ALGERIA RESPONSE ON LEBANON BUILDING ON ARAB

C O N F I D E N T I A L ALGIERS 000587 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2028 TAGS: PGOV PREL LE SY AG SUBJECT: ALGERIA RESPONSE ON LEBANON BUILDING ON ARAB LEAGUE EFFORTS REF: A. STATE 52061 ¶B. ALGIERS 00141 Classified By: AMBASSADOR ROBERT S. FORD. REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) During a May 20 reception, Ambassador collared Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci and relayed reftel demarche message. Ambassador said the U.S. strongly supports the Arab league mediation of the Lebanon crisis and the agreement announced in Beirut on May 15. Medelci said that Algeria appreciates U.S. efforts in support of the Arab League initiative, and that he was hopeful the agreement would put Lebanon the right track. Despite the outstanding factional problems, Medelci seemed optimistic in general. (Note: this conversation took place before the May 21 announcement of the details of the political deal among the Lebanese. End note.) ¶2. (C) Ambassador told Medelci that we hoped the final agreement would not give Hizballah political gains for its behavior. Medelci immediately claimed that the Arab League and Algeria did not want to see Hizballah makes gains. More importantly, he said, Lebanon itself does not want Hizballah to make such gains. ¶3. (C) Comment: Medelci and his top advisor on Middle East issues, MFA Director General Abdelhamid Bouzher, returned from Doha on May 19, and we are still trying to get an appointment to see Bouzhaer. From our perspective, the real utility of Algeria in efforts to broker a solution in Lebanon is the relatively good relations Algeria has with Syria. Getting Algeria to put pressure on Syria to end its support to Hezbollah will not be easy. Hezballah enjoys real popularity on the Algerian street still. Moreover, a senior GoA insider told Ambassador on May 14 that it is difficult for the Algerians to lean hard on Syria. He recalled the historic ties between Algeria and Syria that date back to the 19th century, when Algerian resistance fighters had to quit the fight against France and found refuge in Syria. The Algerians' gratitude continues to this day, and so Algeria will never go too far to push the Syrians. End Comment. FORD