SYRIAN FM MOALLEM'S VISIT TO BRATISLAVA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRATISLAVA 000463

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/CE, NEA/ELA; PASS TO NSC STERLING

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/09/2018
TAGS: PREL SY LO EU
SUBJECT: SYRIAN FM MOALLEM'S VISIT TO BRATISLAVA

Classified By: Political-Economic Chief, Susan Ball, for reasons 1.4 b
and d


1. (C) Summary. At the SARG's request, Syrian FM Moallem
stopped in Bratislava on September 30 for a meeting with
Foreign Minister Kubis en route to Damascus from the UNGA.
According to Klara Novotna, Director of the MFA Office for
Middle East and African Affairs, FM Kubis raised with Moallem
the need for greater openness regarding its nuclear program,
cautioned him about the deployment of troops near the
Lebanese border, and called for progress on the domestic
human rights front. According to Novotna, the atmospherics of
the meeting were good, and the Slovak Government confirmed
that it wants to expand educational and economic ties with
Syria and would be open to a possible visit by President Asad
to Bratislava after the Slovak Presidential elections in
April. FM Moallem also met briefly with Deputy Prime Minister
Caplovic. End Summary.


2. (C) PolEcon Chief met on October 9 with Ambassador Klara
Novotna, newly-appointed director of the MFA's Middle East
and Africa Bureau. Novotna noted that prior to a two-hour
long meeting that including MFA personnel, FM Kubis met
briefly one-on-one with FM Moallem. During the tete-a-tete,
Kubis raised the need for better Syrian cooperation with the
IAEA and the presence of Syrian troops near the Lebanese
border. According to Novotna, Moallem apparently told Kubis
that the Syrian troops had no "special task." With regard to
IAEA investigations, Moallem claimed that Syria had been very
open, allowing samples to be collected, but adding that Syria
would not allow access to military sites in the absence of
"evidence." Moallem also questioned why the U.S. had not
made its charges immediately after the site was bombed,
because the time lapse had created suspicions that the SARG
had used the intervening 6 months to hide evidence. Kubis
reportedly rebuffed the question, making clear that this was
not a salient issue; SARG-IAEA cooperation was. Kubis also
stressed that relations between Slovakia and Syria would be
negatively affected if the Syrians didn't address
satisfactorily IAEA requests.


3. (C) Novotna recounted that Moallem, in response to Kubis's
request that the SARG take more seriously the human rights
issues that the EU has raised, stated that SARG-EU working
groups were already discussing issues such as the death
penalty and freedom of the media and the SARG was open to
dialogue on any topic. Moallem did not, however, offer any
specific pledges or examples of progress.


4. (C) Moallem reportedly asked for a more active and visible
EU presence in support of Turkish-sponsored diplomatic
efforts, which he hoped would lead to direct talks between
Syria and Israel. He repeated familiar SARG positions on the
elements of a comprehensive Middle East peace and also noted
that Syria would like to develop strategic cooperation with
Iran. Moallem also offered his views on how to deal with
President Ahmadinejad, reportedly telling Kubis that the West
had not been mindful of the "Persian" mentality when it made
its overly generous offer to Iran. Moallem argued that the
offer was so generous -- particularly given the lack of
Iranian forthcomingness -- that it had been "offensive" to
Ahmadinejad. FM Kubis countered that Persian culture and
habits aside, both parties must approach this urgent issue
with pragmatism. The EU had done that, and it was
Ahmadinejad's responsibility to respond in kind. Moallem
added that most Iranians, even moderates, believe that the
government's nuclear program is essential to energy
independence and that the EU needs to do a better job
countering that argument.


5. (C) Regarding Iraq, Moallem complained that the EU should
provide Syria with more assistance to help deal with presence
of large numbers of Iraqi refugees. (Moallem repeated this
point in the subsequent joint press conference.) In response
to FM Kubis's question regarding SARG-Russian relations,
Moallem stated that despite close ties between the two
countries, Syria would not recognize South Ossetia and
Abkhazia. Similarly, Syria would not recognize Kosovo's
independence; each case, according to Moallem, constituted a
violation of international law. Moallem added, however, that
Russia had been "provoked" by the international community's
stance on Kosovo.


BRATISLAVA 00000463 002 OF 002



6. (C) Novotna explained that while the GOS was open to
future high-level visits, the Foreign Minister had clarified
to the Syrians that a presidential visit could not be
contemplated until after the Slovak Presidential elections.
President Gasparovic, during a recent meeting with his
Austrian counterpart, apparently agreed in principle to
linking an Asad visit to Vienna with one to Bratislava
sometime in the Spring. Kubis stressed to Moallem that such
an invitation would not be issued until after the April
presidential elections. Comment: the Slovaks have long
advocated the need for dialogue with the SARG and clearly
welcomed the visit. Novotna made clear, however, that the
GOS would continued to raise the tough issues with SARG
official and harbored no illusions that enough progress on
those key issues -- from human rights to support of terrorism
-- had been made.
EDDINS