Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07DAMASCUS185
2007-02-26 12:47:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Damascus
Cable title:
Syria/Spain, Lavrov, Palestinian Territories, Arab League,
how-toVZCZCXYZ0000 OO RUEHWEB DE RUEHDM #0185/01 0571247 ZNR UUUUU ZZH O 261247Z FEB 07 FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3019 RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC IMMEDIATE RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 6595 RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 4362 RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 2974 RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 7529 RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 1588 RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 4925 RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 1138 RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL//CCPA// INFO RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 7265
UNCLAS DAMASCUS 000185
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR PA, NEA/ARN, INR/IC/CD, INR/R/MR:STHIBEAULT AND
JMCCARTER, VOA NEWS CA, NEA/PPD:CBOURGEOIS, AZAIBACK, AND
AFERNANDEZ, IIP/G/NEA-SA MDAVIDSON
WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC
CENTCOM FOR CCPA
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KMDR PREL KPAO OPRC SY
SUBJECT: Syria/Spain, Lavrov, Palestinian Territories, Arab League,
Lebanon, Iraq (2/22)
UNCLAS DAMASCUS 000185
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR PA, NEA/ARN, INR/IC/CD, INR/R/MR:STHIBEAULT AND
JMCCARTER, VOA NEWS CA, NEA/PPD:CBOURGEOIS, AZAIBACK, AND
AFERNANDEZ, IIP/G/NEA-SA MDAVIDSON
WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC
CENTCOM FOR CCPA
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KMDR PREL KPAO OPRC SY
SUBJECT: Syria/Spain, Lavrov, Palestinian Territories, Arab League,
Lebanon, Iraq (2/22)
1. Summary: Syrian papers on Feb. 22 reported FM Walid
al-Mouallem's visit to Madrid and his meeting with his Spanish FM
Miguel Angel Moratinos on Feb. 21. Talks focused on bilateral
relations, regional issues, most importantly the situation in the
occupied territories following the Mecca Accord, and the situation
in Iraq. Both sides stressed the importance of achieving stability
and security in Iraq and maintaining its unity, territorial
integrity, independence and sovereignty. FM Mouallem briefed his
Spanish counterpart on Syria's efforts to boost stability and
security in Iraq to reach national reconciliation that will
guarantee its unity and regional safety.
Papers also reported Russian FM Sergey Lavrov's interview with
"al-Watan al-Arabi" magazine published in Moscow on Feb. 21 in which
he emphasized that solving Mideast issues requires holding a
positive dialogue with all parties concerned, including Syria and
Iran, which are important and effective parties in the region.
"Russia calls for including Syria in the Mideast peace process and
solving the Iraqi issue," Lavrov said. "Russia positively evaluates
communications between Syria and Iraq, as well as the resumption of
diplomatic relations," Lavrov said. He added that Russia is linked
by traditional friendly relations with Iran and Syria, expressing
concern over attempts by some foreign sides to direct baseless and
incorrect accusations against these two countries.
On the issue of Israeli excavations around the al-Aqsa Mosque,
papers reported that Mohammed Sa'eed Bkhitan, Regional Assistant
Secretary of the Ba'ath Party, said in a meeting on Feb. 21 with a
SIPDIS
Palestinian delegation concerned with Jerusalem affairs, that the
Israeli occupation of Arab territories is the main reason behind
problems in the region. "Israel has been rejecting international
resolutions and hindering the peace process in the region," Bkhitan
said, reiterating the importance of facing every Israeli attempt to
change the Arab Islamic identity of Jerusalem. He confirmed that
the Israeli excavations around the al-Aqsa mosque and Jerusalem
constitute an obvious violation of Jerusalem's Arab and Islamic
identity that provokes Arab and Moslem feelings across the world.
Papers also cited a statement by Arab League Assistant Secretary
General Ahmad Bin Hili to Tunisian "al-Chourouk" newspaper,
published Feb. 21, stressing that the AL General Assembly has not
received any request from any country to modify the Arab Peace
Initiative of the 2002 Beirut Summit. Bin Hili said that
"modification of the Arab Peace Initiative is not scheduled for the
forthcoming Arab summit." He added that the peace initiative
reflects the Arab strategic vision for a just settlement of the
Arab-Israeli conflict, calling for marketing this initiative on the
international level.
End of summary.
2. Selected Headlines:
"Foreign Minister Mouallem holds official talks with Spanish FM
Miguel Angel Moratinos on bilateral relations and latest
developments in the Palestinian and Iraqi arenas" (Government-owned
Tishreen, 2/22)
"Russian FM Sergey Lavrov expresses astonishment at haste at the
Security Council to form and endorse the international tribunal:
Syria and Iran must be included in Middle East peace and Iraq."
(Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 2/22)
"Regional Assistant Secretary of the Ba'ath Party Mohammed Said
Bkhitan calls for facing Israeli attempts to Judaize Jerusalem and
jeopardize the
al-Aqsa Mosque" (Government-owned Tishreen, 2/22)
"Fleeing the Hell of Iraq, withdrawal of British, Danish and
Lithuanian troops from Iraq has already been scheduled"
(Government-owned Tishreen, 2/22)
"British PM Tony Blair calls his forces to return to London.
Senator Biden calls on Bush to follow Blair's steps. Denmark
completes withdrawal of its troops from Iraq" (Government-owned
Al-Thawra, 2/22)
"The Lebanese army's anti-aircraft batteries fire at Israeli
warplanes violating Lebanese airspace. The Lebanese opposition
warns against US intentions" (Government-owned Tishreen, 2/22)
"The Quartet awaits formation of the Palestinian government. Russia
and the UN call for removing ban on Hamas" (Government-owned
Al-Ba'th, 2/22)
"Israel steps up provocations against Palestinians and makes hasty
progress towards building 3,000 settlement units in the West Bank"
(Government-owned Tishreen, 2/22)
"The Arab League prepares agenda for the upcoming Ministerial
meeting. Bin Hili: No one requested modification of the Arab peace
initiative" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 2/22)
3. Editorial Block Quotes:
--------------
"Civilization of the US Master"
--------------
Isam Dari, Chief Editor of government-owned Tishrin, said (2/22):
"Americans come from oversees to give us lessons in freedom,
democracy, and human rights. They love us so much that they bring
us gifts of warships, AIRCRAFT carriers, and cruise missiles capable
of distributing death equally and without discrimination between one
group and another....
"Americans not only want to educate us; they also want to
discipline troublemakers.... For the American master, the
troublemaker is everyone who rejects Washington's orders; everyone
who opposes the policy of diktats and makes a free, independent, and
sovereign decision, uninfluenced by the hegemony of the Zionists in
the Bush administration; and everyone who engages in resistance to
regain his land and rights....
"The American policy is characterized by full disdain for peoples'
right to live, by perpetration of mass massacres worldwide, and by
flagrant hostility toward humanity.... Americans are exporting
death and hatred to us, promoting sedition, wars, and chaos, and
inventing racist and chauvinist theories of which 'the clash of
civilizations' is not the most dangerous."
--------------
"Stagnant Commodity and Bankrupt Agents"
--------------
Khalid al-Ashhab, a commentator in government-owned Al-Thawra, wrote
(2/22): "In US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's recent remark,
that Fouad al-Saniora's government in Lebanon is the spearhead of US
plans in the region, is a full and indirect declaration of political
and diplomatic bankruptcy. The remark also shows the ideological
bankruptcy of neoconservatives, the futility of their mentality and
their failure to implement any of the US plans in the Arab region.
"Perhaps Rice's characterization of the March 14 team in Lebanon, in
addition to the assurances it must have received through undeclared
channels, might have pushed this team to the level of political
obscenity and vulgar practices....
"Naturally, President Bush's policies and strategies have failed on
the level of both the United States and the world, but their failure
will be even more resounding and they will have no glimpse of hope
as long as their agents and distributors are people like those who
are entrenched in Lebanese authority from the March 14 team, people
who fell, and with them their US commodity, into the abyss of
obscenity, abuse, and vilification...."
--------------
"Running in a Vicious Circle"
--------------
Umar Jaftali, a commentator in government-owned Tishrin, wrote
(2/22): "It was clear from the very beginning that the meeting
among Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert, and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was nothing
but a media bubble to show that the political process on the
Palestinian-Israeli track is still alive.
"US and Israeli statements before, during, and after the meeting
showed that the United States and Israel only want to abort the
Palestinian agreement, hinder the effort to form a Palestinian
national unity government, and bring the situation in the occupied
Palestinian territories back to the square of domestic fighting on
the pretext that Palestinians have not met international demands....
"The US Administration deals with the Palestinian problem with the
logic of boycott, isolation, and evasion of UN resolutions and even
of the few positive points in the Quartet's plan. This drives
Israelis toward further intransigence and paves the way for them to
further swallow Palestinian rights and avoid the issues of a
permanent solution, namely, Jerusalem, the border, and the
refugees."
Corbin
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR PA, NEA/ARN, INR/IC/CD, INR/R/MR:STHIBEAULT AND
JMCCARTER, VOA NEWS CA, NEA/PPD:CBOURGEOIS, AZAIBACK, AND
AFERNANDEZ, IIP/G/NEA-SA MDAVIDSON
WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC
CENTCOM FOR CCPA
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KMDR PREL KPAO OPRC SY
SUBJECT: Syria/Spain, Lavrov, Palestinian Territories, Arab League,
Lebanon, Iraq (2/22)
1. Summary: Syrian papers on Feb. 22 reported FM Walid
al-Mouallem's visit to Madrid and his meeting with his Spanish FM
Miguel Angel Moratinos on Feb. 21. Talks focused on bilateral
relations, regional issues, most importantly the situation in the
occupied territories following the Mecca Accord, and the situation
in Iraq. Both sides stressed the importance of achieving stability
and security in Iraq and maintaining its unity, territorial
integrity, independence and sovereignty. FM Mouallem briefed his
Spanish counterpart on Syria's efforts to boost stability and
security in Iraq to reach national reconciliation that will
guarantee its unity and regional safety.
Papers also reported Russian FM Sergey Lavrov's interview with
"al-Watan al-Arabi" magazine published in Moscow on Feb. 21 in which
he emphasized that solving Mideast issues requires holding a
positive dialogue with all parties concerned, including Syria and
Iran, which are important and effective parties in the region.
"Russia calls for including Syria in the Mideast peace process and
solving the Iraqi issue," Lavrov said. "Russia positively evaluates
communications between Syria and Iraq, as well as the resumption of
diplomatic relations," Lavrov said. He added that Russia is linked
by traditional friendly relations with Iran and Syria, expressing
concern over attempts by some foreign sides to direct baseless and
incorrect accusations against these two countries.
On the issue of Israeli excavations around the al-Aqsa Mosque,
papers reported that Mohammed Sa'eed Bkhitan, Regional Assistant
Secretary of the Ba'ath Party, said in a meeting on Feb. 21 with a
SIPDIS
Palestinian delegation concerned with Jerusalem affairs, that the
Israeli occupation of Arab territories is the main reason behind
problems in the region. "Israel has been rejecting international
resolutions and hindering the peace process in the region," Bkhitan
said, reiterating the importance of facing every Israeli attempt to
change the Arab Islamic identity of Jerusalem. He confirmed that
the Israeli excavations around the al-Aqsa mosque and Jerusalem
constitute an obvious violation of Jerusalem's Arab and Islamic
identity that provokes Arab and Moslem feelings across the world.
Papers also cited a statement by Arab League Assistant Secretary
General Ahmad Bin Hili to Tunisian "al-Chourouk" newspaper,
published Feb. 21, stressing that the AL General Assembly has not
received any request from any country to modify the Arab Peace
Initiative of the 2002 Beirut Summit. Bin Hili said that
"modification of the Arab Peace Initiative is not scheduled for the
forthcoming Arab summit." He added that the peace initiative
reflects the Arab strategic vision for a just settlement of the
Arab-Israeli conflict, calling for marketing this initiative on the
international level.
End of summary.
2. Selected Headlines:
"Foreign Minister Mouallem holds official talks with Spanish FM
Miguel Angel Moratinos on bilateral relations and latest
developments in the Palestinian and Iraqi arenas" (Government-owned
Tishreen, 2/22)
"Russian FM Sergey Lavrov expresses astonishment at haste at the
Security Council to form and endorse the international tribunal:
Syria and Iran must be included in Middle East peace and Iraq."
(Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 2/22)
"Regional Assistant Secretary of the Ba'ath Party Mohammed Said
Bkhitan calls for facing Israeli attempts to Judaize Jerusalem and
jeopardize the
al-Aqsa Mosque" (Government-owned Tishreen, 2/22)
"Fleeing the Hell of Iraq, withdrawal of British, Danish and
Lithuanian troops from Iraq has already been scheduled"
(Government-owned Tishreen, 2/22)
"British PM Tony Blair calls his forces to return to London.
Senator Biden calls on Bush to follow Blair's steps. Denmark
completes withdrawal of its troops from Iraq" (Government-owned
Al-Thawra, 2/22)
"The Lebanese army's anti-aircraft batteries fire at Israeli
warplanes violating Lebanese airspace. The Lebanese opposition
warns against US intentions" (Government-owned Tishreen, 2/22)
"The Quartet awaits formation of the Palestinian government. Russia
and the UN call for removing ban on Hamas" (Government-owned
Al-Ba'th, 2/22)
"Israel steps up provocations against Palestinians and makes hasty
progress towards building 3,000 settlement units in the West Bank"
(Government-owned Tishreen, 2/22)
"The Arab League prepares agenda for the upcoming Ministerial
meeting. Bin Hili: No one requested modification of the Arab peace
initiative" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 2/22)
3. Editorial Block Quotes:
--------------
"Civilization of the US Master"
--------------
Isam Dari, Chief Editor of government-owned Tishrin, said (2/22):
"Americans come from oversees to give us lessons in freedom,
democracy, and human rights. They love us so much that they bring
us gifts of warships, AIRCRAFT carriers, and cruise missiles capable
of distributing death equally and without discrimination between one
group and another....
"Americans not only want to educate us; they also want to
discipline troublemakers.... For the American master, the
troublemaker is everyone who rejects Washington's orders; everyone
who opposes the policy of diktats and makes a free, independent, and
sovereign decision, uninfluenced by the hegemony of the Zionists in
the Bush administration; and everyone who engages in resistance to
regain his land and rights....
"The American policy is characterized by full disdain for peoples'
right to live, by perpetration of mass massacres worldwide, and by
flagrant hostility toward humanity.... Americans are exporting
death and hatred to us, promoting sedition, wars, and chaos, and
inventing racist and chauvinist theories of which 'the clash of
civilizations' is not the most dangerous."
--------------
"Stagnant Commodity and Bankrupt Agents"
--------------
Khalid al-Ashhab, a commentator in government-owned Al-Thawra, wrote
(2/22): "In US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's recent remark,
that Fouad al-Saniora's government in Lebanon is the spearhead of US
plans in the region, is a full and indirect declaration of political
and diplomatic bankruptcy. The remark also shows the ideological
bankruptcy of neoconservatives, the futility of their mentality and
their failure to implement any of the US plans in the Arab region.
"Perhaps Rice's characterization of the March 14 team in Lebanon, in
addition to the assurances it must have received through undeclared
channels, might have pushed this team to the level of political
obscenity and vulgar practices....
"Naturally, President Bush's policies and strategies have failed on
the level of both the United States and the world, but their failure
will be even more resounding and they will have no glimpse of hope
as long as their agents and distributors are people like those who
are entrenched in Lebanese authority from the March 14 team, people
who fell, and with them their US commodity, into the abyss of
obscenity, abuse, and vilification...."
--------------
"Running in a Vicious Circle"
--------------
Umar Jaftali, a commentator in government-owned Tishrin, wrote
(2/22): "It was clear from the very beginning that the meeting
among Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert, and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was nothing
but a media bubble to show that the political process on the
Palestinian-Israeli track is still alive.
"US and Israeli statements before, during, and after the meeting
showed that the United States and Israel only want to abort the
Palestinian agreement, hinder the effort to form a Palestinian
national unity government, and bring the situation in the occupied
Palestinian territories back to the square of domestic fighting on
the pretext that Palestinians have not met international demands....
"The US Administration deals with the Palestinian problem with the
logic of boycott, isolation, and evasion of UN resolutions and even
of the few positive points in the Quartet's plan. This drives
Israelis toward further intransigence and paves the way for them to
further swallow Palestinian rights and avoid the issues of a
permanent solution, namely, Jerusalem, the border, and the
refugees."
Corbin