KUWAIT DEMARCHE DELIVERED: PERSUADING OIC MEMBERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 002417 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS FOR NEA/ARP, IO, AND PRM E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/19/2016 TAGS: PREL AORC PHUM PREF ICRC KU SUBJECT: KUWAIT DEMARCHE DELIVERED: PERSUADING OIC MEMBERS TO JOIN THE MAJORITY REF: STATE 97059 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Matthew H. Tueller for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) (C/NF) PolChief delivered reftel demarche June 20 to Salah Al-Saif, First Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' International Organizations Department. (The Foreign Minister and MFA Undersecretary are traveling with the Amir in South Asia; the International Organizations Department Director and his deputy are both in Baku for the OIC meeting.) Al-Saif explained that Kuwait had "no problem with the emblem" and said its December 2005 vote against the Third Additional Protocol had nothing to do with the Israeli Nationality Society and rather reflected Arab League (AL) support for Lebanon and Syria. He briefly showed PolOff proposed AL amendments to the protocol and said the AL would call for a suspension of the meeting, which came "at the worst possible time," if the amendments were categorically rejected. He was sympathetic to humanitarian concerns, commented it was unfortunate that political debate on the Golan Heights and Shabaa Farms hampered progress on normalizing the status of all national societies, but said Kuwait could not "stray from the Arab or Islamic groups." ********************************************* * For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ ********************************************* * TUELLER