LEBANON: FM SALLOUKH AND NEA ACTING A/S FELTMAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 000267

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ELA
ALSO FOR A A/S WARLICK
P FOR DRUSSELL, RRANGASWAMY
USUN FOR WOLFF/GERMAIN/SCHEDLBAUER
NSC FOR MCDERMOTT, SHAPIRO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/05/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR UNSC MARR MOPS LE SY
SUBJECT: LEBANON: FM SALLOUKH AND NEA ACTING A/S FELTMAN
DISCUSS SYRIA, MIDDLE EAST PEACE, 1701

Classified By: Ambassador Michele J. Sison for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh told visiting
Near Eastern Affairs Acting Assistant Secretary Jeffrey
Feltman, NSC Senior Director for the Middle East and North
Africa Daniel Shapiro, and the Ambassador that support for
Lebanon's sovereignty and independence was most important for
Lebanon. He said Lebanon's relationship with Syria was
markedly improved and encouraged the U.S. to engage with
Syria, which would also benefit Lebanon. Acting A/S Feltman
reaffirmed strong U.S. support for Lebanon and said the new
U.S. administration sought "sustained and principled
engagement" in the region, including Syria, and perhaps Iran.
Acting A/S Feltman and Senior Director Shapiro informed the
Minister they were going to Damascus March 7 to begin the
conversation with Syria, but had modest expectations.


2. (C) Salloukh urged the U.S. to reach a solution to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict soon. Acting A/S Feltman
explained the U.S. was committed to seeking a two-state
"solution" and was not only interested in the peace "process"
for process' sake. He urged Salloukh and other Arab League
ministers to consider the ability of any unified Palestinian
authority to behave as a future state. Salloukh complained
about Israeli commitment to full implementation of UNSCR
1701, while Acting A/S Feltman said responsibility for 1701
rests with all parties and expressed concern about Lebanon's
efforts to control its border with Syria. End summary.


3. (SBU) NEA Acting A/S Jeffrey Feltman, NSC Senior Director
for the Middle East and North Africa Dan Shapiro, and the
Ambassador met with Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh at his
Foreign Ministry office on March 6. Ramy Mortada, Chief of
Cabinet to the Minister, Hani Shmayteli, an advisor in the
Chief of Cabinet office, and Majdi Ramadan, head of the
Americas desk at the MFA, NEA Staff Assistant Oni Blair,
Pol/Econ Chief, and Poloff also attended the meeting. A A/S
Feltman also took advantage of the half-hour protocol visit
to convey his greetings to fellow Amal member and Speaker of
Parliament Nabih Berri, who had traveled to Iran and Oman.

U.S. ENGAGEMENT WITH SYRIA
BENEFICIAL TO LEBANON
--------------


4. (C) Salloukh told his guests that Lebanon's relationship
with its "sister country" had improved considerably after the
establishment of diplomatic relations between Lebanon and
Syria in late 2008. Salloukh said that although Syria had
not yet named its ambassador to Lebanon, Lebanon's Ambassador
to Syria Michel Khoury would arrive in Damascus in
approximately two weeks.


5. (C) Salloukh also believed U.S. engagement with Syria
would have a positive effect on Lebanon. In a show of
pragmatism, he said that there should not be any expectation
that all of the problems between Syria and the U.S. would be
solved overnight, but said engagement was a step forward.
Salloukh characterized the Obama administration's early
appointment of Middle East Special Envoy George Mitchell as a
positive sign. Calling Syrian FM Walid Moallem a "mature
diplomat," Salloukh advised the new U.S. administration to
"work, cooperate, and coordinate" with the Syrian regime to
"forget about the past and start a new era."


6. (C) Acting A/S Feltman reaffirmed U.S. support for
Lebanon's sovereignty and independence. He said President
Obama planned for "sustained and principled" U.S. engagement
in the region, to include Syria and, perhaps, Iran. He
informed Salloukh that he and Shapiro would visit Damascus
March 7 for talks, but that the U.S. retained modest
expectations of the outcome. Acting A/S Feltman added that
the U.S. would watch closely Syria's responses to U.S.
overtures in the weeks and months ahead because the U.S. was
not interested in "talking just to talk;" rather, it was
interested in talking to address concerns and to achieve

BEIRUT 00000267 002 OF 002


goals.

SALLOUKH: "ISRAEL SHOULD
CONSIDER THE ARAB PEACE
INITIATIVE"
--------------


7. (C) Turning to the issue of Middle East peace, Salloukh
expressed hope that the U.S. would broker a solution to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict soon. Acting A/S Feltman
explained that the U.S. was committed to assisting the
parties to reach a two-state solution and was not simply
interested in the process for process' sake. He counseled
Salloukh and his counterparts in the Arab League to focus its
summit in Doha at the end of March on how any agreed unified
Palestinian authority would behave as a possible state in the
region. The Palestinian Authority should behave in a way
that brings us closer, not further, to a two-state solution
and be a responsible partner for peace, he said.


8. (C) The Arab Peace Initiative (API),should also be used
as a positive element toward achieving a comprehensive
Arab-Israeli peace, Acting A/S Feltman said. Salloukh
agreed, but questioned whether Israel wanted to live in peace
in the region after its initial rejection of the API.

UNSCR 1701
--------------


9. (C) Salloukh proudly declared that Lebanon was more stable
and more tranquil now than in recent years. He was hopeful
that the security situation would remain calm through the
June 7 parliamentary elections. He acknowledged, however,
that there were still problems hindering the full
implementation of UNSCR 1701. Salloukh blamed part of the
problem on Israel because of its continued occupation of both
Ghajar and Sheba'a Farms. He also blamed those who sought to
undermine the government by launching rockets from south
Lebanon into Israel, which the GOL strongly condemned.
Salloukh, however, praised the cooperation between the
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the UN Interim Force in
Lebanon (UNIFIL) in the south. Acting A/S Feltman reminded
the Minister that 1701 was the responsibility of all parties,
and included Lebanon's efforts to control its border with
Syria. Acting A/S Feltman promised he would raise the issue
with his Syrian interlocutors as well.


10. (C) Senior Director Shapiro urged also the GOL to take
serious steps to control the Lebanese-Syrian border because
the U.S. was concerned that Syria planned to provide SA-8
anti-aircraft missiles to Hizballah in the near future.
Should this occur, he said, Israel could decide to take an
offensive action which would set back the 1701 implementation
process and potentially derail other regional peace
initiatives -- an outcome that would serve no one, Shapiro
said.


11. (U) NEA Acting Assistant Secretary Jeffrey D. Feltman and
NSC Senior Director for the Middle East and North Africa have
cleared this message.
SISON