SOMALIA SANCTIONS: FRENCH IN GENERAL AGREEMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 001552 SIPDIS STATE FOR EEB/ESC/TFS: JJALLORINA, IO/PSC: JCLARK; USUN FOR AORBACH E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/23/2019 TAGS: MARR MOPS PGOV PHUM PREL PTER XW UNSC FR SUBJECT: SOMALIA SANCTIONS: FRENCH IN GENERAL AGREEMENT WITH U.S. REF: STATE 118371 Classified By: Andrew Young, Political Counselor, 1.4 (b/d). ¶1. (C) MFA IO desk officer Teymouraz Gorjestani on November 20 said that the GOF was in general agreement with the USG approach to Somalia sanctions outlined in reftel. He said that France supported sanctions Against those individuals listed by the UN Sanctions Committee's Monitoring Group. (reftel, para 3). However, he said that France at this time could support listing only three of the four additional names proposed by the U.S. -- he said that France could not support including Fares Mohammed Mana'a because it lacked its own information on him. This would not, however, rule out eventual support for listing Fares Mohammed Mana'a after further French study of his case. ¶2. (C) Gorjestani said the GOF agreed with the U.S. in opposing the designation of Hisbl al-Islam (reftel, para 4), for the same reason expressed in reftel -- designation could interfere with the TFG's efforts to reach political reconciliation with Hisbl al-Islam, which was closer to what one might consider a traditional political group with its own political objectives. This was in contrast to al-Shabaab, which Gojrestani said was so radical as to make dialogue impossible. ¶3. (C) Gorjestani noted reftel requests for any additional information about the named individuals and entities and he said the French would provide any such information that it unearthed. Gorjestani was in the process of preparing instructions for France's UN mission on the range of issues in reftel. He was confident that the main points set out above would survive the clearance process, and that any further details would be provided by France's UN mission. RIVKIN