ARAB LEAGUE FOREIGN MINISTERS DISCUSS IRAQ,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 000582 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/05/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV ARABL KPAL EG IS IZ SUBJECT: ARAB LEAGUE FOREIGN MINISTERS DISCUSS IRAQ, PALESTINE AND OTHER REGIONAL HOT-SPOTS Classified by Minister Counselor for Economic and Political Affairs, William R. Stewart, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) In anticipation of an upcoming annual Arab Summit, scheduled for late March in Saudi Arabia, foreign ministers of the Arab League (AL) met in Cairo on March 3-4 to prepare the summit agenda and discuss a variety of pressing regional issues. Among those issues were the Arab-Israeli conflict, Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan, Somalia, and nuclear proliferation. Despite speculation that the 2002 Arab peace initiative might be amended to make it more palatable for Israel, it appears that any such decision will be left for Arab leaders to decide in the run-up to the March 28-29 Summit. Nevertheless, AL Secretary General Moussa emphatically rejected any amendments to the Beirut 2002 initiative during his opening remarks. End summary. -------------- Iraq Issues -------------- ¶2. (C) Foreign ministers from the Arab League met in Cairo on March 4, in preparation for a March 28-29 Arab summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari attended for Iraq, seeking AL endorsement of a March 10 sub-ministerial meeting of Iraq's neighbors and others in Baghdad (ref C). The ministers welcomed the March 10 meeting, where a decision is expected to emerge regarding a vetted follow-on regional ministerial on Iraq. Egyptian MFA Assistant Minister for Arab Affairs Hani Khallaf and MFA Spokesman Alaa Hadidi are expected to attend the March 10 meeting on behalf of Egypt. According to MFA Cabinet staff member Nazih El Negeiry, none of the Arab ministers in attendance objected to Egypt's offer to host a follow-on ministerial. In addition to the neighbors meeting, SYG Moussa and ministers repeated the AL's previous calls for a timetable for MNF-I withdrawal, formalized within a new UNSC resolution. Media reports that the AL appointed Ambassador Tareq Abdel-Salam to replace the previous League envoy in Baghdad, Moroccan diplomat Mokhtar Lamani, appear incorrect. AL Press Secretary Alaa Rushdy told poloff on March 5 that Abdel Salam, the current Deputy of the AL's Baghdad mission, will remain in place while the League seeks a permanent replacement for Lamani. -------------- Arab-Israel Peace Initiative -------------- ¶3. (C) Despite press speculation, and public remarks by Israeli Foreign Minister Livni on the subject, there are no indications that ministers agreed to any fundamental alterations of the 2002 Beirut Arab peace initiative toward Israel. In fact, SYG Moussa in his opening speech said "the Arab peace initiative expresses an Arab consensus and will not be re-drafted as demanded by some foreign powers. Maneouvering and watering down (the initiative) will be a strategic mistake, and perhaps would lead to new bloodshed." Asked about the issue, Jordanian DCM Waleed Obeidat, shared his view that the issue would be handled by Arab leaders in the run-up to the March 28-29 summit, as the regional peace process was in flux, and "too important a topic to be left to foreign ministers." -------------- Palestinian Issues -------------- ¶4. (SBU) In addition to the Beirut Initiative issue, ministers agreed to a number of predictable resolutions on Palestine, including calls for support for a national unity government, budgetary support for the Palestinian Authority, support for protection of the Al Aqsa Mosque and other Islamic sites in Jerusalem, and various condemnations of Israeli policies in the occupied territories. -------------- Lebanon, Hariri Tribunal -------------- ¶5. (C) After a lengthy back-and-forth between the Syrian and Lebanese delegations, brokered by the League Secretariat Chief of Staff, the two sides agreed to resolution language on establishment of an international tribunal to investigate the assassination of former PM Hariri and other Lebanese political figures. According to Egyptian MFA cabinet staffer Nazih El Negeiry, the two sides ironed out language on the court, agreeing to a "national dialogue" (i.e., "tawafuq") to CAIRO 00000582 002 OF 002 determine the court's establishment -- something slightly less than a national consensus, as proposed by Syria. The Syrians, he said, wanted Arab ministers to endorse language that would essentially enshrine a veto over the court's creation by March 8 opposition forces -- "a non-starter for Egypt and others." Negeiry was pleased that the ministers formally endorsed creation of the tribunal, but recognized that the diplomatic wrangling had no real impact on the tense situation on the ground in Lebanon. -------------- Sudan/Somalia -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Ministers agreed to resolutions presented by the Governments of Sudan and Somalia, respectively, with little substantive contribution to peace-keeping operations in either country. There was no mention of Algeria's reversal of its pledge to assist with air-lift for African Union troops to Somalia, nor any substantive financial contributions announced for either Darfur or the African Union's peace-keeping operations. Privately, Arab League staff have told us that they are willing to look at early April dates for hosting the next meeting of the International Contact Group on Somalia at League headquarters in Cairo. The AL ministers did not formally address this subject on March 4. -------------- Nuke-Free Middle East -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Arab ministers also agreed to an Egyptian draft resolution dealing with the NPT and a nuclear weapons free Middle East. The AL resolution, according to League Spokesman Alaa Rushdy, questions a recent UK invitation letter dealing with the 2010 NPT Revcon which leaves out any mention of a 1995 Revcon resolution dealing with a nuclear weapons-free Middle East. The AL resolution demands the UK re-send its letter including the Middle East zone language, and insists upon implementation of the 1995 resolution. Ministers also repeated previous AL calls for increased Arab attention toward, and access to, technology and training in the fields of peaceful uses of nuclear energy. (Note: This issue was first introduced by Sudan at the 2006 March summit in Khartoum. End note) -------------- Libya Backs Out of Summit -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Providing perhaps the only drama to a gathering that one Arab diplomat contact called the "most boring meeting he had ever attended," Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel Rahman Shalgam asserted that Libyan leader Qadhafi would not attend the late March summit in Riyadh. In his closed-session remarks to ministers, Shalgam reportedly questioned the AL's parliamentary procedures by which Riyadh last year in Khartoum declined to host this year's summit, but later recanted its decision. To reporters after the session, he also questioned the League's growing hostility toward Iran, instead of toward Israel. RICCIARDONE