ENGAGING OMAN ON IRAN/IRAQ: OMANI OFFICIALS

S E C R E T MUSCAT 000331 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/30/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL IZ MU SUBJECT: ENGAGING OMAN ON IRAN/IRAQ: OMANI OFFICIALS UNAVAILABLE FOR GCC BRIEFING REF: A. STATE 45358 ¶B. MUSCAT 308 (NOTAL) ¶C. MUSCAT 253 Classified By: Ambassador Gary A. Grappo for Reasons 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (U) This message contains an Action Request; please see paragraph 5. ¶2. (S) The Ambassador extended ref A invitation on April 30 to Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs Yusef bin Alawi and encouraged him, as well as his counterpart in the Royal Office, to travel to a GCC capital of his choice to attend a comprehensive briefing on Iraq-related issues. Without explanation, bin Alawi stated that he could not accept the invitation. The Ambassador pushed back, stating that this briefing initiative came from the Secretary and would prove useful in addressing concerns or questions that the Omani government had regarding Iraq. Bin Alawi declined the invitation, nevertheless. He offered, however, to send Oman's ambassador to the UAE to attend the briefing in Abu Dhabi in his place. ¶3. (S/NF) Post also delivered ref A invitation via GRPO channels to Lieutenant General Sayyid Munthir bin Majid al-Sa'id, Head of Liaison and Coordination Service, Royal Office. Like bin Alawi, Sayyid Munthir declined the invitation for the Royal Office citing preparations for an extended trip out of the country. ¶4. (S) Comment: The response of both interlocutors to the invitation reflect the intense focus currently placed on the Sultan's upcoming trip to Abu Dhabi, Sharm el Sheikh and Europe (refs B, C). The Sultan and his entourage will likely depart Muscat near the end of the next Omani work week (i.e. around May 7) for his first stop in the UAE before moving on to Egypt, where he will likely stay for approximately 10 days before starting the European leg of his travels. Accordingly, even if the U.S. briefing team had been able to include Muscat in its agenda, it is questionable whether the Omanis would have been able to receive them. End Comment. ¶5. (S) Action Request: Both bin Alawi and Sayyid Munthir (along with others) will accompany the Sultan in May to official meetings abroad, although they will likely return to Muscat when the Sultan's trip becomes more personal in nature, i.e. some time in late May. Given the Sultan's response to the Ambassador's recent appeal for Oman to do more to engage with Iraq (ref B),Post believes the Omanis would benefit greatly from the briefing and might be more interested once the Sultan's official visits are completed. Therefore, Post proposes that the Department consider re-deploying the briefing team, or at least some members of it, to Muscat in late May or early June. Finally, the Department is asked to confirm whether Oman's ambassador in the UAE may attend the briefing there. End Action Request. GRAPPO