DEAMRCHE TO AUSTRIA ON PRESERVING THE

S E C R E T VIENNA 003459 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA AND EUR/AGS - SAINT-ANDRE E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/01/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER KDEM MOPS LE AU SUBJECT: DEAMRCHE TO AUSTRIA ON PRESERVING THE DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENT OF LEBANON REF: STATE 193090 Classified By: A/DCM Gregory E. Phillips. Reason: 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) A/DCM presented reftel demarche on November 30 to Austrian MFA Middle East and Africa Director Ralph Scheide. ¶2. (S) Scheide said Austria, like the rest of the EU, had a clear position in supoprt of the UN Security Council resolutions on Lebanon. Austria will support Lebanese sovereignty in contacts with the Syrians. ¶3. (S) Scheide noted that there was talk of locating the special Tribunal for Lebanon in Vienna. (He said other locations in the rumor mill were Cyprus and Geneva.) Scheide said that there was reason to believe that Vienna would be a more acceptable location for the Syrians, since Detlev Mehlis had only been able to get the Syrians to agree to come to Vienna for the purpose of providing statements on the assassination of Rafik Hariri. Scheide said that Austria was not actively seeking to host the Tribunal -- it would be "neither easy nor pleasant," he said -- but Austria would do so if necessary. MCCAW