Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08NICOSIA935
2008-11-26 14:31:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Nicosia
Cable title:
CYPRUS: ROC POSITION UNCHANGED ON ANTI-ISRAEL
how-toVZCZCXRO0390 RR RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSR DE RUEHNC #0935 3311431 ZNY CCCCC ZZH R 261431Z NOV 08 FM AMEMBASSY NICOSIA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9373 INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 6452 RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 1925 RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1268 RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
C O N F I D E N T I A L NICOSIA 000935
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE, IO/UNP (ANDREW MORRISON),NEA/IPA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/25/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV UNGA MEPP CY IS
SUBJECT: CYPRUS: ROC POSITION UNCHANGED ON ANTI-ISRAEL
UNGA RESOLUTIONS
REF: A. SECSTATE 123081
B. 07 NICOSIA 945
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Jonathan Cohen, Reasons 1.4 (b),
(d)
C O N F I D E N T I A L NICOSIA 000935
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE, IO/UNP (ANDREW MORRISON),NEA/IPA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/25/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV UNGA MEPP CY IS
SUBJECT: CYPRUS: ROC POSITION UNCHANGED ON ANTI-ISRAEL
UNGA RESOLUTIONS
REF: A. SECSTATE 123081
B. 07 NICOSIA 945
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Jonathan Cohen, Reasons 1.4 (b),
(d)
1. (C) The Embassy on November 21 shared Ref A points
regarding anti-Israel UN General Assembly resolutions with
Cypriot MFA Middle East Desk Officer Dionysus Dionysiou. In
a follow-up call on November 24, PolChief reviewed the
overarching U.S. objective for the Middle East peace process
-- to see two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living
side-by-side in peace and security. UNGA's historical
anti-Israel bent and the flurry of one-sided resolutions it
passed every year worked against a settlement, he emphasized.
In 2008, the United States hoped to see the overall number
of anti-Israel General Assembly resolutions drop, and the
defeat of three that reaffirmed the existence and activities
of UN bodies which promoted a culture of bias against a
single member state.
2. (C) Dionysou took note of USG objectives and objections
but predicted no significant change in Cyprus's voting
pattern (Ref B). Turning to the three UN bodies, he
acknowledged that the Committee on the Exercise of the
Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, the Division
for Palestinian Rights within the UN Secretariat, and the
Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting
the Human Rights of the Palestinian People in the Occupied
Territories were anachronistic relics of the 1960s and 70s
that no longer served a useful purpose. That said, Cyprus
had no intention to end its membership in the Inalienable
Rights entity. The Israel-Palestine conflict pitted an
aggressive regional power against a near-defenseless
"nation," he reasoned, and could be reduced to occupier
versus occupied. Considering the situation on the island,
Cypriots felt great empathy towards the Palestinians. There
existed pragmatic as well as sentimental reasons to retain
committee membership, Dionysiou added. "Leaving now would
send a bad message to the very Arabs we're trying to
cultivate for support on the Cyprus Question." Further,
Dionysiou voiced certainty that Turkey would somehow exploit
any such decision to further its own Cyprus Question equities
with Arab states.
Urbancic
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE, IO/UNP (ANDREW MORRISON),NEA/IPA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/25/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV UNGA MEPP CY IS
SUBJECT: CYPRUS: ROC POSITION UNCHANGED ON ANTI-ISRAEL
UNGA RESOLUTIONS
REF: A. SECSTATE 123081
B. 07 NICOSIA 945
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Jonathan Cohen, Reasons 1.4 (b),
(d)
1. (C) The Embassy on November 21 shared Ref A points
regarding anti-Israel UN General Assembly resolutions with
Cypriot MFA Middle East Desk Officer Dionysus Dionysiou. In
a follow-up call on November 24, PolChief reviewed the
overarching U.S. objective for the Middle East peace process
-- to see two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living
side-by-side in peace and security. UNGA's historical
anti-Israel bent and the flurry of one-sided resolutions it
passed every year worked against a settlement, he emphasized.
In 2008, the United States hoped to see the overall number
of anti-Israel General Assembly resolutions drop, and the
defeat of three that reaffirmed the existence and activities
of UN bodies which promoted a culture of bias against a
single member state.
2. (C) Dionysou took note of USG objectives and objections
but predicted no significant change in Cyprus's voting
pattern (Ref B). Turning to the three UN bodies, he
acknowledged that the Committee on the Exercise of the
Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, the Division
for Palestinian Rights within the UN Secretariat, and the
Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting
the Human Rights of the Palestinian People in the Occupied
Territories were anachronistic relics of the 1960s and 70s
that no longer served a useful purpose. That said, Cyprus
had no intention to end its membership in the Inalienable
Rights entity. The Israel-Palestine conflict pitted an
aggressive regional power against a near-defenseless
"nation," he reasoned, and could be reduced to occupier
versus occupied. Considering the situation on the island,
Cypriots felt great empathy towards the Palestinians. There
existed pragmatic as well as sentimental reasons to retain
committee membership, Dionysiou added. "Leaving now would
send a bad message to the very Arabs we're trying to
cultivate for support on the Cyprus Question." Further,
Dionysiou voiced certainty that Turkey would somehow exploit
any such decision to further its own Cyprus Question equities
with Arab states.
Urbancic