ARAB LEAGUE SUMMIT: QATAR DESCRIBES PRE-SUMMIT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DOHA 000193

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DHAKA FOR P/E

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/18/2019
TAGS: PREL NL SU QA
SUBJECT: ARAB LEAGUE SUMMIT: QATAR DESCRIBES PRE-SUMMIT
POLITICS

REF: DOHA 177

Classified By: Ambassador Joseph E. LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b and d).

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(C) KEY POINTS
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-- MFA Minister of State Ahmed Al-Mahmoud told Ambassador
March 18 that (unidentified) Arab League members are trying
to have the upcoming Arab League summit shifted to Khartoum,
rather than Doha, in order to show solidarity with President
Omar al-Bashir, for whom the International Criminal Court
recently issued an arrest warrant.

-- Al-Mahmoud made it clear than Qatar is resisting the venue
shift and that Qatar would prefer that al-Bashir not attend
the Summit at all. Qatar invited Al-Bashir because it
cocluded that Qatar had to follow Arab League rules nd
protocols and invite all 22 Arab League members to the annual
summit, he said.

-- Al-Mahmoudwas lso very clear about the attendance of
Hama leader Khalid Mish'al: Mish'al would not be invitd,
and he would not attend. Only Arab leaders ad certain
international organizations ould attend (see reftel).

-- On a separate issue, Al-Mahmoud confirmed news reports
that Egypt had objected to Qatar's participation in the
recent "mini-summit" held in Riyadh, saying that Qatar "had
some questions to answer" regarding alleged Qatari effort to
destabilize Egypt. Qatar agreed to discuss the accusations,
but the parties were unable to reach an agreement that would
have allowed Qatar's participation in Riyadh.

End Key Points.


1. (C) In a March 18 meeting with Ambassador, MFA Minister of
State Ahmed bin Abdulla Al-Mahmoud said there is a move
underway by unidentified Arab countries to move the March 30
Arab League Summit from Doha to Khartoum. The change of
venue would be designed to show Arab solidarity with the
people of Sudan and President Omar al-Bashir, currently the
subject of an ICC arrest warrant. He stated that if such a
decision was taken by the Arab League, the Summit would still
be under Qatar's presidency.


2. (C) Al-Mahmoud noted that he recently attended an Arab
League follow-up meeting in Damascus with representatives of
Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Oman, and Libya to discuss the
upcoming Summit. He said that it was unclear from the
meeting what position Arab League member states might take on
the Bashir indictment. Their options range from repudiation
of the warrant and a call for its cancellation, he said, to
seeking a Security Council deferment under Article 16 of the
ICC statute. Because Qatar was hosting the Summit, he said,
Qatar did not intend to take a formal position on the matter.
But, he noted, "Article 16 must be discussed."


3. (C) Al-Mahmoud stated that two ICC employees recently
appeared at the Embassy of Qatar in the Hague, asking that
the Ambassador sign a pledge to assist in the arrest of
Bashir, if the Sudanese leader came to Doha for the Summit.
If the Qatari Ambassador did not sign the pledge, they
threatened, his refusal to do so would be published on the
ICC website. Under GOQ instructions, he did not sign,
Al-Mahmoud said. A report about the Qatari Ambassador's
refusal has not been posted on the website.

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HAMAS WILL NOT BE INVITED
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4. (C) Ambassador reiterated the U.S. view that Hamas
political leader Khaled Mish'al should not be invited to the
Summit. Al-Mahmoud stated clearly that Mish'al had not been
invited, and that only Arab countries and certain
international organizations would be present. He cautioned,
however, that Qatar could not be perceived as excluding
Mish'al in response to outside pressure, as such a perception
among the Arab states might lead to calls for Mish'al's
participation.

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CONTINUED TENSIONS WITH EGYPT
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DOHA 00000193 002 OF 002




5. (C) On a separate matter, Al-Mahmoud said that Saudi
Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal had visited Amir Hamad bin
Khalifa Al Thani to invite Qatar's participation in one of
two "mini-summits" to be held in advance of the Sharm Al
Sheikh conference on Gaza aid. One was to include Saudi
Arabia, Egypt, and Syria; the second would have gathered
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Qatar.


6. (C) Egypt objected to Qatar's inclusion in the second,
however, accusing Qatar of unspecified attempts to undermine
the Egyptian regime. Qatar offered to discuss the matter
directly with Egypt, but the parties were unable to agree on
holding a meeting. In the end, only one "mini-summit" was
held, without Qatari participation. On the day of the
mini-summit, the Amir went to Iran instead, as the special
guest of the Economic Cooperation Organization's 10th Summit.
LeBaron