JORDAN SUPPORTS U.S. APPROACH TO LEBANON, SINIORA

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 001535 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/20/2018 TAGS: PREL LE JO SUBJECT: JORDAN SUPPORTS U.S. APPROACH TO LEBANON, SINIORA REF: STATE 52061 Classified By: Ambassador David Hale for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Ambassador delivered reftel demarche on support for Lebanon to Royal Court Chief Bassem Awadallah and Foreign Minister Salaheddin al-Bashir on May 18. Awadallah and Bashir agreed to both the U.S. approach to Lebanon, and to the need for complete support for Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. ¶2. (C) Bashir has said that it was unacceptable for Hizballah to emerge from the latest conflict in Lebanon with a greater legal mandate for its arms or a stronger POLITICAL position. Bashir hoped that more could be done to tackle the relationship between Lebanon's state and non-state actors, and agreed that the bottom line was that Hizballah should not gain any more protection during negotiations. ¶3. (SBU) Post notes that King Abdullah's speech at the World Economic Forum meeting at Sharm al-Sheikh on May 18 strongly supported the legitimate government of Lebanon: "In Lebanon, the recent escalation brings dangerous threats of sectarian strife and revives fears of civil war. The Lebanese people are now made to pay the price of external powers' interference. It is crucial that the Lebanese make their own decisions and resolve their own differences, independent of external influences." Visit Amman's Classified Website at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman Hale