LEBANON: VICE PRESIDENT TELLS SPEAKER BERRI U.S.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 000597

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/22/2019
TAGS: OVIP PREL PGOV PINR LE SY IS IR
SUBJECT: LEBANON: VICE PRESIDENT TELLS SPEAKER BERRI U.S.
TO STAKE POLITICAL CAPITAL ON MIDDLE EAST PEACE

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

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


1. (C) Vice President Biden told Lebanese Speaker of
Parliament Nabih Berri that his May 22 visit to Lebanon was
designed to send a strong message from the Obama
administration that the U.S. supports a sovereign,
independent Lebanon with strong institutions and was
committed to achieving a comprehensive Middle East Peace with
the help of Arab friends. The Vice President underscored the
U.S. intention to pursue dialogue and engagement with
countries in the region, including Syria and Iran. Speaker
Berri was supportive of the Obama administration's
initiatives and encouraged "dialogue with everyone." Berri
was not optimistic, however, that the new Israeli government
would support these efforts. "All Arabs," on the other hand,
were ready for peace, Berri pronounced.


2. () Berri claimed that if his March 8 coalition wonLebanon's June 7 parliamentary elections, it wouldseek the
participation of others, including current majority March 14
leader Saad Hariri, in the next government. The Vice
President reiterated U.S. support for Lebanon's state
institutions and urged the Lebanese to determine their own
fate without bowing to the influence of hostile or friendly
outsiders. End summary.


3. (SBU) During his May 22 visit to Lebanon, Vice President
Joe Biden held a frank discussion with Speaker of Parliament
Nabih Berri at the latter's residence in the Beirut area of
Ain El Tineh. On the U.S. side, the Ambassador, National
Security Advisor to the Vice President Antony Blinken, Acting
Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey
Feltman, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for
International Security Affairs Joseph McMillan, Senior
Advisor to the Vice President for the Middle East and South
Asia Herro Mustafa, National Security Council Director for
Syria, Lebanon and North Africa McDermott, and Embassy
notetaker attended also. On the Lebanese side, Speaker Berri
was accompanied by Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh, Lebanese
Ambassador to the United States Antoine Chedid, and Advisor
to the Speaker Ali Hamdan.

COMPREHENSIVE MIDDLE EAST PEACE
INVOLVES EVERYONE
--------------


4. (C) In his first visit to the Middle East region as Vice
President, Vice President Biden informed opposition-aligned
Berri that that new Obama administration was "willing to risk
its political survival" to achieve a comprehensive Middle
East peace. The Vice President expressed the U.S. desire to
become a "catalyst for positive movement" and to make it
clear to both Palestinians and Israelis that a two-state
solution was "the only solution." Biden reiterated the Obama
administration's position supporting a two-state solution and
no new settlements. A significant part of that "positive
movement," he continued, included many elements of the 2002
Arab Peace Initiative.


5. (C) Speaker Berri agreed with Vice President Biden and
asserted that "all Arabs" were ready for peace. Conversely,
Berri was not optimistic about the newly-elected Netanyahu
administration in Israel. Berri accused Israel of always
making excuses, such as refusing to fully adhere to UN
Security Council resolutions (including 425 and 1701) or to
withdraw from the Lebanese village of Ghajar. Despite the
complications imposed by Israel, President Obama's plan to
use dialogue as a key tool to reach agreement, Berri said,
was "absolutely" the best roadmap. Berri encouraged the
Obama administration to undertake dialogue with everyone and
questioned why the administration had stopped talking to
Syria -- a signal based on the recent renewal of sanctions on
Syria.


6. (C) The Vice President agreed with the need for dialogue,

BEIRUT 00000597 002 OF 002


and said it remained the administration's policy to engage
Syria despite the recent renewal of sanctions. He also urged
the GOL and other Arab governments to adopt the same
practice. If Fatah and Hamas do not talk with each other, or
if Arab countries do not talk with Israel, or Sunni Arabs do
not talk with Shia Arabs, there is little that the United
States can do, the Vice President said. The Vice President
pushed back on Berri's accusation by saying: "You tell me
who to speak to, but you don't speak to the Israelis." The
Vice President expressed appreciation for Berri's endorsement
of the Obama-Biden approach of engaging with all states and
noted that it is a policy Lebanon itself should consider
adopting.

IRAN HAS A ROLE TO PLAY
--------------


7. (C) Speaker Berri urged the United States to engage in a
serious dialogue with Iran. Iran, he believed, could play a
useful role in reducing or eliminating the existence of
terrorism and terror organizations in Syria, Pakistan and
Afghanistan. Berri argued that President Obama's Nowruz
message to the Iranian people and government in March
received a positive response from "the most powerful Iranian
figure, Ayatollah Khamenei," he said. Berri assessed that
when Khamenei responded to President Obama's message, in a
speech delivered before a staunchly conservative audience in
the Iranian city of Mashhad, Khamenei outlined an agenda for
dialogue with the United States


8. (C) The Vice President assured Berri that the U.S.
administration understood Khamenei's message and planned to
pursue engagement, not only with Iran, but Syria as well. It
was other Arab governments, however, that continued to advise
the U.S. not to talk with Iran, he noted. The Vice President
added that the safety and security of the U.S. was dependent
on the elimination of terrorism in other parts of the world.

LEBANON PART OF THE PUZZLE
--------------


9. (C) Turning to Lebanon's domestic situation, Speaker Berri
predicted that only one to two parliamentary seats (out of a
total of 128) would determine the new majority and minority
blocs after the June 7 parliamentary elections. Lebanon was
based on "consensual democracy," Berri explained, and it
would be necessary to have all sides represented in the new
government. Berri, a member of the Hizballah-led March 8
coalition, claimed that if his coalition won the majority in
the election, it would seek to govern with the participation
of March 14 coalition leader Saad Hariri. Berri said a
"unified Lebanon" was not far away, but it was important for
the region to reach the same level also.


10. (C) The Vice President stated unequivocally that no one
should make decisions about Lebanon except the Lebanese. He
reiterated his statement made earlier in the day to Lebanese
President Michel Sleiman that the U.S. had "no intention,
desire or instinct" to push for anything in Lebanon other
than free and fair elections. The Vice President continued
that strong Lebanese institutions would be essential to that
process and reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to provide
assistance to these institutions to continue building their
capabilities. Lebanon, an important part of the regional
puzzle, "must maintain its sovereignty and independence"
through strong state institutions without allowing outsiders
(hostile or friendly) dictate Lebanon's politics, the Vice
President asserted.


11. (U) The Office of the Vice President has cleared this
message.

SISON