SYG BAN TALKS TOUGH ON SUDAN, PRAISES ANNAPOLIS

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 001081 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2017 TAGS: PREL UNSC SU SR AA SUBJECT: SYG BAN TALKS TOUGH ON SUDAN, PRAISES ANNAPOLIS REF: STATE 159362 Classified By: Amb. Zalmay Khalilzad, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In a one-on-one meeting with Amb. Khalilzad on Nov. 28, SYG Ban reacted positively to the Secretary's planned CPA ministerial (reftel) and said he would be more vocal in criticizing Sudanese President Bashir if Sudan did not improve its cooperation on implementation of the Darfur hybrid peacekeeping force. Ban was full of praise for the U.S. role in organizing and managing the Annapolis meeting. He said that Russian FM Lavrov pressed him hard on Kosovo during a meeting at Annapolis. Ban also announced plans to send Special Envoy Gambari back to Burma before Christmas. End Summary. ¶2. (C) SUDAN: Amb. Khalilzad delivered reftel demarche to the Secretary General on Nov. 28. Ban praised the Secretary's SIPDIS proposal for a CPA ministerial in Addis Ababa and promised to follow up with Amb. Khalilzad on details of SRSG Qazi's participation and substantive UN input on CPA implementation. Ban said he was very unhappy with Sudanese President Bashir and Sudanese Perm. Rep. Abdalmahmood Mohamad, describing the latter as impertinent and untrustworthy. Ban said that he had instructed U/SYG Guehenno to be firm in his briefing to the Security Council on Nov. 27, resulting in a strong statement in which Guehenno questioned Sudan's commitment to cooperation with UNAMID and accused the Sudanese government of putting up obstacles that would make it impossible for the peacekeeping mission to operate (septel). The Secretary General said that if Sudan's behavior did not change, he was prepared to personally be more vocal in criticizing President Bashir. Ban said that while at the Annapolis conference he had spoken to the Saudis and Egyptians about Sudan's behavior. Egypt had requested a list of actions it should press Sudan to take, which the Secretariat was working to provide. ¶3. (C) ANNAPOLIS: Ban praised the Annapolis meeting as historic and successful. He particularly admired the U.S. decision to announce the framework agreement at the beginning of the conference rather than the end. Doing so created a positive atmosphere, he said, and forced many participants to hastily revise their talking points. Rather than bicker over the outcome of the conference, parties turned instead to congratulating the Israelis and Palestinians on their agreement. Characterizing the meeting as a victory for U.S. diplomacy and for Secretary Rice personally, Ban said that the U.S. role as "facilitator and judge" is critical to further progress. The Secretary General told Amb. Khalilzad that he sees the Quartet taking on a monitoring role in the framework agreement and that he would like to see a Security Council PRST endorsing the outcome of the Annapolis conference. His staff contacted us subsequently to add that Ban would like to see the future role of the Quartet addressed in the PRST. (NOTE: Elements of a PRST are currently under review in Washington.) ¶4. (C) KOSOVO: Ban said that Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov approached him on the sidelines of Annapolis and pressed him hard on Kosovo, arguing that negotiations should continue. Ban was noncommittal in his response, telling Lavrov that he had yet to confer with his experts on the issue. The Secretary General will discuss Kosovo with EU High SIPDIS Representative Solana on the afternoon of Nov. 28 and will hold an in-house meeting with the Secretariat's Kosovo team on Nov. 29. He has agreed to have lunch with Amb. Khalilzad next week to discuss the issue further. ¶5. (C) BURMA: Ban said that Special Envoy Gambari is due back in New York by the end of the week, and that he plans to send him back to Burma before Christmas. Khalilzad