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 -------------- ¶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 -------------- ¶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 -------------- ¶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 -------------- ¶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