RFG ON TIMELINE FOR IRAQ COALITION POST-CHAPTER

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUCHAREST 000371 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/NCE A. JENSEN AND NEA/IPM B. JENSEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/14/2020 TAGS: PREL MARR MOPS IZ RO SUBJECT: RFG ON TIMELINE FOR IRAQ COALITION POST-CHAPTER VII MANDATE-PART II REF: A. BAGHDAD 1037 ¶B. BUCHAREST 00250 ¶C. BUCHAREST 00057 Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Mark A. Taplin; Reasons 1.4(b) a nd (d). ¶1. (C) This is a request for guidance; see para 4. ¶2. (C) Summary: As Romania moves closer to the Supreme Council for National Defense (CSAT) meeting at the end of June that will make the recommendations to Parliament for the level of Romania's forces deployed abroad in 2009, the MFA and MOD will require a status report on the SOFA negotiations with Iraq. MFA Director for Middle East and Africa and Defense Ministry authorities are requesting an update by the first week of June. End Summary. ¶3. (C) MFA Director for Middle East and Africa Mihail Dobre raised with Poloff on May 15, the need for an update on the U.S.-Iraq Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) negotiations and Post-UN Chapter VII Mandate. He noted that there was no opportunity to discuss these sensitive issues bilaterally with the U.S. delegation at recent coalition discussions in the UK. He reminded poloff of the importance of not only preparing the CSAT, but also the need to present a completed Romania-Iraq SOFA before the ending of the Parliamentary session this fall, prior to national elections. Dobre and his MOD colleagues would like an update the week of 2 June, which would give the interagency sufficient time to clear the papers for the CSAT. ¶4. (C) Request for guidance: While we understand that precise timelines are problematic in the U.S.-Iraq SOFA negotiations, as we reported in ref b, Romania requires "visible progress on the SOFA negotiations to support the recommendation for continued Romanian troop deployments in Iraq" and subsequently "a Parliamentary decision that provides the legal basis for the deployment before September." Dobre noted that other coalition partners have similar timing restraints (he mentioned Japan). Department is requested to provide an update on U.S.-Iraq SOFA negotiations and any other related post-UN Chapter VII information that can be shared with Romania by June 4. End request. TAUBMAN