CHAD: FRENCH EAGER TO DISCUSS MINURCAT II

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 001978 SIPDIS ADDIS ABABA PLEASE PASS TO USAU E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/28/2018 TAGS: PREL PINS MARR UN CD FR SUBJECT: CHAD: FRENCH EAGER TO DISCUSS MINURCAT II REF: A. SARDAR-KANEDA E-MAILS ¶B. STATE 114559 Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Kathleen Allegrone, 1.4 (b/d). ¶1. (U) This is an action request -- see para 5. ¶2. (C) SUMMARY: French MFA officials suggest a conference telephone call between the Department and the French MFA on Friday, October 31, at 4:00 pm Paris time (11:00 am EDT) to allow interested parties on both sides to discuss specifics concerning MINURCAT II, the proposed UN PKO that would succeed the current EUFOR/MINURCAT in Chad and C.A.R. The French strongly support MINURCAT II and seem in synch with the general approach the USG has set forth. They have, however, indicated some concern about the proposed size of the mission and would hope that France could reduce the number of troops it would contribute as compared with the number of troops France has contributed to EUFOR. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (C) We met separately on October 27 with Eric Chevallier (FM Kouchner's cabinet member responsible for crisis management and humanitarian affairs, who is also MFA spokesman) and Christine Fages (MFA DAS-equivalent for West Africa, including Chad and C.A.R.). The meeting with Chevallier took place on the margins of a conference call on Sudan with AF/SPG Tim Shortley. After that call ended, we explained initial USG thinking on MINURCAT II (ref A e-mails, ref B) and Chevallier gave a "thumbs up" sign at several points. He took note especially of our suggestion that the two sides discuss the matter via a telephone conference call, and he immediately proposed Friday, October 31, at 4:00 pm Paris time (11:00 am EDT) for the call. Chevallier noted that he and Fages would spend the next few days (beginning on October 28) in Chad but would probably return to Paris sometime on October 30 and thus be on hand for the conference call at 4:00 pm on October 31. The visit to Chad would in part be aimed at assessing how best to structure MINURCAT II. ¶4. (C) We then called on Fages, who confirmed her trip to Chad with Chevallier and who said she would participate in any October 31 conference call. She reiterated French support for MINURCAT II, stressing that it should also deploy in northern C.A.R., as EUFOR/MINURCAT had done. Fages noted DPKO's estimate that MINURCAT II consist of 6,000 peacekeepers. She thought this was excessive and noted that some plans called for an additional 4,000 police/gendarmes. "Chad can't support a mission with 10,000 people. Even if we come up with all of them, they'll spend most of their time trying to find drinking water." She indicated that MINURCAT II could be substantially smaller but still capable of fulfilling its mission. Fages hoped also that France would be able to contribute fewer troops to MINURCAT II than it had to EUFOR, where it ended up providing a greater than expected share of the force when other Europeans declined to participate. ¶5. (C) ACTION REQUEST: Subject to Department approval, we would ask that AF arrange with the Op Center a telephone conference call for Friday, October 31, at 11:00 am EDT. Please then convey by e-mail the phone number to be called, along with any participant code number, to Embassy Paris acting AF-watcher Robert Kaneda. END ACTION REQUEST. STAPLETON