RUSSIA WEIGHING ADDITIONAL HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 009354 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/25/2016 TAGS: PREL EAID LE RS SUBJECT: RUSSIA WEIGHING ADDITIONAL HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO LEBANON REF: STATE 139903 Classified By: Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs Alice Wells. Re asons: 1.4(B/D). ¶1. (C) In addition to contemplating a limited contingent of military personnel to serve in UNIFIL (septel),Russia is considering providing additional shipments of humanitarian assistance to Lebanon according to the MFA and the Lebanese Ambassador in Moscow. MFA Syria and Lebanon Section Chief Andrey Panov told us August 24 that Russia had already supplied four planeloads of emergency humanitarian assistance through the Ministry of Civil Defense, Emergencies and Natural Disasters (EMERCOM). Russia was consulting with the Lebanese government about additional aid, including reconstruction assistance. DFM Aleksandr Saltanov will head the Russian delegation to the meeting in Stockholm. ¶2. (C) Lebanese Ambassador Assem Jaber told us on August 23 that cooperation with the GOR in providing humanitarian assistance had been excellent. Jaber noted that four EMERCOM flights (on August 9, 17, 21, and 23) had delivered tons of food, medicine, bedding, and tents to a UN depot in Cyprus; the material had then been sent on to Lebanon. Jaber said Russia was willing to provide additional medical supplies, but it was not clear whether the Russian medicines offered were the same as the European drugs that Lebanon had requested. He noted that a number of Russian private companies had also provided humanitarian relief supplies. On reconstruction assistance, Jaber said that Russian interest had so far been limited to firms that wanted to work in Lebanon on commercial terms. BURNS