SYG BAN ON DRC, KOSOVO, PAKISTAN, FINANCIAL CRISIS

S E C R E T USUN NEW YORK 000971 SIPDIS S/ES FOR THE SECRETARY, DEPT PLEASE PASS TO TREASURY SECRETARY PAULSON E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/23/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV SUBJECT: SYG BAN ON DRC, KOSOVO, PAKISTAN, FINANCIAL CRISIS SUMMIT, DOHA FFD CONFERENCE Classified By: AMBASSADOR ZALMAY KHALILZAD FOR REASONS 1.4 B/D ¶1. (S) Ambassador Khalilzad met with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon one-on-one early evening October 22 to discuss DRC, Kosovo, Pakistan, the November 15 Financial Crisis Summit and the upcoming International Conference on Financing for Development in Doha. ¶2. (S) DRC: The Secretary General said that he plans to invite Democratic Republic of the Congo President Joseph Kabila and Rwandan President Paul Kagame to Geneva for a meeting with him in mid-November to address the recent uptick in violence and call on the conflicting parties to abide by previous peace agreements. The meeting will take place on the sidelines of a retreat being organized by Ban for UN special envoys. ¶3. (S) Kosovo: Ambassador Khalilzad raised U.S. concerns that UN mediator Andrew Ladley had negotiated a four-page document directly with Belgrade without Kosovar input. Mr. Ladley informed EU and US representatives that if they and the Kosovars did not accept the basic elements of the document, the Secretary General would be forced to "review his options." Ban was surprised by this news and stated that Mr. Ladley was not authorized to reconsider the six points. Ban plans to send a message to Mr. Ladley asking for an explanation. UNMIK head Lamberto Zanier will meet with Serbian President Boris Tadic next week to encourage the Serbs to agree to a deal that the other parties can accept. ¶4. (S) Pakistan: The Secretary General said that per U.S. advice he is leaning toward naming Jean Arnault as the point person on Pakistan, rather than selecting a high level American for the role. At this point Ban is not thinking of giving Arnault a formal title, and this would obviate the need for a resolution. Ban said he would speak with President Zardari about this idea when he comes for the high level interfaith dialogue meeting November 12-13. ¶5. (S) Upcoming Conferences: Ban said that he is supportive of the November 15 Financial Crisis Summit in Washington, and would welcome an opportunity to briefly address the participants on the United Nation's perspective on the crisis. Regarding the November 29 to December 2 UN International Conference on Financing for Development in Doha, Qatar, Ban is planning a preparatory discussion with key country leaders the day prior to the conference to brainstorm on methods of encouraging cooperation. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and QATAR Emir Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani will both attend, and Ban felt strongly that at a minimum the U.S. should have cabinet-level participation. If President Bush can not attend, Ban suggested Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. Khalilzad