LEBANON: FRENCH, EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS HAVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 001280

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ELA
ALSO FOR IO ACTING A/S HOOK AND PDAS WARLICK
USUN FOR KHALILZAD/WOLFF/SCHEDELBAUER
NSC FOR ABRAMS/RAMCHAND/YERGER/MCDERMOTT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/01/2018
TAGS: EG FR LE MARR MOPS PGOV PREL PTER SY
SUBJECT: LEBANON: FRENCH, EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS HAVE
DIFFERENT AGENDAS IN VISITS

REF: DAMASCUS 609

Classified By: Ambassador Michele J. Sison for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d)

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


1. (C) The purpose of French FM Kouchner's August 25-6 visit
to Beirut seems to have been to reassure the Lebanese, just
prior to Sarkozy's September 3rd visit to Damascus, that
France's ongoing rapprochement with Syria will not harm
Lebanon. Kouchner told the Lebanese that France will move
carefully, looking for proof of Syrian non-interference in
Lebanon before proceeding. Egyptian FM Aboul Gheit visited
Lebanon August 27th to express concern about the Shia-Sunni
unrest in Tripoli in northern Lebanon. The Egyptian
government is worried about the violence spreading beyond
Lebanon, including to Egypt. End summary.


2. (C) French FM Bernard Kouchner and Egyptian FM Ahmed Aboul
Gheit made separate trips to Lebanon during the week of
August 25. DCM got readouts on the trips from his French and
Egyptian counterparts.

FRENCH FM KOUCHNER: WE ARE NOT NAIVE ABOUT SYRIA, AND WILL BE
CAUTIOUS
-------------- --------------


3. (C) Kouchner sought to address concerns by some Lebanese
that France is caving in to Syrian pressure, the French DCM
said. Kouchner told his interlocutors that:
-- France will not move ahead with Syria if it does not see
progress vis-a-vis Syria and Lebanon;
-- France is not naive about Syria; on the contrary, it has
lots of experience with the Asad regime and;
-- France will be cautious, and is pursuing rapprochement
with Syria mostly to help Lebanon.


4. (C) Kouchner reported to his French colleagues these
impressions following the visit. First, while there was wide
support in Lebanon for diplomatic relations with Syria, that
is not sufficient and Syria needs to prove its good will and
willingness to cooperate. Second, there is no unity within
March 14 on important questions. Third, he was impressed by
PM Fouad Siniora, but found opposition leader Michel Aoun
"pathetic" at their meeting.


5. (C) Kouchner agreed with PM Siniora that there was not
sufficient progress on some bilateral issues during President
Sleiman's trip to Damascus. France is willing to help work
key issues if both countries request assistance. Siniora
argued that treaties between the two countries should not be
discarded wholesale; rather the positive elements need to be
retained while those that hurt Lebanon removed.


6. (C) On border controls, Siniora told Kouchner that he is
thinking of asking the EU and UN to help carry out controls
on a 100 km stretch of the eastern border that would be "not
controversial" (presumably meaning that arms smuggling and
other smuggling do not take place there). Siniora told
Kouchner the new national unity government is more difficult
for him than the previous government; he feels that the
opposition members are frequently setting traps to slow the
process in order to wait for 2009 elections.


7. (C) Parliament Speaker Berri "spoke like Siniora" with
Kouchner regarding the treaties. Berri also told Kouchner
that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon should not be made part
of the Syrian-Lebanese bilateral agenda. Berri said he was
not worried about recent harsh rhetoric between Israel and
Lebanon, telling Kouchner that he is managing the water issue
in south Lebanon to reduce tensions.


8. (C) Kouchner's meeting with opposition Christian leader
Michel Aoun was dull, the DCM said. Aoun focused on
Palestinian refugees, saying "the countries that created
Israel" must produce a solution, such as agreeing to absorb a
certain share of Palestinian refugees from Lebanon.


9. (C) Sarkozy will travel to Damascus on September 3rd, and

BEIRUT 00001280 002 OF 002


currently has no plans to travel to Lebanon, according to the
DCM. French PM Francois Fillon may lead an economic/trade
delegation to Lebanon in October.

EGYPTIAN FM ABOUL GHEIT: CONCERN ABOUT UNREST IN TRIPOLI
--------------


10. (C) Egyptian FM Ahmad Aboul Gheit came primarily to
express Egypt's concern about the continuing unrest in the
northern city of Tripoli between Sunni extremists and
Alawites, the Egyptian DCM reported. The Egyptians are
concerned about the conflict spreading, even to Egypt. The
DCM noted pointedly that the Egyptian and Saudi governments
disagree on this, with the Saudis having no concern about
Sunni Salafists' activities in Tripoli that are very
troubling to Egypt.


11. (C) Aboul Gheit passed this message of concern to, among
others, PM Siniora and former PM Najib Mikati, a wealthy
Sunni from Tripoli who is rumored to be supplying weapons and
money to Sunnis there for the conflict. The DCM said the
Egyptians expected that majority leader Saad Hariri, also
rumored to be helping the Sunni extremists, got the message.
(Hariri was vacationing in Europe at the time of Aboul
Gheit's trip and did not see him; he returned August 31.)


12. (C) Aboul Gheit's other message to the Lebanese leaders
was that they should work on promoting consensus and avoiding
violent confrontations, in part because such confrontations
can spill over to other states in the region. During his
stay he saw President Sleiman, PM Siniora, Speaker Berri,
March 14 leaders Walid Jumblatt, Samir Geagea and Amine
Gemayel, former PM Najib Mikati and MP Mosbah Ahdab, the
latter two Tripoli natives. March 14 stalwarts Jumblatt and
Geagea may visit Egypt soon, the DCM said.


13. (C) At his meeting with Hizballah leader and Labor
Minister Mohammed Fneish, Aboul Gheit asked about Sheba'a
Farms. If Israel pulled out of Sheba'a, would Hizballah
change its aggressive posture, Aboul Gheit asked? Fneish
"took this on board" and the Egyptians expect he will provide
an answer to them, the DCM said. Aboul Gheit also complained
to Fneish about Hizballah's actions during the May 7 violence
in Lebanon. Fneish did not address those complaints
directly, but instead talked about regional developments.
Aboul Gheit told several Lebanese interlocutors that he
thought the recent harsh language from Israel about Lebanon
was election posturing and not a sign of a real threat.



SISON