PERSPECTIVES FROM NEW DEPUTY PERMREP TO BELGIUM'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 001118 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/WE, IO/UNP, NEA/IR, NEA/IPA, AF/C AND EAP/K E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/06/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL BE IS KN IR UNSC SUBJECT: PERSPECTIVES FROM NEW DEPUTY PERMREP TO BELGIUM'S UN MISSION Classified By: Acting Political-Economic Counselor Robert Kiene, reason s 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Poloffs and Polintern met on August 5 with Thomas Lambert, Belgium's new Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN in New York. Lambert has just left a position as Deputy Chief of the Cabinet of former Minister of Foreign Affairs Karel De Gucht. Based on his insider's view of Belgian foreign policy, Lambert discussed Belgian expectations for its presidency of the European Union, which is scheduled for June-December 2010. He expects Belgium's role to be equally important if the Lisbon Treaty is ratified, because the institutions under the Lisbon Treaty will be in the process of formation while Belgium holds the presidency. Lambert reviewed Belgium's positions on a number of current issues before the UN, although he recognized that policies may change somewhat under the new Foreign Minister Yves Leterme. He noted that Belgium has so far supported reform of the UN Security Council to expand its membership, but he is not optimistic that any change can actually be accomplished. He thinks that Belgium should support more effective enforcement of UN sanctions on Iran. End Summary. BELGIUM'S ROLE WITHIN THE EU -------------- ¶2. (C) Lambert told Poloffs that he expects Belgium to be just as involved in European Union policy as holder of the presidency in 2010, whether or not the Lisbon Treaty is ratified. He called the Lisbon Treaty "an opportunity with many question marks", because Belgium's role as rotating EU president during the second half of 2010 will come at a time of much uncertainty. If the Treaty is ratified, the institutions of the EU President and the EU High Representative will be forming and Belgium will have a great deal of influence in how they are set up and the direction in which they begin to travel, he said. Even with the concentration of power promised by the Lisbon Treaty, Lambert expects it will still be some time before the EU can speak with one voice, especially in foreign affairs. Lambert also commented on what he considers the good cooperation between the EU's members in the Security Council Permanent Five and the other EU member states. SECURITY COUNCIL REFORM -------------- ¶3. (C) Although it has passed on its membership in the UN Security Council, Belgium is represented in the UN General Assembly and has held the presidency of the UN Human Rights Council since June 19. Lambert said that Belgium is fully aware of the arguments for increasing the size of the UNSC and that former FM De Gucht had favored that. Lambert believes the UNSC is not reflective of current global realities and nations such as Japan and Germany merit a permanent seat. He does not realistically expect to see any change in the short term, however. According to Lambert, the ideal situation would be for the EU to hold one seat, but this cannot come to pass until the EU member states have a more consistent voice. Lambert could not speculate on Leterme's position on UNSC reform. He expects Belgium will return to the UNSC in 2018-2019. THE MIDDLE EAST, IRAN AND NORTH KOREA -------------- ¶4. (C) Lambert expects the Middle East Peace Process, Iran and North Korea to be the most important issues facing the UN while he is working in New York. When Karel De Gucht was Belgian Foreign Minister, he opposed new settlements in the Middle East and was highly critical of the Israeli push into Gaza. Lambert does not know for certain what Leterme's exact policies will be, but he thinks Leterme will be somewhat more sympathetic to Israel than was De Gucht. De Gucht supported "deepening" of existing UN sanctions against Iran and making them more effective. Lambert too said that he did not want to see mere "megaphone diplomacy" or empty gestures directed at Iran. He dismissed the idea of a unilateral Israeli attack on Iran as "unlikely" because Israel knows that Iranian nuclear installations are well-protected and widely dispersed, making any attack likely to fail. He does not see this as reducing the urgency of diplomatic efforts to convince Iran to disavow its nuclear ambitions, however. Lambert was intrigued by former President Bill Clinton's BRUSSELS 00001118 002.3 OF 002 recent visit to North Korea. Although Clinton went as a private citizen, he said, the North Koreans see any contact as political. MORE POLICING NEEDED IN DRC -------------- ¶5. (C) As far as MONUC's involvement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is concerned, Lambert suggested that the most pressing issue is the quality and training of MONUC's personnel. In his opinion, the situation in the DRC calls for higher quality police work and less in terms of military support. At the same time, he expressed disappointment that De Gucht was not able to convince the EU to send a bridging force to support MONUC when the conflict in the Eastern Congo was at its peak in early 2009. Lambert said that there is a good possibility of a visit by King Albert of Belgium to the DRC next year for the fiftieth anniversary of the country's independence. BUSH