LEBANON: FM SALLOUKH IS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 001084

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ELA
ALSO FOR IO A/S SILVERBERG AND PDAS WARLICK
USUN FOR KHALILZAD/WOLFF/KUMAR
NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/YERGER/GAVITO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/22/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PINR UNSC SY LE
SUBJECT: LEBANON: FM SALLOUKH IS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT
DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH SYRIA

REF: A. (A) BEIRUT 1067

B. (B) BEIRUT 1051

C. (C) STATE 74879

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires a.i. William Grant for reasons 1.4 (b)
and (d).

SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) Having fully resumed his role as foreign minister,
Minister Fawzi Salloukh spoke of Syrian Foreign Minister
Walid Moallem's July 21 visit to Beirut as a "positive step
forward" in establishing diplomatic relations with Syria.
Salloukh, a member of the cabinet committee charged with
drafting the ministerial statement, downplayed talk of sharp
differences in the committee. He hopes that parliament will
vote on the statement on the statement during the week of
July 28. Salloukh addressed Charge's point concern about the
GOL honoring recently released prisoner Samir Kintar by
saying that the GOL honored all of the prisoners, not just
Kintar. Salloukh expects President Michel Sleiman to visit
Washington before going to New York to speak at the UNGA on
September 23. End summary.

SYRIAN FM VISIT
POSITIVE FIRST STEP
--------------


2. (C) In a July 23 meeting at the MFA, Charge Grant
congratulated Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh on his
ministerial re-appointment and gave him the Secretary's
congratulatory letter. Salloukh was much more comfortable
than in previous meetings with embassy officials, probably
because this was the first meeting with him in his "new
status". Salloukh was one of the Shia ministers who resigned
the cabinet in November 2006 but he continued to work and
make administrative decisions. He was well aware, though,
that we dealt with Acting FM Tariq Mitri on substantive
matters and avoided meeting with him unless protocol demanded
it. Now he is back as the "full" foreign minister in the new
Siniora cabinet. While more at ease, Salloukh was not very
expansive in his responses on issues raised in the meeting.
His views on some issues tracked closely with those of his
political sponsor, Parliament speaker Nabih Berri.
Salloukh's aide Rami Mourtada, head of the MFA Americas desk
Oussama Khachab, and PolOff also attended the meeting.


3. (C) Salloukh characterized Syrian Foreign Minister Walid
Moallem's July 21 visit as a "positive step forward," adding
that relations between Lebanon and Syria should be
normalized. Moallem had two events during his visit, a
meeting with Sleiman to deliver an invitation for Sleiman to
visit Syria and lunch with Salloukh. Salloukh said that
Syrian and Lebanese delegations had hammered out the details
for beginning discussions of establishing diplomatic
relations while in Paris, following a quadrilateral meeting
including French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Qatari Emir
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani.


5. (C) Salloukh relayed that other issues discussed in the
Paris meetings were demarcation of the border between Lebanon
and Syria, security issues, and plans for Sleiman to visit
Damascus. After Sleiman's Damascus visit, Salloukh
clarified, the two countries would establish a mechanism by
which to work out the logistics of initiating diplomatic
relations. Salloukh concluded, "What happened in the past is
history; it is time for a new page in relations."

"NO OBSTACLES TO
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT"
--------------


6. (C) A member of the cabinet committee charged with
drafting the ministerial statement, Salloukh expressed his
hope that the statement would be completed by July 23 or July
24, and that the vote of confidence would take place the week
of July 28. Salloukh emphasized that any further delay would
cost the cabinet public support. "There are no obstacles up
until now," he assured Charge, adding, "There are some items
that require further discussion."

BEIRUT 00001084 002 OF 002




7. (C) Salloukh noted that he is requesting that the
statement call for the implementation of UN Security Council
Resolution 1701. Referencing 1701 would obviate the need for
separate language on Sheba'a Farms, he reasoned. (Comment:
Salloukh's specific mention of 1701 matches Berri's position,
reftel. End comment.)

GOL HONORED "ALL"
PRISONERS RELEASED
BY ISRAEL
--------------


8. (C) Charge expressed USG concern at the official welcome
given to Samir Kintar after his release from Israeli
imprisonment. Salloukh's response was that the celebration
was in honor of all of the prisoners released, not just
Kintar. He added, "If we scold Kintar for killing a girl,
then we would have to ask Israel how many children it
killed."


9. Charge also made points in ref c demarche urging Lebanon
to not support Iranian efforts to exploit the upcoming NAM
meeting, which Salloukh will attend. The FM listened and had
no substantive response.

SLEIMAN LIKELY TO VISIT
WASHINGTON BEFORE
UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
--------------


10. (C) Salloukh noted that Sleiman has the date for his UNGA
address, September 23, and hopes to visit Washington before
then. Salloukh, who will accompany Sleiman to the General
Assembly, clarified that Sleiman would not go to New York
before September 19, and so would aim to be in Washington
before heading to New York.

COMMENT
--------------


11. (C) Salloukh was clearly more engaged in his FM role than
we have seen in previous meetings, but he is still far from
being the key decision maker on foreign policy in the GOL or
even in Berri's Amal party group. End comment.

GRANT