UAE PRESIDENT'S PRESS REMARKS ON REGIONAL ISSUES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 000317

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: N/A
TAGS: PREL EAID ENRG KPAL SU IS IR SY IZ AE
SUBJECT: UAE PRESIDENT'S PRESS REMARKS ON REGIONAL ISSUES

REF: ABU DHABI 312

1. Summary: In a rare press interview (this time with Qatar's
Al-Watan newspaper) in advance of the Doha summit, UAE president
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan commented on the continuing
strength of relations with the U.S. as Washington changes leadership,
expressing optimism in the Obama Administration's approach to key
Middle East issues. He called for calm dialogue with Iran and
reiterated the desire for a territorial dispute to be settled by the
ICJ. He hoped for Kuwaitis to unite politically, in the best
interests of the country, and put the "fair price per barrel" of oil
at US $70 - $75. Citing improvement within Iraq, Sheikh Khalifa also
emphasized progress in Baghdad's regional integration. He addressed
Israeli-Palestinian issues and Sudan (repeated reftel). The
following draws from the UAEG's official news agency translation of
the President's remarks. End summary.U.S. RELATIONS
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2. "Our relations with the United States are old and are governed by
fixed political realities which do not change as a result of
succeeding US administrations. The first of these facts is that the
United States is a great power which shoulders huge responsibilities
for international peace, security and stability. Therefore,
relations with the United States are a necessity for any other
country, regardless of any differences and different perspectives.
Secondly, there is the accumulated legacy of relations between our
two countries that has allowed us to make our point of view heard on
regional and international issues as well as to build cooperation in
many areas benefiting the interests of the two countries and
strengthening the ties of friendship and reciprocal respect. Within
this framework of political realities, we hope to continue working
with the new US administration under President Barack Obama. We feel
optimistic about his new approach towards many regional and
international issues, and the situation in the Middle East and Iraq
in particular."


3. "We hope that the recent activity by the US, represented by the
frequent visits by US officials to the region, would lead to serious
action on the Arab-Israeli conflict to ensure the establishment of
peace and security in the region as well as to allow citizens of the
region's countries to devote their full attention to the process of
construction and development."

IRAN
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4. Sheikh Khalifa said the recent U.S. presidential message to Iran
could be a positive prelude to a serious dialogue. He called for
"dialogue to preserve stability, because we are against tension" to
safeguard Gulf security; better U.S.-Iran relations can help the
region avoid crises. He also raised the three UAE islands occupied
by Iran, stating that the UAE would accept any ruling made by the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) and said Syrian President
al-Asad's mediation with Iran was welcome. The "Iranian nuclear
program is a worry for us, particularly if it is not peaceful," he
was quoted as saying.

POSSIBLE U.S.-IRAN MILITARY CONFRONTATION
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5. "As a matter of principle, we do not condone the use of force in
solving international disputes no matter how far away the location of
this dispute may be. How much more so, when it is next door! We
always stress the need to listen to the sense of reason in resolving
differences on Iran's nuclear program, which should be by peaceful
means. We still hope these efforts will succeed. We also hope that
all parties will exercise self-restraint and meet the demands of the
international community on this issue."

KUWAIT'S EXPERIENCE WITH DEMOCRACY
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6. "We wish all the best to the leadership, government and people of
our sisterly country, Kuwait. We hope that the new Kuwaiti cabinet
will be formed and a new Parliament will be elected. We also hope
that both bodies will engage in joint action to reunite, in the best
interest of Kuwait and for the prosperity and the welfare of the
Kuwaiti people.

OIL PRICES AND THE ECONOMY
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7. Low world oil prices affect all countries, as does the global
financial crisis -- including the UAE, which plays "pivotal regional
and international financial and economic roles." "We believe that
oil prices went up to inconceivable levels, but now are so low that
some countries are not able to develop their oil fields because of
the decrease of revenues. We believe the low price of oil hurts the
interests of everybody. A fair price for oil, in our view, should be
anywhere between US $70 to $75."

IRAQ'S RETURN TO NORMALCY
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8. "Indications and reports reaching us show that there is
significant improvement in this regard. There is a sharp fall in the
number of security incidents and number of deaths. On the other
hand, there is a significant improvement in the general climate in
the country which was shown by the relatively successful provincial
elections recently held in that country. As for an open policy
towards Iraq by countries in the region, it is something that is
actually happening. There have been a number of visits to Iraq by
official delegations from Gulf and other Arab countries, and,
moreover, a number of these countries have reopened their diplomatic
missions in Iraq."

FOLLOWING TOPICS REPEATED FROM REFTEL
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9. 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."


10. 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 Palestinian
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."


11. 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