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 STAPLETON