EXPANDED NEIGHBORS PREPCON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 003064

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/10/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL IZ
SUBJECT: EXPANDED NEIGHBORS PREPCON

REF: A. REF A: BAGHDAD 2683

B. REF B: AMMAN 3208

C. REF C: ANKARA 1735

Classified By: Political Counselor Matthew Tueller for Reasons 1.4d/b


1. C) SUMMARY. At the September 9 Expanded Neighbors
preparatory conference in Baghdad, participants agreed to
hold the next Neighbors Ministerial October 31-November 1 in
Istanbul. Arab neighbors greeted the GOI proposal to
establish a standing secretariat with skepticism, but with
supportive interventions from the U.S., UK, Italy, and UNAMI,
Foreign Minister Zebari stated that a summary of discussion
on the proposal would be forwarded to Ministers for a
decision. The proceedings generally glossed over the more
contentious issues and were workman-like and well organized.
However, during the opening and closing ceremonies, both
Prime Minister Maliki and Foreign Minister Zebari touched on
the underlying substance and condemned outside interference
in Iraq,s internal affairs and affirmed their commitment to
the Neighbors process as a means for dealing with this issue.
The excellent participation and MFA's success at holding the
conference indicates positive progress towards greater
regional and international engagement with Iraq. END SUMMARY

--------------
Attendance
--------------


2. (C) Save for Canada, all invitees -- the neighbors
(Kuwait, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, Bahrain
and Egypt),P5, G8 (Italy, Japan and Germany),Arab League,
Islamic Conference, and United Nations -- all sent
Delegations to the conference, which was held at the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, just outside Baghdad,s International
Zone. Out-of-town participants were scheduled to arrive on a
single charter flight, but at the last moment, the Turks made
separate arrangements. The near-simultaneous arrival of two
charters led to some confusion and delayed the Turkish
delegation,s arrival at the venue. This was the only glitch
in an otherwise well-run affair which the GOI organized with
minimal outside support. While the GOI also nominally took
the lead on security matters, the Embassy,s RSO section
provided substantial behind-the-scenes assistance and MNF-I
assets stood-by to respond if required. There were no
security incidents during the seven hour long conference.

-------------- --------------
PM and FM's Opening Statements Allude to the Substance
-------------- --------------


3. (C) Prime Minister Maliki opened the conference by
thanking his Arab brothers for coming to Baghdad, but quickly
reminded delegations that his government was the legal
government of Iraq, elected pursuant to a framework that the
Iraqi people had ratified. He renewed the GOI,s commitment
to the Neighbors process, stressing that dialogue was the
preferred means to settle "new and inherited differences",
and appealed for non-intervention in the domestic affairs of
his country. Maliki noted that the problems that plague Iraq
were also threats to the neighbors and that a stable Iraq was
in all the neighbors, interest.


4. (C) Foreign Minister Zebari cited the delegates,
attendance in spite of "the difficult current circumstances"
as proof of their willingness to work with the Iraqi people
during critical times. He appealed to them to make clear
commitments to support Iraq benevolently, principally through
"active and practical contributions to controlling borders
and banning terrorist and criminal infiltrators." He added
that "We should say transparently that those who interfere in
Iraqi affairs should stop. . .and give the Iraqi people the
right to determine their future. . ."


5. (C) Responding in English to a question from the AFP
representative during the post-event press conference, Zebari
was even more blunt. Neighboring countries, he said were
definitely interfering in Iraq,s internal affairs and the
GOI wanted to stop that by using the Neighbors process. He
added that he had spoken the previous day to the Iranian
delegation about their shelling in Kurdistan and emphasized
that this type of action would not help bilateral relations
and could undermine the atmosphere of confidence between the
neighbors. The Iranians held a press conference immediately
after Zebari and alleged that the United States supported
Kurdish separatists in Iran. (NOTE: When Zebari departed,
two-thirds of the audience also left, leaving the Iranian
delegation to speak to a largely empty room over the din of
the press packing up their equipment. End Note)

--------------
Delegations' Opening Statements
--------------

BAGHDAD 00003064 002 OF 003




6. (U) All delegations expressed support for Iraqi security
and stability and pledged to continue work through the
Neighbors process. Some highlights were:


7. (C) Arab League Representative Hisham Yousif called for
additional support and training for the Iraqi Army and Iraqi
police and demanded the departure of "foreign troops" from
Iraq. He added that the Arab League wished to establish an
account for the public to make voluntary donations to help
displaced Iraqis. He reported that the Arab League had
drafted a non-paper with recommendations to assist the
Working Groups with substance and logistics.


8. (C) Egypt,s representative Dr. Mohammad Zayid told the
conference the Egyptian military was ready to provide
training to the Iraqi Army.


9. (C) Iran,s delegation head, Deputy Foreign Minister
Mohammed Baqiri, asserted his country was ready to implement
Working Group recommendations and added Iran believed it had
a role to assist the Iraqi people at all levels, security,
political and economic. After mentioning the common border,
he stated Iran was closely monitoring the situation in Iraq
and condemned the presence of foreign invaders.


10. (C) Ashraf Qazi, head of the United Nations Mission to
Iraq (UNAMI) referred to UNSCR 1770 and solicited the
delegations, views on how UNAMI can best assist the GOI and
the people of Iraq on national reconciliation, internal
boundaries and regional dialogue. Qazi explained that
UNAMI,s role was to narrow differences on these key issues.


11. (C) French Ambassador Jean Francois Girault also
referred to UNSCR 1770 and called for greater EU and UN
involvement in Iraq. He stated France,s firm commitment to
help Iraq via the Neighbors process.


12. (C) Chinese Ambassador Chen Xiadong noted a clear
improvement in Baghdad,s security and noted that GOI efforts
were improving the quality of life in Iraq. He emphasized
that the good momentum generated by the Neighbors process
should be maintained and closed by saying that Iraqi
stability was in China,s national interest.


13. (C) The head of the Japanese delegation, CDA Owai
raised some eyebrows when he noted his country had also been
under occupation and had overcome those difficult times with
the assistance of the international community. He concluded
by saying that Japan hoped Iraq would likewise surmount its
current challenges and prosper.


14. (C) Russian Federation representative Valery Pospelov,
speaking initially in perfect Arabic then switching to
English, criticized the Energy Working group for not inviting
P5 representatives to their July Istanbul meeting. Calling
the decision a mistake that should not be repeated he
emphasized that some of the excluded parties possess
considerable potential for effective participation in
settling the problem of energy shortage in Iraq.


15. (C) Ambassador Pat Butenis, heading the U.S. delegation,
praised the GOI for successfully organizing the second
preparatory conference and called on all Iraq's neighbors to
assist in efforts to build a strong, stable Iraq. She urged
all Iraq's neighbors to categorically reject violence and to
act decisively against those who facilitate or advocate it.
(Full text of CDA remarks forwarded to NEA/I.

--------------
Working Groups
--------------


16. (C) The Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister provided a
general overview of the results of the Working Groups.
(Note: For a more in-depth assessment, see Refs A, B, and C.
End Note). Foreign Minister Zebari followed with more
substantive comments. Referring to the Energy Working
Group, he insisted that the obstacles were "technical and not
political" and added that the GOI understood its
responsibilities and had resolved outstanding issues with
Kuwaiti tanker operators. He told the Jordanian and Syrian
delegations that the GOI understood new entry requirements,
but hoped that Iraqi citizens would not be subjected to the
"whim" of border security personnel at ports of entry. He
asked both countries to distinguish between legitimate and
illegitimate travel, particularly in the case of students.
He sidestepped the GOI USD 25 million pledge for Iraqi
refugees in Jordan and Syria, telling the conference that the
GOI had not decided what to do about the money.

--------------
Istanbul Ministerial, October 31-November 1

BAGHDAD 00003064 003 OF 003


--------------


17. (C) The GOI adroitly managed this issue and pre-empted
debate over the venue by indicating in the agenda and during
Foreign Minister Zebari,s opening statement that Istanbul
would be the site for the upcoming ministerials. The Foreign
Minister also proposed the October 31-November 1 timeframe.
The Turkish delegation formally tabled the motion and the
conference adopted it without opposition.

-------------- --------------
Discussion but No Recommendation on Standing Secretariat
-------------- --------------


18. (C) The proposal to create a Standing Secretariat for
the Neighbors process prompted a lively debate that divided
the conference along linguistic and geographic lines, which
because they closely tracked the seating scheme divided the
table in two. Syria led the opposition to the motion, and
argued that establishing a permanent body sent the message
that Iraq would remain an "open problem." Saudi Arabia
referred to a standing secretariat as a potential
bureaucratic monster and suggested that the prepcon was proof
that the Neighbors process already functioned smoothly. The
Kuwaiti delegation rejected the term secretariat but added it
might consider a temporary mechanism to handle logistics and
coordination of Neighbors issues. The Kuwaitis made clear
that before committing they would require a detailed proposal
outlining the new organization,s form and function.


19. (C) Newly arrived British Ambassador, Christopher
Prentice, argued that a small, professional secretariat was
important to coordinate and engage the wider group involved
in the Neighbors process. UNAMI Coordinator Qazi said a
professional body perhaps imbedded in the Iraqi Ministry of
Foreign Affairs was necessary to implement decisions made
within the Neighbors framework. In a thinly-veiled prod to
the GOI, he added the organization could also coordinate
actions and propose solutions in cases such as the GOI,s USD
25 million UNHCR pledge. As a further incentive, Qazi also
volunteered that UNAMI was ready to allocate resources to the
Secretariat. U.S. delegation head Ambassador Butenis urged

SIPDIS
support for the proposal as a mechanism to shoulder the
burden of following up on decisions made within the Neighbors
process.


20. (C) Wrapping up the debate, Zebari told the conference
that creating a secretariat did not mean Iraqi problems were
permanent and stressed that such a body would relieve his
ministry of some of the substantial burden of managing the
Neighbors process. He agreed to prepare a non-paper for the
Istanbul ministerial summarizing the Conference,s debate but
added that the GOI would continue to support the creation of
a mechanism to support the Neighbors process.

--------------
Off-Camera
--------------


21. (C) No formal bilaterals occurred, but in an aside,
Turkish Deputy Special Envoy for Iraq Murat Ozcelik told CDA
and POL/C that the election of Abdullah Gul would create a
new attitude in Ankara towards dealings with Iraq in general
and a more open approach to Iraqi Kurds in particular.
BUTENIS