MOROCCO SUPPORTS IRAQI RECONCILIATION, BUT WARY OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L RABAT 000539 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/10/2018 TAGS: PREL MO IZ SUBJECT: MOROCCO SUPPORTS IRAQI RECONCILIATION, BUT WARY OF MALIKI Classified by Polcouns Craig Karp for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Amb. Mohammed Azeroual, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director-General for Multilateral Affairs (and the MFA's point man on the Arab and Islamic World) clarified Morocco's policy on Iraq during a June 10 meeting with Polcouns. "Our policy is to support stability and reconciliation in Iraq," Azeroual said, indicating this meant Sunni integration. Azeroual recalled that he had just had a friendly encounter with Iraqi Foreign Minister Zebari on the margins of the Stockholm Iraq debt relief conference. "Zebari knows well that we are strong supporters of peace and reconciliation in Iraq," he emphasized. ¶2. (C) At the same time, Azeroual said, Morocco had reservations about Prime Minister Maliki's approach and was concerned that the Iraqi PM was not doing enough to reach out to Sunnis, whom he claimed made up "35 percent" of the population, including most of Iraq's elite professional classes. He charged that the failure to realize reconciliation was chasing Iraq's most talented people out of the country, making stability and development even more elusive. ¶3. (C) For Morocco, Azeroual underlined, reconcilation, particularly Sunni-Shia reconcilation, was prerequisite to any process of political, economic, and administrative reform. Azeroual also emphasized that Morocco was concerned that Maliki and his cohort sought to build a strategic alliance with Iran, "which we absolutely reject." ¶4. (C) Morocco's reservations about Maliki notwithstanding, Azeroual said Morocco was prepared to offer technical support to the GOI. The GOM had already offered training to two batches of 20-25 Iraqi diplomats, and a separate program for Iraqi customs officials, and was prepared to offer more, he stated. ***************************************** Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/rabat ***************************************** Riley