(S) UAE MINISTER GARGASH DISCUSSES SITUATION IN YEMEN

S E C R E T ABU DHABI 001069 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/12/2019 TAGS: PREL PTER PINS KISL YM AE SUBJECT: (S) UAE MINISTER GARGASH DISCUSSES SITUATION IN YEMEN CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR RICHARD G. OLSON FOR REASONS 1.4 B AND ¶D. ¶1. (C) Ambassador asked Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash for UAE and GCC views on the situation in Yemen on November ¶11. Gargash said that although the November 10 GCC foreign ministers meeting in Doha had not originally had Yemen on the agenda, ministers engaged in a discussion of Yemeni-Saudi border issues and pledged GCC support for Yemen and Saudi Arabia in their fight against terrorism. ¶2. (C) Gargash said the GCC foreign ministers went over Iranian Foreign Minister Mottaki's statement of 9 November in great detail and unanimously expressed support for KSA's efforts to protect its borders, and characterized the Iranian warning against outside interference in Yemen as "unwelcome." According to Gargash, the foreign ministers agreed that GCC members must also support the ROYG, regardless of their individual views of the leadership of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. ¶3. (S) Gargash shared his view that Saleh should direct his efforts toward fighting Al Qaida (vice al-Houthi),but said that this was purely "analysis." As a matter of policy the UAE and the GCC would continue to back the Yemeni President without second-guessing his counter-terrorism strategy. OLSON