TFLE01: DOUSTE-BLAZY TESTS "MODERATE ARAB" STATES'

S E C R E T PARIS 004982

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/21/2016
TAGS: PREL AEMR MARR CASC LE KHLS FR
SUBJECT: TFLE01: DOUSTE-BLAZY TESTS "MODERATE ARAB" STATES'
TEMPERATURES


Classified By: POLITICAL MINISTER COUNSELOR JOSIAH ROSENBLATT
FOR REASONS 1.4 B/D


1. (S) SUMMARY: Poloff met on July 21 with Douste-Blazy's
acting Cabinet Advisor for the Middle East, Francois Thoizy,
in order to get additional details on the FM's travel to
Lebanon and other countries in the region. He said the FM
would be visiting Cyprus, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, and Israel,
with a focus on taking the temperatures of Arab League SYG
Amr Moussa, President Mubarak and King Abdullah. Thoizy also
repeated most of what we have already heard from other French
officials: a call for an immediate cease-fire, a call for the
opening of humanitarian corridors, and fear that Israel's
actions could mean further support for an armed Hezbollah in
Lebanon. France continues to work closely with Israel
(Douste-Blazy spoke to Israeli FM Livny last night about his
trip) but there had been no progress on an internal Lebanese
humanitarian corridor. END SUMMARY


2. (S) Poloff met on July 21 with Douste-Blazy's acting
Cabinet Advisor for the Middle East, Francois Thoizy, in
order to get additional details on the FM's travel to
Lebanon, Cyprus, Egypt, Jordan, and Israel. Thoizy, noted
first of all, that the trip had been planned with about three
hours notice. For the moment he was expected back in Paris
on Sunday but details remained unclear. (We have since heard
reports that Douste-Blazy will be in Israel on Sunday.) He
said the key goals in going to Lebanon were: 1) to once again
express France's solidarity with the Lebanese people, 2) to
find out from PM Siniora what current plans looked like for
internal humanitarian corridors, and 3) to get a better sense
of the kind of aid that was needed most quickly.


3. (S) The rest of Douste-Blazy's travel in the region,
according to Thoizy, would be devoted to getting a better
sense of where the Arab League stood ahead of the July 25
Arab League Summit (COMMENT: Post was unaware of a set date
for a Summit). The FM intends to meet with Arab League SYG,
Amr Moussa, President Mubarak, and King Abdullah. Keeping
these "moderate" leaders from taking harder lines would help
to ensure a peaceful solution, both immediately and in the
longer term. Thoizy said Douste-Blazy was also looking to
get a better sense of how they saw the situation evolving and
the role they might play in further humanitarian assistance.
The French FM sees the Arab League and Mubarak, in
particular, as key to any lasting solution. They had to be
consulted immediately; and post Summit might be too late.
Douste-Blazy was due back in Paris on Sunday, July 23.


4. (S) Thoizy repeated much of we have already heard from
various French officials. He focused mainly on the call for
an immediate cease-fire, saying that unless the crisis was
defused quickly, the long term consequences could be
disastrous. There were all sorts of possible scenarios and
none of them were good for Israel's longer term security.
Furthermore, he stressed, the longer this went on, the more
likely it was that Siniora's government would be seen as too
weak to govern. Poloff stressed that the disarmament of
Hezbollah could only strengthen Siniora's government and that
without control of the South his power was already in
jeopardy. Thoizy briefly discussed the GoF's call for
humanitarian corridors and said that little progress had been
made on an internal corridor but that the GoF would be
continuing its dialogue with the Israelis and Lebanese on the
issue. The general tone of discussions with Israeli was good
and the FM had spoken to Israeli FM Livni on July 20 as he
was preparing to depart for his trip.

Please visit Paris' Classified Website at:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm


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