PANAMA: UNSC DEMARCHE ON ARAB GROUP DRAFT

C O N F I D E N T I A L PANAMA 000562 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/09/2018 TAGS: PREL UNSC IS LE SY PM SUBJECT: PANAMA: UNSC DEMARCHE ON ARAB GROUP DRAFT RESOLUTION DELIVERED REF: STATE 73171 Classified By: POLCOUNS Brian R. Naranjo. Reason: 1.4 (d). -------------- Need to Support Quartet, Roadmap -------------- ¶1. (C) "We cannot allow anything to interrupt the conversations between the Palestinians and the Israelis," Panamanian MFA Senior Advisor for UNSC Matters Nils Castro told POLCOUNS on July 9 in response to reftel demarche. "We need to keep the temperature down." Castro stated that Panama fully agreed with the need for any text to be balanced, to support the work of the Quartet, and to support the Roadmap. Castro said Panama would welcome the opportunity for "serious negotiations" on the basis of the U.S. text. Noting that the Israeli Ambassador to Panama had demarched him on the same matter, Castro said he believed it was strange that Libya was pushing the settlements issue so hard when the Palestinians, according to Israel's Ambassador, were not presently raising it themselves with Israel. Castro undertook to engage PANPR Arias to seek reactions and to encourage Panama to play a moderating role in discussions in New York. -------------- FM Unavailable -------------- ¶2. (C) First VP and FM Samuel Lewis, recently returned from an overseas visit, was unavailable for Charge, so POLCOUNS delivered these messages to Lewis' lead UNSC advisor. POL also double tracked this demarche at the working level with MFA UNSC Team Advisor Janio Tunon who undertook to share the substance of this demarche with PANUN. MESA