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