ARAB LEAGUE OFFICIAL ON NPT PREPCOM, PLANS FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 000999 SIPDIS ISN/RA FOR DANIEL, STUKALIN ISN/MNSA FOR DAVIS UNVIE FOR PAPPAS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/15/2018 TAGS: PARM PREL KNPP IS EG SUBJECT: ARAB LEAGUE OFFICIAL ON NPT PREPCOM, PLANS FOR IAEA GC ISRAEL RESOLUTION REF: A. CAIRO 863 ¶B. UNVIE 232 Classified By: ECPO Mincouns William R. Stewart for reason 1.4 (b). ¶1. (C) Summary: On May 15, Arab League Disarmament Department Director Wael Al-Assad told us that the NPT Geneva PrepCom that ended May 9 did not make any progress on steps toward implementing the 1995 NPT Review Conference Middle East Resolution. He said that the Arab League would like to see progress by the end of the 2010 NPT Review Conference, or it would consider taking retaliatory steps. Al-Assad said the Arab League rejects any linkage between establishing a Middle East Nuclear Weapons Free Zone (NWFZ) and the end of the Arab-Israeli conflict. We responded that the U.S. believes a NWFZ is achievable within the context of a comprehensive peace. Al-Assad said that the Arab League is determined to introduce a resolution on Israel at the fall 2008 IAEA General Conference, and has deleted the term "threat" from the resolution. He said the Arab League would not back down from this resolution even if it meant breaking consensus again. We responded that the U.S. would continue to oppose singling out Israel. End summary. -------------- NPT PrepCom: No Movement on the Middle East -------------- ¶2. (C) Al-Assad described the April 21-May 9 NPT Geneva PrepCom as a repeat of the 2007 PrepCom with a "nicer" tone. He said that from the Arab League's perspective, there were no "upheavals," but no movement forward on implementing the 1995 NPT Review Conference Middle East Resolution. He said Egypt and the Arab League had prepared separate working papers specifying various steps toward implementing the 1995 resolution, but that there was no substantive response from western countries. We said the U.S. viewed the PrepCom as an opportunity for countries to air their views. Al-Assad said the Arab League wants to see agreement by the end of the 2010 NPT Review Conference on at least one serious step toward implementing the Middle East Resolution. He said that if no steps toward implementation were agreed at the 2010 Conference, the Arab League would consider taking various retaliatory responses, such as ceasing to sign any disarmament agreements or dropping its support for a NWFZ. ¶3. (C) Al-Assad said the Arab League rejects linkage between the establishment of a NWFZ and the end of the Arab-Israeli conflict because twenty-one Arab states signed the NPT in the midst of the conflict. He added that a NWFZ would be a confidence-building measure for peace between the Arab states and Israel. We responded that the U.S. believes a NWFZ is achievable within the context of a comprehensive peace. ¶4. (C) Al-Assad said that the U.S. did not present evidence at the PrepCom on Syria's nuclear reactor to accompany U.S. statements criticizing Syria. He said that "everyone" believes there is no evidence of a Syrian nuclear facility. We responded that the U.S. presented compelling evidence to governments on a bilateral basis. -------------- -------------- Arab League Persistence on IAEA GC Israel Resolution -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) Regarding the Arab League's draft resolution on Israel for the fall 2008 IAEA General Conference in Vienna (ref B), Al-Assad said that Arab League Headquarters had passed the draft to its mission in Vienna, and that the Vienna Mission would soon circulate the draft widely. He said that the word "threat" has been deleted from the resolution's title and its text, and reiterated that the draft calls on Israel to join the NPT without expressing any condemnation (ref A). We responded that the U.S. would continue to oppose singling out Israel, and putting it on par with the DPRK as the only two subjects of country-specific resolutions. ¶6. (C) Al-Assad replied that Israel had "singled itself out" in the Middle East by not joining the NPT. He said that the Arab League has tried to be accommodating to U.S. concerns by deleting the term "threat," and the AL would not back down from a separate resolution on Israel even if that meant breaking consensus again. Al-Assad said he plans to visit Vienna over the summer and would be pleased to meet again with Ambassador Schulte. He said that Arab League SYG Moussa CAIRO 00000999 002 OF 002 is prepared to travel to Vienna if he would be able to make progress through a visit. SCOBEY