NAZIF READOUT ON BASHIR AND DARFUR: COOL AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 001207 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR NEA/ELA E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2017 TAGS: PREL UNSC KPKO EG SU SUBJECT: NAZIF READOUT ON BASHIR AND DARFUR: COOL AND UNRECEPTIVE REF: A. CAIRO 1189 ¶B. STATE 52648 ¶C. STATE 51828 Classified By: Minister-Counselor for Economic and Political Affairs William R. Stewart for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Prime Minister Nazif on April 23 told the Ambassador that his recent meeting with Sudanese President Bashir and Vice President Ali Osman Taha in Khartoum had been "cool." Bashir was "unreceptive" and "not interested in cooperating" on the issues Nazif raised, including Darfur. Nazif said he urged Bashir to cooperate with the UN and the African Union, but Bashir was noncommittal. "The Sudanese always promise but never deliver," Nazif lamented. ¶2. (C) The Ambassador told Nazif that we had earlier delivered ref Sudan demarches to the Foreign Ministry. Keying on President Bush's April 18 Holocaust Memorial speech, the Ambassador summarized the demarches for Nazif, stressing that it would be very helpful for President Mubarak to state publicly what he privately told two recent CODELS, i.e., that Egypt was prepared to send additional forces to the UN and/or AMIS for peacekeeping operations once a Darfur Peace Agreement was signed by all parties. While the U.S. would prefer Mubarak's unqualified support for PKO in Darfur, the Ambassador said, we would still welcome his public re-statement of what he had repeatedly told us privately. ¶3. (C) The Ambassador told Nazif that we had been working with the Ministry of Defense on the GoE agreement to sell thirty-six APC's to the UN to help with peacekeeping in Darfur. It was unclear what the status of the sale was. Nazif said he was unfamiliar with the offer, but said he would check to see where it stood. JONES