GOES WELCOMES MNF-I UNSCR DRAFT; HOPES FOR QUICK

C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN SALVADOR 002403 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/13/2008 TAGS: ES IZ MARR PARM PREL UNSC SUBJECT: GOES WELCOMES MNF-I UNSCR DRAFT; HOPES FOR QUICK APPROVAL REF: A. STATE 165490 ¶B. SAN SALVADOR 2249 Classified By: Ambassador Charles L. Glazer for reasons 1.4 (a),(b) an d (d). ¶1. (C) PolCouns delivered ref (A) demarche to Nelson Amaya, MFA Deputy Director General for Foreign Policy. Amaya, accompanied by Gustavo Argueta, MFA Multilateral Affairs Officer, and Milton Magana, MFA Director for Asia, Africa, and Oceania, welcomed the draft resolution and said MFA would be in contact with its UN mission in New York to follow its progress. Amaya hoped for quick adoption of a UNSCR extending UNSC authorization for MNF-I, needed in order for the GOES to maintain its contingent of 280 troops in Iraq. ¶2. (C) Separately, we have been urging the Salvadoran Legislative Assembly to move quickly on a vote in favor of continuing the deployment through 2008. While not a legal requirement, President Saca has sought and obtained Assembly approval allowing the Salvadoran Armed Forces (ESAF) to remain in Iraq through the end of the current UN Chapter VII mandate. We expect the Assembly to consider the issue on December 20 (its final session of the year). ¶3. (C) Comment: In earlier votes, the Assembly has referenced the governing USNCR text when approving the ESAF deployment. Given that the draft MNF-I resolution may not be approved by the Assembly's last scheduled plenary session, ARENA leadership in the Assembly may choose to approve the deployment conditioned on an extended UNSC mandate, schedule an extraordinary session during the holiday break, or provide approval in the new year. None of these options presents legal obstacles to the continued deployment in Iraq. We will keep Washington informed on the progress of the Salvadoran Assembly vote. Glazer