DEMARCHE DELIVERED: NOVEMBER 17 EMERGENCY SPECIAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 007437 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/17/2016 TAGS: FR IS PREL UNGA SUBJECT: DEMARCHE DELIVERED: NOVEMBER 17 EMERGENCY SPECIAL SESSION OF UNGA REF: STATE 188244 Classified By: POL Deputy Bruce Turner, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Poloff delivered reftel demarche to MFA action officers for Middle East UN issues Nicolas Kassianides and Selena Grenet on November 17. Grenet noted that -- due to the opposition of the UK and Germany -- the EU had been unable to come to a common position with respect to the text referred to in the demarche, a text France considered balanced and therefore strongly supported. (In fact, Grenet said that the French had done their own demarche urging their EU partners to support the resolution, which they claimed was "even more balanced" than the one vetoed in the UNSC on November 12.) ¶2. (C) Consequently, Grenet understood that the PLO delegation had withdrawn reftel text and had instead put forward an even more problematic resolution, which Grenet anticipated would nevertheless be approved at the ESS. She was uncertain what France's position would be on that text. She argued that the UK and Germany had made a tactical error, inasmuch as the EU would now be stuck with an even less palatable resolution. Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm STAPLETON