PRESSING POLISARIO TO DROP ITS PRECONDITION FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000261 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/04/2017 TAGS: PREL AG WI MO SUBJECT: PRESSING POLISARIO TO DROP ITS PRECONDITION FOR TALKS REF: A. STATE 39379 ¶B. USUN 225 ¶C. USUN 235 ¶D. STATE 35098 ¶E. STATE 37761 Classified By: Classified by Amb. Jackie W. Sanders. E.O 12958. Reasons 1.4 (B&D). ¶1. (C) Per instructions, Ambassador Sanders March 29 delivered (Ref A) points to Polisario New York representative Ahmed Boukhari encouraging the Polisario to drop its precondition that the Baker Plan be the basis for any discussions held with Morocco. Boukhari said he would forward the message to the Polisario leadership and provide USUN with a response in a timely manner. Boukhari, repeating and elaborating on comments previously reported (Ref B) said that the Polisario leadership's hesitancy it responding positively to the U.S. invitation -- redlines aside -- was its perception, particularly that of Secretary-General Abdelaziz, that the U.S. is no longer the honest broker it has been in the past. Twice in the past few months, Boukhari said, U.S. officials had informed the Algerian government that the U.S. could not support the concept of an independent Sahrawi state. Boukhari said that ever since the Algerian government had relayed the gist of those conversations to them, the Polisario leadership has considered U.S. actions to be part of a plan to sell out the Polisario. ¶2. (C) USUN subsequently assured Boukhari that the U.S. would support any mutually agreed solution on the final status of Western Sahara and that we are not prejudging the outcome of talks and have offered to host them as long as neither party comes with preconditions. On the Polisario reference to U.S.-Algerian conversations, we said that we do not divulge diplomatic exchanges. ¶3. (C) In an April 2 meeting with USUN, Boukhari said that the Polisario thanked the U.S. for its efforts and that, in regard to the U.S. offer to host a meeting on the Western Sahara, the Polisario had already transmitted its reply in its March 22 letter to Ambassador Wolff (Ref C). In addition, Boukhari offered a point of clarification and a comment. First, he said, the Polisario did not consider its demand that the Baker Plan be the basis of discussion as a precondition since the Baker Plan has long been supported by the Security Council. If the Polisario had demanded a precondition, it would have been that independence would have to be the basis of any discussions with Morocco. Second, returning to the Polisario leadership's concern over alleged U.S. officials' remarks that an independent Sahrawi state would fall under the threat of terrorism and that therefore the U.S. could not support such a state, Boukhari said that every one knows that terrorism is an urban phenomenon and could not occur in the Sahrawi desert. ¶4. (C) Comment: USUN has not yet conducted a straw poll to gauge how Security Council members might react to the U.S. putting forward the notion that the Moroccan initiative be noted in the April MINURSO rollover resolution. We strongly suggest that the Department consider polling Security Council capitals to ascertain whether altering a Security Council position with such a long history of calling for self-determination, as suggested Ref D, may meet with strong resistance. End Comment. WOLFF