VOLKER DISCUSSES IRAN, LEBANON AND SYRIA WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ROME 002637

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

DEPT. FOR EUR AND NEA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/13/2016
TAGS: PREL NATO EUN IR UNSC SY LE IT
SUBJECT: VOLKER DISCUSSES IRAN, LEBANON AND SYRIA WITH
ITALIANS

REF: A. STATE 148157

B. STATE 150032

C. STATE 150777

D. ROME 2489

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Classified By: DCM Anna M. Borg. Reasons 1.4. B and D.

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Summary
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1. (C/NF) On Sept. 13 in Rome, EUR PDAS Volker met PolDir
Terzi and other MFA officials, and PM Deputy Diplomatic
Advisors Gentilini and Carnelos. Terzi thanked the U.S. for
helping get Italy included in the Berlin Iran talks and
called the common U.S.-EU position on Iran a major
achievement. The Iranians were beginning to sound like
Mafiosi in some of their messages. He added that if the EU
could remain credible on Iran non-proliferation, it would be
more credible as it seeks to engage in the Middle East peace
process. Volker praised Italy's leadership on Lebanon and
stressed the importance of not giving Syria the impression
that Damascus had a role to play in Lebanon. Terzi said
Italy had to talk with Syria because of the Italian presence
in UNIFIL, but would not give Syria undeserved credibility.
He stressed the importance of training the Lebanese armed
forces and saw this as a potential role for NATO. Gentilini
added that Italy's message to the SARG was that it had lost
Lebanon and acknowledging that fact was key to ending Syria's
isolation. End Summary.


2. (C/NF) On Sept. 13, EUR PDAS Kurt Volker accompanied by
PolMil Counselor met Italian MFA Political Director Giulio
Terzi, his deputy Giaccomo Sanfelice, Director General for
the Americas Claudio Bisogniero and NATO Office Director
Gianni Bardini for a wide-ranging discussion of the bilateral
agenda. Volker, accompanied by DCM and PolOff, also met
later that day with PM Deputy Diplomatic Advisors Fernando
Gentilini and Marco Carnelos. Iran, Syria and Lebanon
discussions are reported in this message. Discussion of NATO
Summit preparations, Afghanistan, the Balkans, Kazakhstan's
OSCE Chairman-in-Office bid and Venezuela's UNSC candidacy
will be reported SEPTEL.

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Iran: Italy Grateful for Inclusion at Berlin
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3. (C/NF) Terzi thanked the U.S. for helping to find a
formula for including Italy in the recent Iran talks in
Berlin. Volker asked if the structure of the Berlin meetings
had worked well. Terzi said it had in practical terms, as it
solved the problem of a finding a formula for Italian
inclusion. Volker continued that the U.S. had been trying to
help Italy with this, and that the Secretary and U/S Burns
had raised the matter with their counterparts. "We think
having you in the discussions is a good idea." Terzi reported
that Italy remained disappointed that there had not been a
breakthrough for Italian inclusion in the EU-3, over concerns
that if Italy were included there would be problems with
China and Japan. He noted that Italy was not giving up on
getting more directly involved in the talks, given the
substantive issues at stake, and the question of Italy's
standing within the EU.


4. (C/NF) Terzi said that FM D'Alema supported preparing for
a UNSCR, while at the same time pressing Iran to comply and
keeping an emphasis on the negotiating track. Prodi's Sept.
7 meeting with Larijani had been less negative than the
Italians had expected (see ref d),and Terzi believed the EU
would remain cohesive at the Sept. 15 GAERC. He said it had
been a major achievement to get the EU and the U.S. on the
same wavelength concerning Iran, and that the common position
should not be watered down. As a next step, Volker told the
Italians that we need motion in the UNSC or progress will be
eroded, and added that the U.S. believed we would ultimately
have Russian support in the UNSC. Terzi had gotten the same
sense in Berlin, and felt the Russians were ready. However,
the Russians, he said, believe that activity at Busheir is

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not sanctionable, and, he added wryly, they also hope their
arms sales to Iran will fall outside of any sanctions regime.
Terzi said he had asked D'Alema to give instructions on
whether Italy could support moving on financial controls for
proliferators like Iran, and added that personally, Terzi
believed that made sense. He then said that if the EU could
remain credible on the Iran non-proliferation issue, it would
be more credible as it seeks to engage in the next phases of
the Middle East peace process after Lebanon. He said the
focus was already shifting to Israeli-Palestinian issues as
Abu Mazen and Hamas work out a common platform and appoint
new ministers.

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EU Role in Tandem w/Strong U.S. Ties Is Fundamental
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5. (C/NF) LEBANON/SYRIA: Volker said the U.S., including the
Secretary, had been impressed with the leadership role Italy

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played on Lebanon both in the diplomacy and on contributing
ground forces. Bisogniero replied that the path of
cooperation embarked on by the Secretary and FM D'Alema in
June in Washington had continued and been enhanced by the
Lebanon crisis and the Rome conference. Italy had proved
that it could play an important role in the EU while
maintaining its strong links with the U.S. This was the
fundamental basis of Italian foreign policy. Italy, he said,
was grateful for America's appreciation. Terzi added that
our constant consultations had achieved excellent results.
Volker focused on implementation of UNSCR 1701, noting that
if care was not taken, Hezbollah would try to rearm and put
us all back where the conflict began. The U.S. remains
skeptical of Syria's role and worries that Damascus is
feeling diplomatically empowered due to recent visits and
invitations. We don't want Syria to believe they can have a
role in Lebanon. The U.S., he continued, was aware that
Italy must have some contact with Syria because of its troops
in UNIFIL, but, he urged, this should not be high-level and
Italy should not suggest to Syria that they have a role to
play in Lebanon.


6. (C/NF) Terzi responded that FM D'Alema had been clear with
the Syrians that their bad behavior was unacceptable and that
absent a change they would remain isolated. The Italian
conversations with Syria had, he said, been tough and did not
leave the Syrians thinking they had gained credibility.
Italy had, he reported, been trying to get its EU partners to
support deployment of a civilian EU technical mission to the
Syrian side of the Syrian border to "assist" (but really to
monitor) the Syrians along the border with Lebanon. However,
the French had strong reservations. Terzi stressed that
Italy's post-1701 contacts with Syria were aimed at fixing a
porous border, not at giving undeserved credibility to Syria.
When Volker asked if there was the will in the EU to fix the
border from the Lebanese side using UNIFIL, Terzi replied
that he would know more on Friday after the GAERC, but he
expected there to be French reservation on this as well.

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Terzi: Iranians Sounding Like Mafiosi
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7. (C/NF) Terzi said that UNIFIL was coming together well,
and cited excellent help from the U.S. in defining the
strategy cell in New York. The French were pleased to see a
professional commander in charge of the operation there.
Terzi said the deal reached with the UN Administration
concerning the cell was better than Italy had expected.
Bisogniero cautioned that these are relatively easy times,
and that when things in Lebanon get more difficult, Italy
will need our close consultation and support. Terzi added
that Iran was already passing messages that almost sounded
like they came from Mafiosi. Finally, Terzi noted that Italy
was interested in an eventual NATO contribution in Lebanon,
but that it would be very sensitive and could generate
unpleasant reactions from some of the regional states.
However, he said, there are areas (maritime control,
intelligence, maybe airspace control) where NATO could play a
role. But the one he thought had most promise was NATO

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training for the Lebanese army, if the Lebanese government
requests it. Volker told him that the US would be open to
and flexible about a NATO role in Lebanon, and suggested it
could be done via a clearing house or trust fund. Any NATO
military contribution would probably have to be done as a
contribution to the UN/blue helmet mission. We're not trying
to have NATO take over from the UN.


8. (C/NF) Gentilini's message was similar to the MFA's,
noting that Italy was pleased to be part of the solution in
Lebanon and there appeared to be strong political will in
Italy to continue to play a role. Gentilini noted that the
GOI was being extremely cautious with the Syrians, and viewed
their compliance with UNSCR 1701 as a test. The
international community needed to encourage the SARG to
understand that Syria had lost Lebanon. Carnelos compared
the situation to the Balkans, where Serbia needed to accept
the loss of Kosovo before moving on. Gentilini added that
Italy insisted that the SARG could not end its isolation
until it recognized this fact. Gentilini speculated that
this could be easier than imagined. MFA DG for the Middle
East Sessa's recent trip to the region revealed that
Hezbollah had been severely weakened by the conflict.
Carnelos added that Nasrallah's comment that Hezbollah would
not have embarked on their course of destruction had the
consequences been clear indicated to the Italians that
Hezbollah was essentially admitting that they had been
compelled to attack Israel on Tehran's orders. Finally, he
noted that in Italy's view, re-launching the peace process
was absolutely critical to ultimate success in the region.


9. (U) PDAS Volker has cleared this message.
SPOGLI