FRENCH ON JANUARY 30 GAERC: HAMAS, IRAN, IRAQ,

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 000560 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/27/2016 TAGS: PREL EUN KPAL IS HIZ FR SUBJECT: FRENCH ON JANUARY 30 GAERC: HAMAS, IRAN, IRAQ, BELARUS, BALKANS REF: A. STATE 11254 ¶B. PARIS 535 Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt for reaso ns 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (U) Poloff delivered ref (A) points on January 24th to MFA's deputy of CFSP unit, Pascal LeDeunff, and discussed the points with him on January 27th. ¶2. (C) Hamas Victory: LeDeunff referenced the January 27th Quartet statement and, echoing Prime Minister de Villepin's statement of January 26 (ref b),noted that France would press for an EU statement that would call on Hamas to 1) explicitly renounce violence, 2) recognize the right of Israel to exist, and 3) recognize relevant agreements, including the Oslo accords (NOTE: We understand from other sources that the words "Oslo Accords" will be replaced with "roadmap." END NOTE). France would recommend the EU speak with one voice. He said that the EU would consider how to deal with Hamas, whether to have contact with it, given its position on the EU list of terrorist organizations, and overall, what the victory means for the peace process in the Middle East. "We have more questions than answers right now," said LeDeunff, "but we have a little time to consider them." ¶3. (C) Iran: LeDeunff noted that France, the UK, and Germany would seek to rally their EU partners to move toward the involvement of the UNSC. "We want all Europeans to agree that we must open a new diplomatic phase now," he said, noting that France would push for all EU members to agree that the UNSC be seized of the matter next week. He said that would entail assuring some members that this does not/not mean that the UNSC would immediately seek to undertake a Chapter 7 action. For the moment, it was essential that the UNSC confirm the IAEA's authority in the matter. ¶4. (C) Iraq: LeDeunff said there would "not be much" at the GAERC; he said the ministers would note the high rate of participation in the legislative elections, and the EU would encourage the continuation of the political process. He also underlined that France supports the Arab League initiative to hold a national reconciliation conference towards the end of February or beginning of March. He also said that France would stress the importance of a "credible horizon for the withdrawal of foreign forces." 5 (C) Belarus: LeDeunff noted that FM Douste-Blazy, who met with opposition leader Milinkevich in Paris on January 9th, has not yet decided if he will attend the Monday morning session with Milinkevich in Brussels. LeDeunff said that at the GAERC itself, the ministers would discuss deploying the OSCE mission, and, most importantly, the proposed joint demarche of A/S Fried and Robert Cooper. LeDeunff conveyed that the French had received word early January 27 that Belarus has denied a visa to A/S Fried; LeDeunff stressed that the French consider it "very important" that the joint demarche take place as soon as possible. Monday, he said, the Ministers would insist on the inclusion of A/S Fried on the mission. He said that Douste-Blazy would also inform his colleagues of his Jan. 18 dicussion with Russian FM Lavrov on Belarus. Septel will follow on poloff's discussion of Belarus with MFA desk officer. ¶6. (C) Western Balkans: With the focus of the meeting on the Middle East issues and Belarus, LeDeunff said, there would be not much on the Western Balkans. He said the Europeans would need to prepare for a police mission to Kosovo once an agreement on final status is reached. ¶7. (C) Enlargement: The Europeans would need to stress the importance of the perspective of EU membership as an incentive for reform. However, he added, this has to be discussed within the context of the future of the EU -- i.e., enlargement must be put on hold until the EU works out its institutional shortcomings. Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm Stapleton