ARAB LEAGUE COS BRIEFS ON MARCH 30-31 AL SUMMIT

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 000595 NEA/RA FOR ADLER; NSC FOR KUMAR E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/06/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV IZ SY SU LE IS IR LY EG SUBJECT: ARAB LEAGUE COS BRIEFS ON MARCH 30-31 AL SUMMIT Classified By: DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION MATTHEW TUELLER REASONS: 1.4 (B) and (D) ¶1. (SBU) Key points: -- Arab League (AL) Chief of Staff Hisham Yousef told local diplomats April 2 that said that some progress had been made on Arab reconciliation at the Arab League Doha summit of March 30-31, but that much more needs to be done. -- Yousef strongly criticized the incoming Israeli government but said that AL leaders agreed that the new U.S. Administration's attitude was positive. -- AL leaders agreed at the summit that the ICC indictment of Sudanese President Bashir should be "cancelled." -- Yosuef said that next year's summit would be in Libya, after Iraq agreed to defer its presidency term for one year. ARAB RECONCILIATION ¶2. (SBU) Yousef described the Doha summit as "very active," and said that Arab reconciliation had "dominated" the agenda. In general, he said that Arab leaders were focused on how to approach, and resolve, intra-Arab disputes, possibly through establishment of an "early warning system." Yousef said that no decisions were made on any new mechanism or processes, but that Arab leaders had agreed to sign a document entitled "Consolidation of reconciliation and Arab solidarity." Yousef said the paper would be on the Arab League,s website soon. ¶3. (C) Yousef conceded that none of the major current intra-Arab disputes had been resolved, but claimed that the Qatari-facilitated bilateral meeting between Libya's Qaddafi and Saudi King Abduallah was "a positive step." Note: In a separate meeting later that day (April 2),Egyptian MFA Senior Cabinet Advisor told the DCM that in fact the Saudi-Libyan meeting had been less than successful, given that Saudi King Abdullah had participated in that meeting not knowing at the time that Qaddafi had earlier in the day hurled serious insults at Saudi Arabia and King Abdullah, due to Qaddafi's microphone being switched off. According to Zaki, the Libyan media had reported these remarks from Qaddafi, and the Qataris had known this, but had not advised King Abdullah prior to his meeting with Qaddafi. End note. ISRAELI-ARAB CONFLICT ¶4. (SBU) Yousef said that the mood at the summit on the Israeli-Arab front was one of frustration, with Arab leaders complaining about the "procrastination and lack of will" from the Israelis on advancing peace talks. Although "nobody is shedding any tears" over the outgoing Israeli government, Yousef said that Arab leaders are "expecting the worst" from the incoming GOI. Yousef complained about incoming Israeli FM Lieberman, contending that Lieberman's initial comments on the Annapolis Process were "proof that what we've been saying for years is true." Yousef went on to say that the three Quartet conditions that have been presented to the Palestinian Authority should be presented as well to the Israeli government (e.g. acceptance of previous agreements relating to Israeli-Palestinian peace),and went on to criticize Israeli "war crimes" in Gaza, the lack of open crossings into Gaza, and ongoing Israeli settlement activity. He argued that the "burden" of reining in the Israelis falls squarely on the shoulders of the U.S. Administration and the Europeans. ¶5. (SBU) Yousef said that Arab leaders had agreed to maintain previous language with respect to the Arab Peace Initiative (API),i.e. that it remains on the table for the time being, but not indefinitely. Yousef said that the decision to retain the API was driven by a consensus view that the U.S. Administration had a brought a "new positive attitude" on Israeli-Arab peace, and that although specifics of Administration's policy had yet to be announced, the good intentions are clear in the eyes of Arab leaders. He reported that the AL had agreed with the European Union on a strategy to approach the Israeli-Arab conflict (NFI),but said that the leaders have not yet agreed on a time for its release. ¶6. (SBU) Arab leaders agreed at the summit to continue to provide $55 million monthly to support the Palestinian Authority, and called on all Palestinian factions to accelerate Palestinian unity, and for the international community to accept the new interim PA "without conditions." Note: Later in the day, Hamas and Fatah negotiators agreed to postpone further discussions on formation of a new interim PA government until April 24, due to lack of progress. End note. SUDAN ¶7. (SBU) Yousef said that Arab leaders had rejected the ICC indictment of Sudanese President Bashir and expressed solidarity with him. He argued that the arrest of Bashir would have a negative effect on stability and security in Sudan, as well as diminish prospects for peace in Darfur. The leaders called on Sudanese factions to reconcile without delay. Yousef said that the Arab League had decided to provide $8 million monthly in humanitarian assistance to make up for the 13 NGOs that were expelled from Sudan by Bashir; he said that the AL plans to convene Red Crescent organizations and other NGOs in consultation with the GOS and U.N. to decide how to deal with the humanitarian situation going forward. NEXT YEAR IN TRIPOLI ¶8. (SBU) Yousef told us that next year's summit will be held in Tripoli, and that the Libyans will hold the presidency for one year following the Qatari term. The Iraqis had agreed to defer holding the summit in Baghdad, and their presidency year, until 2011. The Tunisians proposed that next year's summit focus on Arab youth, and Yousef said that the AL will roll out a large number of activities in support of this goal. IRAN ¶9. (SBU) In response to a question from a European diplomat, Yosuef said that Iran was not discussed as a stand-alone topic, but that Iranian influence came up in a variety of regional issues, including Iraq, Bahrain and Lebanon. SCOBEY