SCENESETTER FOR VISIT OF SPECIAL ENVOY MITCHELL TO MUSCAT

S E C R E T MUSCAT 000345 C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (ADDED MCNS) SIPDIS NOFORN E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/04/18 TAGS: PREL KPAL KWBG IR IS MU SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR VISIT OF SPECIAL ENVOY MITCHELL TO MUSCAT CLASSIFIED BY: Gary A. Grappo, Ambassador, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Embassy - Muscat; REASON: 1.4(B),(D) FROM AMBASSADOR GRAPPO TO SPECIAL ENVOY MITCHELL INRODUCTION ¶1. (C) Senator Mitchell: Embassy Muscat and I warmly welcome you to Oman, one of our oldest friends in the region. Sultan Qaboos is looking forward to your visit and to meeting with you. You will find the Sultan an engaging interlocutor. He is an intellectual whose interests range from sustainable agriculture to classical music. Along with surfing the net for information, he is an avid reader with well-stocked libraries in all of his palaces. As the second-longest serving Arab ruler (39 years),the Sultan remains an invaluable source of advice and can be helpful in advancing U.S. interests in Oman and the region for the foreseeable future. In keeping with the traditions of Ibadhi Islam and of the Al Sa'id sultans, he has no designated successor. The Sultan often begins discussions with visitors on a matter unrelated to issues at hand. In his audiences with senior USG officials, he has been generous with his time, sometimes going as long as an hour and a half. [Note: In our most recent meeting, the Sultan mentioned he may have met you once before some years ago, perhaps in London.] End Introduction. MIDDLE EAST PEACE ¶2. (C) Oman has long supported, albeit quietly, efforts to peacefully resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. Reflecting its independent foreign policy, Oman was one of only two Arab states (the other being Sudan) to refuse to break relations with Egypt following the 1978 Camp David accords. The two most senior Omani diplomats, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs Yusef bin Alawi and MFA Secretary General Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi, periodically talk with officials from both sides, including face-to-face meetings with former Israeli Foreign Minister Livni. Israeli diplomats have made discrete visits to Muscat in recent years. Oman continues to host and chair the Middle East Desalination Research Center (MEDRC),originally established as part of the multilateral track of the peace process in the mid-nineties. Representatives and experts from Israel and Arab countries, in addition to other donor nations, participate in MEDRC-sponsored activities and attend the annual MEDRC Board meeting in Muscat. The Omani government closed the Israeli Trade Office in Muscat in October 2000 following the outbreak of the second Palestinian intifada and has repeatedly told us it is not prepared to consider re-opening it absent significant progress in resolving the conflict. ¶3. (C) The Omani government is not optimistic on the prospects for achieving a comprehensive peace agreement in the near future. Omani officials blame Israel for continuing settlement expansion and failing to offer meaningful concessions, but recognize that Palestinian political disunity is also at fault for the lack of progress. The U.S. is criticized to a lesser degree for not applying sufficient pressure on Israel to soften its negotiating stance. While encouraged by the Obama administration's early and high-profile attention to the peace process, Oman is worried that the new Israeli government led by Prime Minister Netanyahu may lead to backwards movement in peace talks. Local reaction to Israel's military operations in Gaza in late 2008 was unexpectedly strong; numerous demonstrations (all non-violent) were held throughout Oman. Stung by negative public opinion on Oman's phlegmatic response to the Gaza crisis, Foreign Minister bin Alawi harshly criticized the U.S. Security Council in local media for failing to immediately call for an unconditional ceasefire to end the fighting in Gaza and convoked ambassadors of UNSC members states resident in Muscat. GRAPPO