Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08DAMASCUS863
2008-12-02 15:35:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Damascus
Cable title:  

GUEANT AND LEVITTE TO SARG: GOOD JOB, BUT WORK

Tags:  PREL PGOV LE IR FR IZ SY 
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FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5654
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA PRIORITY 0010
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0486
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USSOCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DAMASCUS 000863 

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA
NSC FOR ABRAMS/MCDERMOTT
PARIS FOR WALLER
LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/30/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV LE IR FR IZ SY
SUBJECT: GUEANT AND LEVITTE TO SARG: GOOD JOB, BUT WORK
REMAINS TO BE DONE

Classified By: Classified by CDA Maura Connelly for reasons 1.5 b and d
.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DAMASCUS 000863

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA
NSC FOR ABRAMS/MCDERMOTT
PARIS FOR WALLER
LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/30/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV LE IR FR IZ SY
SUBJECT: GUEANT AND LEVITTE TO SARG: GOOD JOB, BUT WORK
REMAINS TO BE DONE

Classified By: Classified by CDA Maura Connelly for reasons 1.5 b and d
.


1. (C) Summary: French Embassy DCM Nicholas Suran briefed
us December 1 on Claude Gueant and Jean-David Levitte's
November 30 visit to Damascus. After stops in Doha and
Jeddah, the two Elysee advisors delivered an oral message to
President Asad from President Sarkozy, urged Syria to make
good on its pledge to exchange ambassadors and embassies with
Lebanon by year's end, be more forward leaning on holding a
fifth round of indirect talks with Israel, and take steps now
(e.g., on Iraq) to foster better relations with the incoming
U.S. administration. Asad reportedly promised to try to
have an Embassy open in Beirut by year's end, but seemed less
sure whether the SARG would be able to name an ambassador by
then. On Iraq, Gueant questioned why the SARG continued to
assail the SOFA. Muallim reluctantly acknowledged the
agreement contained a timetable for a military withdrawal
that might stabilize the country. Asad and Muallim were
reportedly more upbeat about a possible fifth round of
indirect talks with Israel, and they requested the French to
ask Israel if it would be willing to meet Syria's demand for
a response to its six-point plan on the 1967 line of
withdrawal. Gueant and Levitte reportedly pressed Asad on
the need to cooperate with the IAEA to resolve questions
about Syria's nuclear program and to convey Western concerns
regarding Iran's nuclear intentions in advance of Iranian
Speaker of Parliament Larijani's upcoming visit to Damascus.
End Summary


2. (C) Nearly two weeks after Foreign Secretary David
Miliband visited Damascus November 17-18, President Sarkozy's
Chief of staff Clause Gueant and Diplomatic Advisor
Jean-David Levitte arrived November 30 in Damascus to
"discuss where things stand," according to French Embassy DCM
Nicholas Suran. Accompanied by the French President's Middle
East advisor Boris Boillon, Gueant and Levitte met Syrian FM
Walid Muallim and then saw President Asad, who was

accompanied by Muallim, Political and Media Advisor Buthayna
Shaaban, and Assistant Foreign Minister Abdul Fattah Ammoura.


-------------- --------------
Message from Sarkozy to Asad: Keep Momentum Going
-------------- --------------


3. (C) According to Suran, Gueant and Levitte praised
Syria's efforts to exchange embassies and ambassadors with
Lebanon but urged them to make every effort to do so by the
end of December. Gueant pressed Asad to recognize that
Syria's progress in relations with Europe had coincided with
the coming of a new administration positively disposed to
opening new relations with Syria. Syria needed to recognize
and take advantage of this opportunity and to avoid
backsliding. Working toward better relations with Lebanon
was imperative, as many in the international community were
looking to see whether Syria would meet its commitment to
exchange ambassadors by year's end and whether Syria would
refrain from interfering in Lebanon's 2009 Parliamentary
elections.


4. (C) Muallim told the visiting French delegation that
plans to acquire property for an Embassy in Beirut were
moving forward. Asad suggested the SARG was making progress
on selecting an ambassador to Beirut but, when pressed, was
less sure whether the post would be filled by year's end.
Muallim reportedly told Gueant that several candidates were
in the running and that the President himself remained unsure
which one to pick. While SARG thinking had been the first
Syrian ambassador to Lebanon should be a Christian, there
were still voices arguing for choosing a Sunni. The French
Embassy here has heard that Muallim is quietly advocating
assignment of a professional diplomat, reported Suran, but
the President's views remained unclear. Moreover, there were
different SARG views on whether Syria should appoint an
ambassador so long as Lebanon was not prepared to follow
suit. With the long Eid al-Adha holiday coming, and
Christmas after that, the French mission in Damascus was not

DAMASCUS 00000863 002 OF 003


confident the SARG would meet its commitment to name an
ambassador by year's end, according to Suran.


5. (C) In response to questions regarding Hizballah and its
arms, Asad maintained disarming Hizballah was not Syria's
responsibility. On the question of supplying weapons to
Hizballah, Asad and Muallim argued Syria's relationship with
the "legitimate resistance group" would change only after
Syria had regained the Golan. "In other words," summed up
Suran, "the same old line."


-------------- -
Syria Ready for Fifth Round of Indirect Talks?
-------------- -


6. (C) Gueant and Levitte suggested to Muallim and Asad
that Syria's willingness to attend a fifth round of indirect
talks with Israel would send a positive signal. Asad replied
that Syria was willing to meet so long as Israel responded to
Syria's six points deposited with the Turks during the
previous round. Asad, evidently thinking out loud, assessed
the pros and cons of another round so long as PM Olmert's
caretaker government remained in office. While Olmert was
too weak to deliver, he might be willing to advance the
discussions in ways the next government would not. Asad
asked Gueant and Levitte to probe Israeli thinking about
holding another round, which they agreed to do. Asad also
complained about the Israeli blockade of Gaza and urged
France to use its influence as EU President to urge Israel to
lift it.

--------------
Iranian and Syrian Nuclear Issues
--------------


7. (C) The French delegation probed Muallim and Asad on
whether the SARG had sought to clarify Iranian nuclear
intentions, as discussed in previous meetings between Asad
and Sarkozy. Asad replied he planned on getting another
Iranian perspective when newly-elected Speaker of Parliament
(and former Iranian negotiator) Ali Larijani visited
Damascus. According to Suran, Asad seemed to have a clearer
grasp of the concerns that had united Western countries in
their approach to Iran. Gueant also urged Asad to give
careful consideration to IAEA concerns regarding Syria's
nuclear program. Though signature of the EU Association
Agreement was scheduled for December 14 in Damascus, many EU
countries would refrain from submitting the agreement for
ratification as long as Syria's account with the IAEA
remained unresolved. Gueant warned that the rotation of the
EU Presidency from France to the Czech Republic at year's end
would mean a tougher EU position vis-a-vis Syria so long as
IAEA had unanswered questions regarding Syria's nuclear
program.

--------------
French to SARG: "Don't Blow It"
--------------


8. (C) According to Suran, Gueant and Levitte delivered a
positive but clear message on the need for Syria to do more.
Though the thrust of the visit was to ensure that Syria would
meet its commitment to exchange ambassadors with Lebanon by
year's end, the French envoys also pushed Syria to take
advantage of the incoming U.S. administration by backing away
from confrontational language on the newly ratified SOFA.
Muallim privately acknowledged the SOFA might actually serve
Syrian interests, but defended Syria's need to protest the
legitimization of the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Suran
reported Gueant and Levitte pushed back by reminding Asad and
Muallim that Syria now enjoyed better relations with Europe,
but without continuing Syrian cooperation and an opening to
the U.S., Syria risked backsliding into "four more years of
being on the periphery."


9. (C) Comment: It is a sign of Asad's growing comfort in
his relationship with France that Gueant and Levitte

DAMASCUS 00000863 003 OF 003


apparently left Damascus less than fully confident Syria
would meet its commitment to exchange embassies and
ambassadors by year's end. Some observers here predict the
SARG will deliver in the end, but the lack of certainty casts
at least some doubt on the good faith Sarkozy has invested in
engaging Asad. Recent readouts of Asad's meetings with
visiting diplomats consistently point to the SARG's
unwillingness to budge on key issues (relations with Iran,
Hizballah, Hamas) without a comprehensive peace package,
while offering only grudging cooperation in fulfilling
specific commitments, such as Lebanon. We expect the SARG to
make engagement a painstakingly challenging process for those
who pursue this course.
CONNELLY