MUBARAK PUSHES ARAB LEAGUE AND SYRIA ON LEBANON,

S E C R E T CAIRO 000037 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/08/2018 TAGS: PREL EG SY SUBJECT: MUBARAK PUSHES ARAB LEAGUE AND SYRIA ON LEBANON, THREATENS BOYCOTT OF DAMASCUS SUMMIT Classified By: ECPO Minister-Counselor William R. Stewart for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (S) President Mubarak told the Ambassador and visiting Congressman Steven Israel (D-NY) on January 6 that he was waiting to see reactions to the recent Arab League call for immediate Lebanese presidential elections. Mubarak said he has been telling AL SecGen Amre Moussa for some time that "we (Arabs) must all sit together to find a solution to Lebanon." According to Mubarak, although Syrian Foreign Minister Muallem agreed to the Arab League statement, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad rejected it. Mubarak added that even Syrian Prime Minister Muhammad al-Otari had expressed unhappiness with al-Assad's intransigence. "Our president is making grave mistakes," he recently told Egyptian PM Nazeef, according to Mubarak. ¶2. (S) In addition to al-Assad, Mubarak blamed Syrian VP Farouk al-Shara "for spoiling everything." Mubarak said he had told Amre Moussa to remind the Syrians that the next Arab League summit, hosted by Damascus, is very soon (March 29-30). Mubarak said he had put Damascus on notice that "if there is no resolution to the situation in Lebanon, I won't go, and if I don't go, the Saudi won't go, nor will the Kuwaiti. The Qatari might go, but the rest of the GCC will only send low level representation. It will be a very bad summit. It will be a mess." Mubarak added that the last time he had met al-Shara, (comment: likely during al-Assad and al-Shara's visit to Alexandria in 2006. End comment.) he had told him, "Let's be frank. Everyone hates you. I hate you." Mubarak said he had also banned the Syrian ambassador in Cairo from attending his meetings, after an incident in which the ambassador had asked Mubarak, in front of his prime minister, "Do you evaluate Saudi Arabia as better than Syria?" a comment which had infuriated Mubarak. ¶3. (U) Congressman Israel did not clear this message. Ricciardone