RFG: USG POSITION ON POTENTIAL MEMBERSHIP OF SAUDI

C O N F I D E N T I A L USNATO 000236 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/04/2019 TAGS: NATO PREL SA SUBJECT: RFG: USG POSITION ON POTENTIAL MEMBERSHIP OF SAUDI ARABIA IN THE ICI Classified By: DCM John Heffern for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) This message contains a request for guidance. Please see paragraph 4. ¶2. (C) In a bilateral meeting between NATO Secretary General (SYG) Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia, the Ambassador informed the SYG that a recent high-level Saudi delegation which visited NATO in April recommended that Riyadh join the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI). According to the NATO International Staff, any such recommendation must still be approved by a higher level within the Government of Saudi Arabia, and approval at that stage could take a long time. ¶3. (C) The SYG asked Ambassador Daalder whether Washington supported eventual Saudi membership in ICI. ¶4. (C) RFG: Please confirm whether Washington still supports Saudi membership in the ICI and the priority Washington places on this development no later than Monday, June 8. -------------- Background -------------- ¶5. (C) In paragraph 37 of the Istanbul Communique, Heads of State and Government agreed to invite into the ICI "... interested countries in the region, starting with the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council...." As Saudi Arabia is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Saudi Arabia has already been invited by NATO to join the partnership. Riyadh, however, has only chosen to take "observer" status in ICI. DAALDER