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