LETTER FROM SECRETARY CLINTON TO SYG BAN ON

UNCLAS STATE 021863 SIPDIS USUN FOR GERMAN AND KUJAWINSKI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPDC PREL UNSC IZ KU SUBJECT: LETTER FROM SECRETARY CLINTON TO SYG BAN ON KUWAITI ARCHIVES ¶1. This is an action request. Please deliver the following message from Secretary Clinton to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. There will be no signed original. ¶2. Begin text: Dear Mr. Secretary General: Thank you for your letter noting the status of efforts to locate the missing Kuwaiti archives and expressing concern over the lack of progress in this regard. The United States shares your concern regarding the location and repatriation of these documents and fully supports the work of Ambassador Tarasov in this effort, and more generally, Ambassador Tarasov's role as High- level Coordinator for missing Kuwaitis and third-country nationals and missing Kuwaiti property. His work, and that of his predecessor Yuri Vorontsov, has, indeed, been commendable. Regrettably, the United States has no information at this time regarding the whereabouts of these documents. It is our hope that the greatly improved environment in Iraq, which the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq helped to bring about through its work on elections preparation and political reconciliation, will increase opportunities to investigate the whereabouts of these documents. The United States looks forward to the Ambassador's comprehensive report this April and assisting, if possible, in the documents' recovery. I offer assurances of our cooperation and my great personal regard. Sincerely yours, Hillary Rodham Clinton CLINTON