FRANCE/UNSC VOTE: NO BENEFIT TO PRESSURE ON ITALY,

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 006908 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/12/2016 TAGS: PREL PHUM UNSC IT FR SUBJECT: FRANCE/UNSC VOTE: NO BENEFIT TO PRESSURE ON ITALY, CYPRUS REF: A. STATE 175070 B. 10/19 ROSENBLATT-ALLEGRONE E-MAIL Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Josiah B. Rosenblatt. Reas ons 1.4b,d ¶1. (C) Poloff contacted MFA IO PDAS-Equivalent Marc Giacomini in absence of IO A/S-Equivalent Sylvie Berman, who had earlier discussed the Italian abstention with Political Minister-Counselor (ref B). Giacomini relayed that the Italian delegation in New York, in response to a French approach, had confirmed there would be no shift in position due to the presence in the somewhat fragile Prodi coalition government of "hard-Leftist" elements with historical ties to Venezuela. To poloff's comment regretting the Italian deviation from the overall EU trend, Giacomini remarked that there was no precedent for a common EU position on Security Council elections, hence a limit to what pressure would be appropriate. France had relayed to the Italians, according to Berman's discussion with Political M/C, that the Italian stake in joining an effective SC should be decisive. ¶2. (C) Giacomini raised Cyprus and its concerns about Guatemalan ties to Taiwan as an entity that was a negative potential model for the Northern Cyprus enclave. An informal French approach to Cyprus met with the rebuke that it was easy for others to discount these anxieties, since they had no territory at stake in the matter. Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm STAPLETON