SYG BAN TALKS TOUGH ON SUDAN, PRAISES ANNAPOLIS

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 001081

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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

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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

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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