UNAMID: ITALY CONTRIBUTING C-130 TRANSPORT,

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 002153 SIPDIS SIPDIS IO/PSC GRACE KANG E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2017 TAGS: PREL UNSC KPKO SU IT SUBJECT: UNAMID: ITALY CONTRIBUTING C-130 TRANSPORT, CONSIDERING HELOS REF: SECSTATE 136068 Classified By: A/Pol M/C Jonathan R. Cohen, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) . ¶1. (C) S/P David Gordon pressed MFA PolDir Giulio Terzi October 1 to have Italy consider contributing helicopters to UNAMID, per reftel demarche request. Terzi said he thought it was unlikely, but said he would raise the matter at a higher level. Terzi pointed out that Italy had already agreed to provide C-130 transport for 1500-2500 troops. ¶2. (C) On October 10, MFA NATO Office Director Gianni Bardini told A/PolMinCouns that Italy had not ruled out helicopters for UNAMID and that the Italian military was still considering the request. Potential Italian helicopter contributions could include two CH-47s and/or three HH-3Fs. Bardini cautioned that the financial burden on Italy would be heavy, as approximately 500 people would be needed to support the deployment. This, Bardini added, may prove more than Italy's constrained military budget can bear. ¶3. (C) Recommendation: We will continue to urge the Italians to commit helicopters to UNAMID, and believe that a similar push in New York and Washington could help move the Italians to "yes." If no decision has been made by late October, Defense Minister Parisi's October 30 visit to Washington/meeting with SecDef provides an additional opportunity to security an Italian commitment. End Recommendation. ¶4. (U) We offered to conduct this demarche jointly with our counterparts at the British Embassy in Rome, but they had already delivered the same message independently, and declined to join us. BORG