016 TAGS: IS IZ LE PINS PREL SA SUBJECT: SAUD AL-FAISAL ASKS THE US TO CALL FOR A CEASEFIRE Classified By: Ambassador James Oberwetter for reasons 1. 5 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) FM Saud al-Faisal summoned the Ambassador from Riyadh to Jeddah for a one-on-one late in the evening of July 30 to urge the Secretary to call for a ceasefire in Lebanon. In a soft-mannered but insistent and blunt approach, Prince Saud made the following points: -- "We understand the concern with calling for a ceasefire and it doesn't hold. But I wish you would call for a ceasefire and (let) Hizbollah reject it. Then Hizbollah would be seen as the renegades they are. Instead you are turning Hizbollah into heroes. Hizbollah is telling the Lebanese to hold out for two more weeks and they will get full victory." -- "What is occurring is strengthening Hizbollah, not weakening it. These are the damage assessments we are getting from a wide variety of intelligence and other sources." -- "Today's massacre occurred in a village called Qana - a village of the same name in the Galilee was where Christ made the blind see. Now everyone, and not just in the Arab and Islamic countries, is seeing the results of Israel's overreaction." -- "We don't see any advantage to US interests in the current policy. It is not certainly not helping our common objective of facing the Iranian threat in Iraq. We fear you are relying on self-interested advisors, rather than your loyal friends who have no stake in this fight, other than our concern for the small country of Lebanon." -- "The other Arab countries are coming to us to see if we understand US policy. King Abdullah of Jordan is still here. None of us discern the purpose of the current US stance. We cannot explain to our public what we don't understand." -- "I talked with the President twice recently and in the King's name asked for renewed activitism on the Palestinian issue, which is the core of the region's problems." ¶2. (C) The Ambassador replied that the US was also shocked by today's bombing in Qana. He stressed that the Secretary had returned to the region and was in Israel today, and that the US was seeking a lasting ceasefire supported by an Israeli-Lebanese Government agreement. The Ambassador said he would transmit the Foreign Minister's views immediately, and he asked if there were any specific steps that the FM would recommend. Prince Saud replied that putting the Shaaba Farms under UN control would lead to disarming Hizbollah, since this was the last part of occupied Lebanese territory. ¶3. (C) The Ambassador noted that the Saudi humanitarian convoy had safely reached Beirut. The FM said the 23 truck convoy carried a hospital. The Ambassador said whether or not there had been a direct Iranian hand in Hizbollah's kidnapping of Israelis which instigated this crisis, the Iranians were attempting to exploit it to divert attention away from their nuclear issue. But this "sleight of hand" wouldn't work. The US would continue to press the Iranians on their nuclear acquisition program. Prince Saud said that was encouraging to hear. In Larijani's meeting with Solana, he added, Larijani was confident that only the Lebanon and Palestinian issues were the only agenda items. He also said Iran was sending an emissary to Saudi Arabia on August 1. ¶4. (C) Turning to the Iraq issues, the Ambassador said we should not let the immediate crisis in Lebanon deter us from supporting the new Iraqi government, which needed strong regional support. The Ambassador asked for Saudi support in particular for the Iraq Compact, noting the joint UN and Iraq announcement and the US and UK statements. Prince Saud said "we will do everything we can." During PM Maliki's visit to Jeddah, Maliki had said he would send someone to follow up on finance issues, but that visit hasn't occurred, nor had he been in telephone contact with his Iraqi counterpart. ¶5. (C) Ambassador's Comment: The FM displayed genuine dismay with the lack of movement toward a ceasefire. His expression suggested a lack of comprehension as to why the US is pursuing a policy which he believes is now giving Hizbollah growing credibility with the Arab public. Gfoeller