ERBIL: DE MISTURA SAYS KRG STILL COMMITTED TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002209

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/15/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: ERBIL: DE MISTURA SAYS KRG STILL COMMITTED TO
PROCESS

REF: A. REF A: BAGHDAD 1743

B. REF B: BAGHDAD 1733

C. REF C: BAGHDAD 2150

Classified By: RRT Erbil Regional Coordinator Jess Baily for Reasons 1.
4 (b,d).

This is an Erbil Regional Reconstruction Team message.


1. (C) Summary: UN SRSG Staffan de Mistura met in mid-July
with Kurdish officials in the wake of the release of his
Phase I reports on Disputed Internal Boundaries (DIBs) and
the criticism of the process those reports had caused. De
Mistura remained confident that the Kurdish leadership will
stay engaged through Phases II and III, agreed to adjust some
of the details laid out in the initial reports, and stressed
to Kurdish leaders that the UN process aims to set the stage
for discussion, rather than offer final solutions on DIBs.
He encouraged them to look beyond the details and take
advantage of this historic opportunity for resolution the
process was offering. End summary.


KRG Leadership Remains Engaged in DIBs Process
-------------- -


2. (C) In July 11-14 meetings with KRG President Masoud
Barzani, PM Nechirvan Barzani, KRG Vice President Kosrat
Rasul, Politburo members of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
(PUK),as well as Sulaimaniyah-based judges and academics, UN
SRSG de Mistura heard restatements of public criticism
leveled at him and the UN Phase I reports on DIBs, but
nothing that had not already appeared in the press, his chief
of staff Siddharth Chatterjee told RRT Regional Coordinator
on July 14. Chaterjee noted that de Mistura, drawing on
conversations earlier in the week with KNA officials, had
largely disarmed and deflected his critics in the Kurdish
leadership by acknowledging some shortcomings in the UN,s
Phase I reports and promising to allow for more consultation
in Phases II and III. By his last meeting with PM Barzani
the tone had become more collegial, and Nechirvan admitted
that the Kurds had increased expectations vis a vis Kirkuk,
to which de Mistura responded that the UN process could
provide the &wiggle room8 for the KRG to lower expectations.


KNA Still Committed Despite Public Posturing
--------------


3. (C) In a July 11 meeting in Erbil with RRT Regional
Coordinator, de Mistura characterized his July 10 meetings
with Kurdistan National Assembly (KNA) members as broadly
positive. He said the Kurds, critical public rhetoric
differs from their private reaction to the Phase I initial
reports on resolving Disputed Internal Boundaries (DIBs),and
underscored his belief that the Kurdish leadership - despite
its public criticism of the initial reports - remains willing
to engage through the release of the Phase II and III
reports, expected by the end of September. Di Mastura
explained that he was trying to maintain forward momentum on
the process while managing reactions and expectations. His
advice to the Kurdish leadership was not to get too bogged
down in the details at this very initial stage, to view the
process as an historic opportunity, and to refrain from
overreactions that would &give the Arabs on a silver
platter8 either the option of armed conflict over Kirkuk or
inertia on the issue for another 50 years.


Di Mastura to Adjust Details of Phase I
--------------


4. (C) Noting that the strong Kurdish reaction to Phase I
was, in some ways, justified, de Mistura indicated that he
and his team were ready to &adjust the details8 in
preparing the second and third phases, and that the next
round of reports would include a &re-presentation8 of Phase

I. He agreed to at least two changes due to Kurdish
criticism: 1) inserting language referring to the historic
victimization of the Kurdish people, and 2) removing
references to tribes in the Akre portion of the Phase I
reports, which de Mistura admitted were included in an
unsuccessful attempt by the UN to &demonstrate its knowledge
of the region,8 but which had unintentionally touched nerves
and caused offense, particularly with Masoud Barzani. De
Mistura stressed that he is attempting to extend the Article
140 process under the &new clothes8 of UNSCR 1770; and was
pleased that his primary concerns - the end of the six-month
extension on June 30 causing friction or the parties ignoring
the Phase I reports ) had not materialized.



BAGHDAD 00002209 002 OF 002


Akre, Qaraj, Hamdaniya, and Mandali
--------------


5. (C) In his conversations with KNA officials, de Mistura
discussed in turn the four disputed territories covered in
Phase I. In response to Kurdish questioning over why he
chose to include Akre, an area under Kurdish control for
years, de Mistura responded that the inclusion of Akre was
appropriate in the process if only to bestow legitimacy on
the status quo. Regarding Qaraj (a piece of Makhmur district
which de Mistura recommended splitting off from the KRG),the
SRSG explained to his Kurdish interlocutors that he had heard
opposing views from Kurds and Sunnis about the possible
reactions of 11,000-15,000 tribesmen should the district fall
under Kurdish administration, and that he would be happy to
facilitate a meeting between them and Vice President Tariq
al-Hashimi to discuss the question. On Mandali, de Mistura
responded to Kurdish criticism that it should have been
treated the same as Qaraj ) and thus returned to the KRG )
by arguing that the comparison is invalid because Mandali is
already a sub-district and the two face different conditions.
On Hamdaniya, de Mistura assured his critics that the
security of minorities in the area was paramount and that any
change in status or removal of Peshmerga forces currently
offering protection could only occur once the five conditions
in the initial reports were implemented or became
implementable.


De Mistura: Best Opportunity in 87 Years
--------------


6. (C) De Mistura underscored that he had stressed to the
Kurdish leadership that the process would serve as a basis
for negotiation and discussion should the parties choose to
use it, and that ¬hing would be cast in iron8 until a
final decision by the GOI. He told RRTOffs &If they want to
negotiate, then they will have the means for it ) one that
was better than a hostile referendum or a battle for
Kirkuk,8 and the best opportunity for resolving the issue in
87 years.


7. (C) Lastly, de Mistura,s message to Senior Advisor
Krajeski and RRT Erbil was to &keep doing what you are
doing.8 The critical message to keep the Kurdish leadership
in the game is to stay in the process, not to overreact or
fixate on the details at this early stage. De Mistura said
he is happy to be the lightning rod for public criticism
aimed at domestic political consumption as long as the KRG
remains at the table.
CROCKER