EP PRESIDENT POTTERING ON GAZA, ENERGY, AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 000045

SIPDIS

STATE FOR DRL/IRF

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/08/2019
TAGS: PREL ENRG KIRF PHUM TK RU UK IS EUN
SUBJECT: EP PRESIDENT POTTERING ON GAZA, ENERGY, AND
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

REF: BRUSSELS 28

Classified By: Ambassador Kristen Silverberg for reasons 1.4 b and d


1. (U) During a January 7 meeting with Ambassador
Silverberg, Hans-Gert Pottering, President of the European
Parliament, discussed the Israel-Gaza crisis, the
Russia-Ukraine energy dispute, and freedom of religion in the
Middle East. Pottering requested the meeting with the
Ambassador in order to reiterate his invitation to
President-elect Obama to address the European Parliament
during his early-April 2009 trip to Europe, reported reftel.

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Conflict in Gaza
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2. (C) Pottering relayed that he had just spoken to
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad before
meeting with the Ambassador. According to Pottering, Fayyad
sought an immediate cease fire by both sides, with issues
like smuggling and border crossings to be solved after
hostilities had stopped. Pottering said that he agreed with
Fayyad,s views, saying that &if Fayyad says these things,
we should listen.8 Pottering called for a &massive8 UN
force to be deployed in order to enforce a cease fire, saying
that it would have more credibility than unilateral action
from just one or a few nations. Pottering agreed with U.S.
views that smuggling must end, but disagreed with the
Ambassador,s point that a cease fire must be durable and not
return the situation to the status quo ante. Pottering
contended that moderate Arab states would come under public
pressure to back an unconditional cease fire if we were to
pursue a durable cease fire that had conditions attached.

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Ukraine-Russia Gas Dispute
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3. (C) Pottering said that Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller had
requested an appointment with him for January 8, the next
day, but did not elaborate on the current crisis. In
response to a question from the Ambassador, Pottering said
that the EP was a strong supporter of plans for the EU to
diversify its sources of energy, including the Nabucco
pipeline. He also reported that a prominent minister of
state from a North Stream bordering country had labeled North
Stream &the biggest case of corruption in Europe during the
postwar period.8

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Turkey, Religious Freedom
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4. (C) Pottering mentioned that Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Erdogan would be at the parliament on January 19 in
order to meet with him, and political group leaders.
Pottering said that the EP is generally in favor of Turkish
accession, but that he personally is against it. Pottering
also said that before the Christmas holiday he had traveled
to Oman, UAE, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. He was struck by
the open Christian worship in Oman, UAE, and Bahrain, and
said that he attended Catholic mass at a church in Oman
(where the priest led a prayer for the Sultan). Pottering
said that he was surprised that there were no non-Muslim
houses of worship in Saudi Arabia. Rejecting Saudi arguments
that Catholics would not permit a mosque in the Vatican,
Pottering pressed for the United States to lean harder on
Saudi Arabia to permit more religious freedom.

SILVERBERG
.