CPA IMPLEMENTATION: ITALY PREFERS LATER,

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 002285 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/31/2017 TAGS: PREL IGAD SU UK NT NW CA IT SUBJECT: CPA IMPLEMENTATION: ITALY PREFERS LATER, HIGHER-LEVEL PREPARATORY MEETING REF: SECSTATE 159863 Classified By: Poloff Stephen Anderson, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Poloff delivered reftel demarche to MFA East Africa Office Director Fabrizio Pignatelli October 31 to encourage Italy to host a working-level meeting next week in preparation for a high-level meeting on CPA implementation. Pignatelli said Italy believes that pushing for the high-level meeting immediately would be counterproductive, as President Bashir would be unlikely to agree to attend, in Italy's estimation. Poloff advised Pignatelli that the USG is concerned that we not allow the timing of the high-level meeting to slip, of which he took note. Pignatelli said he thought we must reinvigorate the Assessment and Evaluation Commission (AEC) and use it as a tool to bring the parties to the CPA to the table. He said that the naming of a new AEC commissioner might have that effect. ¶2. (C) Pignatelli said that Italy proposes a meeting some time between November 28 and December 3, with participation from the U.S., Norway, Italy, the UK, and the EU. Pignatelli said MFA Director General for Subsaharan Africa Armando Sanguini envisions this as an "informal exchange of views" at a high-enough level that participants have "room to be flexible." Top on the agenda would be how to convince both parties to agree to participate in the high-level meeting. SPOGLI