AMBASSADOR'S DEMARCHE TO FM ABOUL GHEIT ON SUDAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 000520 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA, NEA/ARP, AF/SPG E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/25/2019 TAGS: KPAL KPKO PGOV PHUM PREL SU EG SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S DEMARCHE TO FM ABOUL GHEIT ON SUDAN REF: STATE 28323 Classified By: Ambassador Margaret Scobey for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) The Ambassador spoke with Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Ghayt at opening of business Wednesday, March 25, conveying reftel points regarding the visit of Sudanese President Bashir to Egypt. She stressed that the U.S. could not accept any justification for denying humanitarian assistance to the victims in Darfur and that the U.S. was prepared to pursue a more robust international response if necessary. ¶2. (C) Aboul Ghayt said he had already been made aware of U.S. concerns by the Egyptian Ambassador in Washington. He said he fully understood the U.S. position and that President Mubarak had already been briefed. Aboul Ghayt made clear that the humanitarian situation in Sudan was "paramount" in Egypt's own view of the situation and that addressing this issue would be at the top of the agenda. He said that Egypt shared the world's concerns about the plight of Darfuris, but that for Egypt the situation was more than a humanitarian issue, or an issue of internal Sudanese security. For Egypt, the humanitarian situation in Sudan represents a national security issue for Egypt dealing with how to prevent the potential flow of millions of new Sudanese refugees to Egypt. ¶3. (C) Aboul Ghayt defended Egypt,s approach to Bashir along the lines used by Ambassador Shoukry. Egypt calculated its engagement with Bashir in a manner designed to counter growing Iranian influence in Sudan and to develop more constructive cooperation with the GOS on preventing the smuggling of arms across the Sudanese border into Egypt. SCOBEY