KIMMITT RAISES IRAQ COMPACT AND SANCTIONS WITH UN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000112 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS EMBASSY BERLIN PLEASE PASS TO DEPUTY SECRETARY KIMMITT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON PREL UNSC IZ SUBJECT: KIMMITT RAISES IRAQ COMPACT AND SANCTIONS WITH UN SYG BAN ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On February 6, deputy Treasury Secretary Kimmitt met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to discuss the Iraq Compact. Ban assured Kimmitt that he was "very committed" to the Iraq Compact, and that he would seriously consider Kimmitt's proposal that the UN host a late February/early March meeting in New York to maintain momentum for the Compact and to formally distribute the final document. Ban emphasized the importance of overcoming the reluctance of Gulf states to participate more fully in the Compact. Kimmitt and Ban later discussed UN sanctions on North Korea and Iran; Ban noted that he had recently pressed the Iranian Foreign Minister to comply fully with UN Security Council Resolutions. Ban also raised the U.S. shortfall in contributing financially to peacekeeping operations. He urged Kimmitt to work with the Congress to fully fund U.S. obligations. Kimmitt said he would look into the matter. End summary. THE IRAQ COMPACT -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Deputy Treasury Secretary Kimmitt met with Secretary-General Ban during Ban's first day back from a SIPDIS lengthy overseas trip. Treasury DAS Saeed, USUN Ambassador Sanders and Poloff (notetaker) accompanied. Kimmitt described the situation in Iraq as a "difficult challenge," and said Iraq's new democracy needed the strong support of the international community. In this, the role of the UN is "exceptionally important," said Kimmitt. He thanked Ban for the UN's role in disbursing assets to assist the Iraqi government, and praised SRSG Qazi for his work in Iraq. Kimmitt proposed an interim meeting on the Compact, hosted by the UN in New York, in late February/early March. The goal of this meeting would be to reenergize the Compact process and to formally distribute the final document, Kimmitt explained. The meeting would be open to all UN member-states at the level of PermRep, and to members of the Compact Preparatory Group at the Deputies level. Kimmitt said Iraqi officials, such as DPM Barham Salih would likely attend. Following this interim meeting, a signing ceremony could occur some months later, said Kimmitt. ¶3. (SBU) Ban replied that he was "very committed" to the Compact, and that "as a matter of principle," he was willing to host this interim meeting. He added that he was "very concerned" regarding the unwillingness of Gulf states to fully engage with regard to the Compact. He wondered if the U.S. could encourage Gulf states to overcome their reluctance, and asked if the timeframe as outlined by Kimmitt was doable, given that member states would need to prepare for such an interim meeting. Kimmitt replied that an interim meeting could be well prepared within 3-4 weeks. Ban noted that he had just returned from his overseas trip, and would need to consult with his advisers before responding definitively. Kimmitt added that an interim meeting would have the added benefit of encouraging the Iraqi government to overcome political obstacles to passing important legislation, especially the proposed hydrocarbon law. He encouraged Ban to become personally involved in the Compact process and to consider visiting Ir aq during his March trip to the Middle East. ¶4. (SBU) On February 7, Ban's Special Advisor Kim Won-soo contacted Ambassador Wolff and informed him that Secretariat staff had raised some questions about the proposed interim meeting. Kim said the UN would like to better understand our objectives. Most importantly, what outcome do we hope to achieve (i.e., what is the difference between the interim and final meetings?). Would we invite the same number of countries to both meetings? Would we expect the same level of attendance at both meetings? The UN also sought a more specific time frame for the meeting, and questioned what factors might affect the date. Finally, the UN asked who should sit in the chair for the UN once the Secretary-General had opened the interim meeting. Ambassador Wolff suggested SRSG Qazi as a possible candidate. Ambassador Wolff also promised to respond to these questions. NORTH KOREA/IRAN SANCTIONS -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Kimmitt previewed his upcoming trip to Europe to encourage the full implementation of all relevant SC Resolutions imposing targeted sanctions against North Korea and Iran. He said that the USG was looking to work with USUN NEW Y 00000112 002 OF 002 other countries in a multilateral context on these issues, but would need to see that member states were committed to effectively implementing the sanctions resolutions. Ban agreed, and said that he had recently met with Iranian FM Mottaki in Addis Ababa, and had "strongly urged" him to fully comply with all SC Resolutions. Ban told Mottaki that confronting "the whole international community" was a bad option. Mottaki suggested that Ban might be able to help "remove obstacles" with the Europeans. On North Korea, Ban said he was "very encouraged" by recent meetings in Berlin and direct contact between North Korea and U.S representatives. THE TWO PERCENT FUNDING GAP -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Ban raised the Congressionally-mandated 25 percent funding ceiling for USG contributions to peacekeeping operations, as compared to the 27 percent the USG is assessed. Although Ban recognized that Congress is the lead actor on this issue, he urged Kimmitt to encourage Congress to end the ceiling. Ban noted that the 2 percent funding gap has grown to 500 million USD, including arrears. Given the many tasks the U.S. would like the UN to accomplish, including peacekeeping operations and political missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, the continued shortfall is a "great problem," said Ban. Kimmitt, granting that this issue was more the State Department's to handle, said he would look into the situation given the SYG's request to him. WOLFF