LIBYA LINKS POSITION ON KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE TO RUSSIAN ARMS

C O N F I D E N T I A L TRIPOLI 000141 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR IO/UNP (GOLDRICH),NEA/MAG E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/21/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV SR EU YI UNMIK UN SUBJECT: LIBYA LINKS POSITION ON KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE TO RUSSIAN ARMS SALES REF: A) STATE 16319, B) TRIPOLI 118, C) TRIPOLI 112 CLASSIFIED BY: Chris Stevens, CDA, Embassy Tripoli, State. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) In a meeting with MFA Americas Desk Director Muhammad Matari February 20, P/E Chief noted that there had so far been no official GOL reaction to Kosovo's recent announcement of independence and, echoing our previous demarches on the subject (refs B and C),urged the GOL to recognize Kosovo's independence. Matari confirmed that the GOL had made no public statement concerning Kosovo's independence. Matari said the GOL had deliberately delayed any public reaction, in part because Russia had, in its demarches on the subject (ref B),linked future cooperation on Russia-Libya arms sales to the GOL's position on Kosovo. (Comment: Russia is a major supplier of weapons to Libya. The GOL has often commented favorably on the ease with which it has been able to acquire Russian weapons systems by way of criticizing the comparatively labor-intensive process attendant to purchasing systems from the U.S. End comment.) ¶2. (U) Separately, Post translated into Arabic and forwarded to the MFA a copy of the White House press release containing the President's letter to the Kosovar president recognizing Kosovo's independence. STEVENS