UAE ON DOHA ARAB SUMMIT

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 000312 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/RA/JSKOVITCH E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/26/2019 TAGS: PREL EAID KPAL SU QA IS IR SY AE SUBJECT: UAE ON DOHA ARAB SUMMIT REFS: STATE 28323 Classified by Ambassador Richard Olson, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Ambassador shared reftel points on the Doha summit with MFA and was told the UAE is looking for Arab solidarity. Separately, UAE President Khalifa discussed key summit topics in a press interview. End summary. ¶2. (C) Ambassador raised reftel points on the Doha summit with Director of American and European Affairs Abdul Hameed Kathim (other topics septel),handing him also a copy of a diplomatic note stressing the criticality of dealing wisely with issues related to Palestinian reconciliation, the Arab Peace Initiative, and NGO activity in Sudan. Ambassador Kathim said the UAE was hoping to improve Arab solidarity at the summit, which would hopefully be attended by all Arabs (not Iranians). ¶3. (C) Ambassador Kathim did not clarify who will head the UAE delegation in Doha (President Khalifa did not attend the most recent summit there, likely due to Iranian participation). We understand that Foreign Minister Abdullah does plan to attend but have no further word on other UAE attendees. UAE PRESIDENT'S REMARKS -------------- ¶4. (SBU) In a press interview in advance of the Doha summit, UAE president Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan said the UAE was looking forward to the Arab Summit as an opportunity to mend fences in the Arab world. He told a Qatari paper (Al-Watan) the summit will tackle the Palestinian issue, Lebanon, and Iraq. Following are some of the President's remarks (as presented by the UAEG's official news agency),as they relate to the key topics of our demarche (Palestinian reconciliation, Middle East peace, and Sudan). ¶5. (SBU) ISRAEL/PALESTINIAN ISSUE: Sheikh Khalifa called on the US, European countries and others to put pressure on Israel to accept a just solution to the Palestinian problem in line with the Arab Peace Initiative. "We hope that the United States and European countries would maintain pressure on Israel to force it to approve a just and peaceful solution to the Palestinian cause. This is in harmony with the Arab Peace Initiative which entails the creation of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, in return for a recognition of Israel. Extremists in Israel might well opt for the peaceful solution at any time, if they seriously consider a solution that would serve peace and stability in the whole region." ¶6. (SBU) PALESTINIAN RECONCILIATION AND NATIONAL UNITY: "We have always expressed our belief in the importance of uniting ranks and positions, not only within each Arab country, but also on the Pan-Arab level. Therefore, it goes without saying that the United Arab Emirates is sparing no efforts, both declared or undeclared, to unite the ranks of the Palestinians and to support, in this regard, all the good offices of Arab countries, in particular our big sister country, Egypt, which has hosted the dialogue among Palestinians factions. We call on our brother Palestinians to respond to those efforts and good offices and to prioritize the higher national interests over factional or partisan interests. We hope those efforts would result in building a solid Palestinian position that can meet the requirements of the coming stage, whether relevant to the peace process or to the process of reconstruction. ¶7. (SBU) SUDAN: "We expressed our concern over the impact of the decision taken by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the stability of Sudan and the current political dialogue as well as on the efforts being made to activate the political process in Darfur aimed at implementing the peace agreement. At the same time, however, we expressed our astonishment at the fact that the same court did not pay attention to the crimes of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza." OLSON