AMBASSADOR'S OCTOBER 22 MEETING WITH FM BILDT RE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 STOCKHOLM 001316

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/23/2017
TAGS: PREL EUN PGOV IZ BS SR SW
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S OCTOBER 22 MEETING WITH FM BILDT RE
IRAQ

REF: A. STATE 140269

B. STOCKHOLM 1284

C. CAGAN/SILVERMAN OCT. 18 TELCON

D. BUTLER/SILVERMAN OCT. 19 EMAIL

Classified By: Ambassador Wood, reason 1.4 (b) and (d).

Summary
--------------

1. (c) Ambassador met October 22 with Foreign Minister Carl
Bildt, reviewing the roles of Sweden and the EU in Iraq,
Bildt's November 12-14 trip to the U.S.:

Iraq:

-- Bildt welcomed a Nov. 1 post-Bahrain MNF-I conference
back-brief by NEA DAS Butler and DOD DAS Cagan.

-- Sweden supports efforts to beef up the roles of the EU and
the UN in Iraq, and hopes for specific conclusions for the
November GAERC based on a joint Sweden/France/UK initiative
in the EU.

-- Sweden has strong connections to Kurdish Northern Iraq;
Sweden provides assistance now through NGOs and has been
asked by Iraqi FM Zebari to put its flag on an assistance
program.

Bildt to U.S. November 12-14:

-- Bildt has a meeting with the Secretary November 13 and
seeks meetings with Defense Secretary Gates and NSA Hadley.

Bosnia:

-- Bildt said that the instability in Kosovo is affecting
Bosnia and Macedonia, with Bosnia looking "distinctly
fragile."

End Summary.

Sweden and Iraq
--------------

2. (c) During an October 22 meeting largely focused on
Iraq-related issues, Foreign Minister Bildt confirmed to the
Ambassador that while Sweden would not attend the MNF-I Oct.
29-31 Conference in Bahrain (refs A and B),it would welcome
our offer of a November 1 post-conference brief by State NEA
DAS Larry Butler and DOD DAS Debra Cagan (refs C and D).
Because Bildt will be out of the country in Tbilisi and Kyiv
on November 1, he has arranged for Butler and Cagan to meet
with MFA Deputy FM Frank Belfrage and a group of other
Swedish officials.


3. (c) Bildt was very interested to learn that the Bahrain
meeting agenda included a discussion of the UN mission to
Iraq. Bildt said he had met with UNSR Stefan di Mistura in
New York on the margins of the UNGA and had offered him
personnel to support his physical operation, including
security, but had not yet heard back.


4. (c) Bildt said he would like to beef up both EU and UN
roles in Iraq. Bildt referred to the Sweden/UK/France joint
paper that had served as a basis for EU discussion and
provided us a copy (faxed to NEA-Butler, NSC-Germano, and
EUR/NB-McDowell). The EU's mood on Iraq, Bildt said, had
gone from "tentative" prior to the August-September visits of
FMs Kouchner and Bildt to more receptive: "what can we do?"
The European Commission had also presented a paper on Iraq.
Sweden and the UK believe there is a need for a concrete,
specific Iraq conclusions at the November GAERC. Bildt seeks
to have the EU take a more active role in diplomacy focused
on Iraq's neighbors -- Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia -- who
see Mesopotamia as a battleground.


5. (c) Bildt said attention must also be given to Turkish
concerns about the PKK in Northern Iraq. It was important to
avoid an explosion in the North. Sweden hosted a large
number of Kurds (note: the largest component of Sweden's
estimated 100,000 Iraqis),and many of them, after having
become Swedish citizens, have returned to Iraq. Swedish was
now, Bildt said, commonly heard in Northern Iraq. Sweden is
seeking a repatriation agreement with Iraq to facilitate
return; its Ambassador was in Baghdad Oct. 22 pursuing this.
Bildt said "you will see an increased Swedish presence in
Northern Iraq, be it political, commercial, aid development,
or all of the above."


6. (c) MFA Near East and North Africa Director Peter Tejler

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added that Sweden was working through NGOs on enlarging
airports and other projects as well as with expatriate-owned
(Kurdish-Swede) companies.


7. (c) Bildt said that when he was in Baghdad September 1-2,
Iraqi FM Hoshyar Zebari suggested that Sweden put its flag on
an assistance project, rather than providing partial
financing and running it through an NGO. (Comment: We
suggest that Butler/Cagan come to Stockholm with a specific
proposal to raise with the Swedes; something aid-related and
in Northern Iraq is likely to be easiest for them to do. End
Comment.)


Bildt to U.S. November 12-14
--------------

8. (c) Bildt said during his November 12-14 visit, he hoped
to meet with Secretary Rice (we understand this is confirmed
for November 13),Secretary of Defense Gates, and National
Security Adviser Hadley.

Kosovo and Neighbors
--------------

9. (c) Bildt said that the instability in Kosovo is
affecting Bosnia and Macedonia. Bosnia, he said, looks
"distinctly fragile" at the moment. Bildt had spoken with
COE SYG Terry Davis a few days earlier; Davis said there was
some doubt November 17 elections would take place. Bildt
said the current state in Kosovo "cannot go on."
WOOD