KUWAITI FM URGES P-5 TO SUPPORT UNSCR THAT

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 003214

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
NOFORN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/08/2016
TAGS: PREL LE KU
SUBJECT: KUWAITI FM URGES P-5 TO SUPPORT UNSCR THAT
STRENGTHENS SINIORA POSITION


Classified By: CDA Matt Tueller for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: The Kuwaiti Foreign Minister convoked
representatives of P-5 missions on August 9 to urge support
for a UNSC resolution that would incorporate the fundamental
elements of PM Siniora's 7 point plan. Kuwait sees the UNSC
faced not just with a ceasefire resolution, but at a decision
point regarding the future of Lebanon and moderate Arab
states. He added that in its Lebanon deliberations, the UNSC
needs to take into account rising dangers in the region from
violence in Iraq and from the deadline for Iranian compliance
with UNSCR 1696. Re the Saudi proposal for an AL summit
meeting, he said the aim is to shore up Siniora's fragile
internal consensus, and to get the international community to
pay renewed attention to the Arab-Israeli peace process,
especially King Abdullah's plan. End Summary.


2. (C) The Chinese Ambassador and CDAs of U.S., UK, France,
and Russia were convoked by Kuwaiti FM Shaykh Muhammad
Al-Sabah on August 9 to receive a message on the situation in
Lebanon. In laying the background for his presentation, Dr.
Muhammad lavishly praised the leadership being displayed by
Lebanese PM Siniora. Against all odds Siniora had crafted a
consensus of all Lebanese factions around his 7 point plan.
The Council of Ministers decision to dispatch 15,000 LAF
troops to the south was courageous and deserved full support.
Nobody could have imagined the GOL being able to take these
steps. That said, saying he was choosing his words
carefully, Shaykh Muhammad described Siniora's internal
position as fragile, with only a tenuous unity holding the
Lebanese government together.


3. (C) For that reason, the UNSC ceasefire resolution needed
to incorporate Siniora's 7 points. Shaykh Muhammad described
this as critical to the sustainability of the Lebanese
government. Siniora is the only person in a position to lead
Lebanon along a sensible, moderate path. To prevent Lebanon
from collapse and becoming a breeding ground for extremists,
the international community needs to see the resolution as
not just about a ceasefire, but about the future of Lebanon.
It is not an exageration, Dr. Muhammad warned, to see the
current crisis as a critical point for the future of the
moderate, rational Arab camp. Kuwait was appealling to the
international community to rein in those who were seeking to
draw the region into further conflict.


4. (C) Shaykh Muhammad said the UNSC also needed to take
into account two other ominous developments that the moderate
Arab governments were watching with the utmost concern--the
drift to violence in Iraq and the approaching deadline for
Iran to comply with UNSCR 1696. His remarks on the situation
in Iraq were more downbeat than we have heard before from him
or other senior GOK officials. The GOK, he said, was
studying the impact of different Iraq scenarios and was using
the worst-case scenario of a full-fledged civil war in Iraq
as the benchmark, preparing responses to limit the fallout
for Kuwait.


5. (C) CDA asked about the aim of the AL summit meeting being
called for by the Saudis. Shaykh Muhammad said Kuwait fully
supported the Saudi call and there was lots of momentum
building in favor of holding the summit. The first aim would
be to support Siniora by applying "unifying pressure" on all
the Lebanese factions. The second aim would be to address
the real cause of violence in the region--lack of movement in
the peace process. "Benign neglect" has led to the situation
we are in now. The SAG hoped to reintroduce King Abdullah's
peace plan and call on the international community to
reciprocate with renewed focus on the Arab-Isreali conflict.


6. (C) The British CDA asked about the role the Syrians had
played in the Beirut meeting. Shaykh Muhammad said Walid
Mu'allem had been very helpful. While voicing some concerns
about whether the 7 points reflected the totality of views of
all Lebanese parties, he had accepted the GOL position and
been supportive. The Syrian FM had called for a statement
praising the courageous Islamic resistance. The ministers
noted this but the language in the end was not reflected in
the communique.

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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/
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