FRENCH RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR SUPPORT FOR LEBANON

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 003772 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/10/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM FR LE SY EU SUBJECT: FRENCH RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR SUPPORT FOR LEBANON AT GYMNICH REF: STATE 125520 Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt for reaso ns 1.4. (b),(d). ¶1. (C) We delivered reftel demarche late the afternoon of September 7 to French MFA DAS-equivalent for the Levant Ludovic Pouille. He was a bit surprised to receive such a message so late, i.e., after FM Kouchner had already left to attend the Gymnich. After confirming the message was addressed to all EU member states, Pouille said that France had concluded, in light of an initiative proposed by Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, to press anew for Lebanese faction leaders to agree on a compromise presidential candidate and not to favor someone chosen by the "March 14" majority. FM Kouchner had decided in principle to add Beirut to the end of his September 10-14 trip to Israel, the West Bank, Jordan, and Egypt. On the Lebanon/Syria border monitoring group, Pouille said that France prefers to wait until after the UNSYG next reports to the UNSC in October before deciding on next steps. He explained that France would also prefer not to introduce an issue that would potentially upset the Syrians in this delicate period prior to the Lebanese presidential election. ¶2. (C) Pouille, who is part of Kouchner's entourage visiting the Levant, was unavailable for follow-up on September 10. French MFA Syria/Lebanon desk officer Jean-Christophe Auge, however, told us late that day that Kouchner had provided a briefing to EU foreign ministers focused entirely on France's efforts to help the Lebanese resolve their political crisis. He provided no details of the discussion but noted it resulted in no recorded concluding statement. According to Auge, there was no discussion of the monitoring group for the Lebanese/Syrian border. Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm Stapleton