Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BAGHDAD91
2009-01-14 06:41:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Baghdad
Cable title:  

MFA READOUT OF PM MALIKI'S VISITS TO TEHRAN AND

Tags:  PREL PGOV ETRD IZ IR 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO6226
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #0091/01 0140641
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 140641Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1212
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 000091 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/13/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV ETRD IZ IR
SUBJECT: MFA READOUT OF PM MALIKI'S VISITS TO TEHRAN AND
ANKARA; FUTURE OF NEIGHBORS PROCESS AND AMBASSADORIAL
APPOINTMENTS

REF: 08 BAGHDAD 3148

Classified By: Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 000091

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/13/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV ETRD IZ IR
SUBJECT: MFA READOUT OF PM MALIKI'S VISITS TO TEHRAN AND
ANKARA; FUTURE OF NEIGHBORS PROCESS AND AMBASSADORIAL
APPOINTMENTS

REF: 08 BAGHDAD 3148

Classified By: Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Prime Minister Maliki was warmly received
during his January 3-5 visit to Tehran, in sharp contrast to
his last trip in June, which was soured by belligerent
Iranian opposition to the SOFA negotiations. According to a
senior MFA official who accompanied Maliki, the visit focused
on economic and trade issues, with Iran agreeing to provide
$1 billion in loans and economic assistance. The Prime
Minister met all major Iranian political figures except for
former President Rafsanjani and reportedly listened without
comment when his hosts proposed that Iran, Iraq and the GCC
countries establish a new regional security mechanism.
Maliki's December 24 visit to Ankara was also focused on
encouraging bilateral economic cooperation, but marred by
President Gul's defense of Special Envoy Ozcelik, whose
recent, SOFA-related engagement with Iraqi officials led the
GOI to accuse him of interfering in Iraq's internal affairs.
On regional cooperation more broadly, the official expressed
dissatisfaction with last fall's Neighbors Process working
group meetings and emphasized that U.S. involvement is
critical for the Neighbors Process or any other regional
initiative (such as that recently floated by GOI Spokesman
Ali al-Dabbagh) to succeed. The official also told us that
four of the six new Iraqi Ambassadors announced in late
September had obtained agrement; none had yet taken up their
duties. End Summary.

-------------- ---
Iranians Propose New Regional Security Mechanism
-------------- ---


2. (C) In a January 8 meeting with Deputy Political
Counselor, MFA Director for Neighboring Countries Ambassador
Taha al-Abassi provided a frank readout of Prime Minister
Maliki's January 3-5 visit to Iran. He said the Iranians
laid out the red carpet for Maliki, who met with Supreme
Leader Khamenei and all other key figures (with the exception
of former President Rafsanjani). Maliki initially planned to
stay in Tehran for only a day, but was persuaded to stay

three. The tone of the visit -- al-Abassi noted several
times -- was distinctly, and surprisingly, more positive than
was the case during Maliki's last visit six months ago, when
the Iranians "threatened us" on negotiations over the
U.S.-Iraq bilateral security agreement. By contrast, this
time the tone was warm and the Iranians even congratulated
Maliki for concluding the agreement, which, they said,
establishes a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces
from Iraq.


3. (C) The most notable issue raised by the Iranians was a
proposed new regional cooperation mechanism to include Iran,
Iraq and the GCC countries. The proposal, al-Abassi said, is
clearly an attempt to exclude the U.S., Turkey and others and
poses a challenge the GCC 3 configuration, something he
characterized as "a devilish idea." Al-Abassi reported that
Maliki listened to the Iranian proposal but offered no
response.


4. (C) While welcoming the improved tone, Al-Abassi made
clear that caution is required: "I think the Iranians are
changing but we have to be very careful. The Iranians are
very clever at maneuvering outcomes. They are trying to buy
time for their nuclear program and (floating) this proposal,
as well as what's happening in Gaza and Lebanon, are to keep
everyone focused on other things. The Iranians are very
cunning."


5. (C) Looking ahead, al-Abassi said the concrete outcome
Q5. (C) Looking ahead, al-Abassi said the concrete outcome
of Maliki's Tehran visit will be the formation of a
ministerial committee to follow-up on the recommendations and
proposals that were discussed. The Committee will be headed
on the Iraqi side by the Minister of Trade, and on the
Iranian side by Foreign Minister Motakki. It will hold its
first meeting in Baghdad in two months. Issues to tackle
will include import-export balances ("right now we are
exporting nothing to them"),electricity, pipelines,
improvement of railway links, air transport (primarily for
religious pilgrims),and housing projects to be built by
Iranian companies. The Iranians have offered $1 billion in
loans to finance projects in all sectors. Al-Abassi said the
Iraqi delegation raised a number of water issues, pointing to
damage done to farmland in Diyala and marshes in Amarra by
Iranian diversion of rivers for irrigation.

-------------- --
Ankara Visit Positive, But Tension Over Ozcelik
-------------- --


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6. (C) Al-Abassi also provided a few observations on PM
Maliki's December 24 visit to Ankara, which, he
said, also went well. The Turks were pleased with Maliki's
statement calling the PKK terrorists that must be fought and
defeated. They also congratulated Maliki on concluding the
U.S.-Iraq security agreement which showed, as evidenced by
its approval in parliament, that Iraqis are united. Much of
the discussions focused on economic and energy issues, along
with Iraqi requests that Turkey increase water allocations.
On the latter, Al-Abassi said the Turks promised to increase
the water quota but complained that "they never follow
through."


7. (C) According to al-Abassi, one item of note was Turkish
President Gul's rebuttal of the admonishment the GOI had
delivered to Special Envoy Ozcelik during his SOFA-related
travel to Iraq last November. Abassi said the GOI had told
Ozcelik that he had overstepped his mandate and was
interfering in internal Iraqi affairs "by talking with
political parties that are against the government." Gul made
clear the GOT position that Ozcelik is "not interfering, but
only doing his job." Maliki reportedly listened to Gul's
points but did not respond. Stepping back from the specifics
of the Tehran and Ankara trips, al-Abassi assessed that those
visits -- along with planned trips to the Gulf in the coming
weeks, are all part of a Maliki strategy to burnish his
leadership credentials among Iraq's political class and the
Iraqi population at large.

--------------
The Future of the Neighbors Process
--------------


8. (C) As MFA Director for Neighboring Countries, Al-Abassi
has been intimately involved with the Neighbors Process. In
that context, he gave a frank assessment of the recent three
Neighbors working group meetings on energy, refugees and
border security held in Istanbul, Amman and Damascus in
October/November. They were, he said, "not satisfactory,
especially the refugees group." In al-Abassi's view, the
Neighbors Process has evolved from a mechanism intended to
address Iraqi issues and problems to one that benefits the
neighboring countries more than Iraq. As examples, he
characterized the energy working group as a means for the
Turks to drum up business for their own companies and ensure
that Turkey is the main conduit for Iraqi oil and gas.
Similarly, he argued that the refugee working group has
become a vehicle for Jordan and Syria to extract aid from the
international community, with not all of these funds being
properly channeled to Iraqi refugees.


9. (C) Deputy PolCouns asked al-Abassi how the GOI
envisioned the future of the Neighbors Process, given the
criticisms he outlined. Al-Abassi responded that the GOI "is
reviewing the work of these groups and would forward ideas to
the next Ministerial." On the timing of a next Ministerial
(notionally planned for October/November 2008 but since
postponed),al-Abassi made clear it depended on the presence
of the new U.S. Secretary of State: "we are waiting for
you...we need the U.S. to be present in this mechanism in
order to be a control factor."


10. (C) Deputy PolCouns also queried al-Abassi on the
December 9 presentation of GOI Spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh at
the U.S. Institute for Peace regarding formation of a new
regional economic partnership. Asked whether it was done in
consultation with the MFA, Al-Abassi characterized
al-Dabbagh's proposal as a "personal initiative" which has
been mistakenly seen as an official GOI proposal. Without
Qbeen mistakenly seen as an official GOI proposal. Without
commenting directly on the content of the proposal, al-Abassi
assessed that it will be "a challenge to convince the Syrians
and Iranians that other countries like Israel should be
included." (Note: We are not aware whether al-Dabbagh in his
December 9 presentation made reference to Israel but
al-Abassi mentioned it unprompted. End Note.)

--------------
Status of Iraqi Ambassadorial Appointments
--------------


11. (C) Al-Abassi provided some updated information on the
status of six Iraqi Ambassadorial appointments announced at
the end of September (reftel). According to his information,
four of the six (to Syria, Qatar, Turkey and Lebanon) have
received agrement, while two (to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain)
remain pending. None have taken up their duties, he said,
but those who have obtained agrement are expected to do so
soon. He noted that Iraqi political blocs continue to
compete for the ambassadorships to the UAE and Kuwait, and
selection of an Ambassador to Egypt would depend on Egypt's
reopening an embassy in Baghdad. He also noted that the MFA

BAGHDAD 00000091 003 OF 003


is considering as a stop-gap measure combining the positions
of Iraqi Ambassador to the Arab League with that of Iraqi
Ambassador to Egypt.
CROCKER