LEBANON: GOL ATTENDING ANNAPOLIS; WILL DECIDE ON

S E C R E T BEIRUT 001807

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/GAVITO/YERGER
STATE FOR NEA/IPA, NEA/RA, NEA/ELA, CA/VO/F/P FOR JOHN
BRENNAN, CA/VO/L/C FOR TIM SMITH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/18/2017
TAGS: AMGT CVIS IS KPAL KWBG PREL PGOV LE
SUBJECT: LEBANON: GOL ATTENDING ANNAPOLIS; WILL DECIDE ON
DELEGATION THIS WEEK

REF: STATE 156471

Classified By: DCM William Grant for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

GOL WILL ATTEND BUT UNSURE ON DELEGATION
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1. (S) On November 19, the Ambassador, accompanied by DCM and
PolOff, alerted Acting Foreign Minister Tareq Mitri to the
imminent issuance of Annapolis invitations. Mitri responded
that Lebanon will be sending a delegation, but that the
current political situation in Lebanon makes the GOL unable
to send cabinet-level officials including himself. Mitri
(protect) said the best solution would be to send Lebanon's
Charge d'Affaires to the U.S., Antoine Chedid, a Christian,
as the principal, Charge d'Affaires to the UN, Nawaf Salam, a
Sunni, as one of the two representatives and possibly a third
member to represent the Shia community. He requested that we
refrain from submitting these names until he confirms this
with PM Siniora. Mitri explained the problem with sending
cabinet officials at this time is that under the different
scenarios for the outcome of presidential election which is
supposed to take place by November 23 at midnight, the
cabinet must exercise caution about any actions it takes. If
no president is elected by the deadline, the cabinet by law
takes on the powers of the presidency, but exercising those
powers in a very public way would be controversial.
Alternatively, if a president is elected, the cabinet will
immediately resign and be in a caretaker status until a new
government is formed and, as a caretaker, the cabinet would
be criticized for exceeding its authority if the Acting FM or
another cabinet official were to attend Annapolis. Resigned
yet in-office Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh will need to
authorize sending the delegation, but Mitri was confident
that PM Fouad Siniora would be able to secure his
authorization.

BIO INFO
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2. (U) Proposed Principal: Ambassador Antoine Chedid
(addressed as: Your Excellency)
Gender: Male
DOB: December 28, 1951
POB: Zahle, Lebanon
Visa status: Currently has A1 visa expiring July 2, 2012
Lebanese passport no.: 1002007

Proposed Member 1: Ambassador Nawaf Salam (addressed as:
Your Excellency)
Gender: Male
DOB: December 15, 1953
POB: Beirut, Lebanon
Visa status: Currently has G1 visa expiring June 27, 2012
Lebanese passport no.: 892007

Photos will be sent by unclassified email to the addresses in
reftel.

ISSUES LEBANON WILL RAISE
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3. (C) At Annapolis, the GOL will bring up Sheba Farms,
Israeli overflights of Lebanon and the issue of Palestinian
refugees in Lebanon. Mitri said Lebanon will insist on
implementation of the Arab Peace Initiative, including all of
its clauses.

ARAB LEAGUE TO ISSUE STATEMENT AHEAD OF ANNAPOLIS
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4. (C) Mitri mentioned that the Arab League members
supporting the Arab Peace Initiative will meet on November 22
in Cairo to discuss Annapolis. He expects the member states
will agree to attend the conference and will issue a
statement saying the conference must refer to the Arab Peace
Initiative. The statement may also mention that Annapolis
must be enlarged to include topics in addition to the
Israeli-Palestinian issue. Mitri believes the statement will
call for a follow-up/monitoring process that will include a
moratorium on Israeli settlements. Lebanon is sending its
Ambassador to Egypt to this meeting.
FELTMAN