SAUDI MINISTER OF STATE MADANI ON UAE, YEMEN,

C O N F I D E N T I A L RIYADH 001156 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/04/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV UNGA SA AM AE YM SUBJECT: SAUDI MINISTER OF STATE MADANI ON UAE, YEMEN, SAUDI-ARMENIAN RELATIONS REF: ABU DHABI 849 Classified By: CDA Ambassador Richard Erdman for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D ) ¶1. (C) During a September 2 meeting on other topics reported septel, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Nizar Madani also informed Charge of Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal's current travel plans; downplayed the significance of recent Saudi-UAE disagreements; said the GCC was discussing appropriate steps to take in Yemen; and suggested the Saudis would reevaluate their position vis-a-vis Armenia in light of the recent Turkish-Armenian rapprochement. Highlights follow. ¶2. (C) SAUD AND UNGA: Regarding FM Saud's UNGA plans, Madani indicated it was not yet 100% confirmed that Saud would head their delegation but that they would know next week. Saud, he said, might need to come back the Kingdom to participate in the KAUST inauguration activities on September ¶23. In that case, Madani would lead the delegation in Saud's absence. With respect to the G-20, Madani did not respond to Charge's question about who they were thinking of to lead their delegation. ¶3. (C) SAUDI-UAE RELATIONS: Madani matter-of-factly downplayed recent Saudi-UAE tensions (reftel). He acknowledged that there were problems; said they were in discussion with the Emiratis; and assured that things would be "fixed in the near future." Charge said we hoped both parties would work things out amicably, as friends and neighbors, so there would be maximum unity to address the more serious problems in the region. ¶4. (C) TROUBLE IN YEMEN: The problems in Yemen had been discussed at the GCC Ministerial the previous evening. Yemeni FM Qirbi had sent the group a message conveying the Yemeni leadership's concerns about the situation and Iranian meddling and asking for GCC support. Madani said the situation was indeed dire, the GCC meeting the evening before had expressed a willingness to provide financial and political support to Yemen, and GCC SYG Abdul Rathman al-Attiyah had been dispatched to Yemen to meet with President Saleh and others to discuss in greater detail how GCC could best be of help. Asked if there was hard evidence of Iranian involvement, Madani deflected the question, saying, "that,s what the Yemenis are saying. Everyone is convinced Iran is supplying arms to the Houthis, but of course arms are fungible." ¶5. (C) SAUDI-ARMENIAN RELATIONS: Charge asked about a 2008 letter from the Armenians to FM Prince Saud indicating their interest in establishing diplomatic relations with the Kingdom. Madani answered that the Saudis have, up to this point, approached the issue from the within the OIC framework, i.e., to support Azerbaijan. Asked if the historic agreement between Turkey and Armenia would have any impact on Saudi thinking, Madani thought the Saudis would take another look at their position in light of this positive development. ERDMAN