FRENCH MFA ON IRAQ COMPACT PG MEETING, TALABANI

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 007056

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/26/2016
TAGS: EAID EFIN FR IZ PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: FRENCH MFA ON IRAQ COMPACT PG MEETING, TALABANI
VISIT, NATIONAL COMPACT, MNF-I MANDATE RENEWAL

REF: STATE 178869

Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt, reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) POLOFF delivered reftel demarche to Franck Gellet, MFA
DAS-equivalent for Iraq, and Bernard Chappedelaine, Iraq desk
officer, on October 26. Chappedelaine said France would be
represented at the 10/31 Preparatory Group meeting by
Ambassador Jean-Pierre Guinhut, Inter-Ministerial Coordinator
for Iraq Reconstruction. We also delivered the points to
Guinhut's office, but he had already departed for Kuwait.
His assistant, Nicolas Dignoire, promised to inform him of
our views, and added that the delegation would be rounded out
by representatives from the French Embassy in Kuwait.


2. (C) Both Gellet and Chappedelaine reiterated France's
well-known position that the Compact document should not
focus on economic development to the exclusion of security
and political reforms. Chappedelaine said the French were
somewhat "dubious" about a draft circulated in Baghdad on
October 19, which they found to be fuzzier than earlier
versions of the Compact document. "It read like a catalogue
of every possible type of commitment (from the international
community),and there were no precise benchmarks," said
Chappedelaine. Even worse, in Gellet's view, was the lack of
a timeline for tackling tough issues such as militias and
corruption within the security services. Chappedelaine added
that France does not envision making any new financial
commitments at the Compact Adoption event expected in late
November.

Talabani Visit
--------------


3. (C) Turning to the upcoming visit (Nov. 2-3) to Paris of
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Chappedelaine said President
Chirac would receive Talabani November 2. The Iraqi
delegation will also meet with Foreign Minister Douste-Blazy,
as well as with the President of the National Assembly and
various members of the French Senate. Meetings with French
business leaders and academics will round out the visit. The
MFA's objective for the visit is to "maintain a regular
dialogue" with Iraq's leaders on bilateral relations, Iraq's
internal situation, the regional environment, and the Iraq
Compact. No tangible deliverables are expected, although the
French will reaffirm their willingness to continue cultural
exchanges that allow Iraqi students and teachers to pursue
studies/training in France.

Question on National Compact
--------------


4. (C) In conclusion, Gellet said the MFA was "perplexed" by
Ambassador Khalilzad's reference (during his October 24 press
conference with General Casey) to a "national compact" among
Iraq's leaders. He asked whether this national compact
constituted the political dimension of the International
Compact for Iraq, or whether it was a new national initiative
independent of the International Compact. If the latter, he
wondered whether the US was taking a more hands-on approach
toward managing Iraq's internal politics.

Rollover of MNF-I Mandate
--------------


5. (C) In a separate meeting October 25 with Nicolas
Kassianides (who handles the Iraq portfolio in the MFA's IO
directorate),Kassianides predicted that France would not
create any ructions when it comes time to renew the UN
mandate for MNF-I later this year. He noted that while last
year France tried to leverage the extension of the mandate
into defining a "political horizon" for the withdrawal of
Coalition forces from Iraq, he had no indication that France
would seek the inclusion of such language this year.


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