RICE AND KOUCHNER DISCUSS AFGHANISTAN, GUINEA,

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 001153

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/08/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KPKO UNSC AF CG GV ER
SUBJECT: RICE AND KOUCHNER DISCUSS AFGHANISTAN, GUINEA,
ERITREA AND DRC

Classified By: Ambassador Susan Rice for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (S) SUMMARY. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told
Ambassador Rice that France would not send additional troops
to Afghanistan in the near term, but would take another look
at its troop contributions following the outcome of the
January 2010 London conference on Afghanistan. Kouchner
confirmed that President Sarkozy had spoken to Moroccan King
Mohammed VI the previous day about allowing Guinean president
Moussa Dadis Camara to remain in Morocco following a recent
assassination attempt, so that Minister of Defense Sekouba
Konata could take over as a caretaker leader to shepherd
Guinea to elections. Kouchner said he had also sought
support from Burkina Faso President Compoare for Dadis
staying in Morocco, as Carmara's return to Guinea could lead
to civil war. Ambassador Rice urged Kouchner to support
efforts to sanction Eritrean officials who are hindering
implementation of the Djibouti agreement and helping to
destabilize Somalia by supporting the al-Shabaab armed group.
Kouchner said France would not object to sanctions, but
wanted a brief delay due to a French hostage being held in
Somalia. Rice asked Kouchner to consider a 12 month mandate
for UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of
Congo (MONUC),in order to send the message to DRC leader
Joseph Kabila that the international community is serious
about MONUC's protection of civilians mandate and the need
for security sector reform. Kouchner questioned MONUC's
effectiveness, and agreed with Rice's assessment that the
entire mandate needed to be reviewed. Kouchner expressed some
willingness to consider Rice's suggestion that the Security
Council renew MONUC for four months to provide time for a
strategic review, and at the same time clearly signal its
intention to renew MONUC with a revised mandate for an
additional 12 months at the end of the review but was
non-committal. END SUMMARY.

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AFGHANISTAN
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2. (C) French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told
Ambassador Rice during a December 7 meeting in New York, that
France would deploy no more soldiers, "for the time being",
but would reconsider its contributions again in March 2010,
based on the outcome of a January 28, 2010 London
international conference intended to assess progress on
security, governance and development in Afghanistan. Kouchner
said French troops and gendarmerie already on the ground in
Afghanistan would not leave. He thought the international
community would need to be "very strict" with Afghan
president Hamid Karzai, whom he believed would otherwise not
deliver on promised reforms. Kouchner also expressed doubt
about a two-year timeline to begin U.S. troop withdrawal,
though Ambassador Rice reminded him that the U.S. was goal
was to start Afghanistan on a positive trajectory during the
two years, not "change the world in Afghanistan."

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GUINEA
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3. (S) Kouchner told Rice that French President Nicolas
Sarkozy had spoken to King Mohammed VI of Morocco about
Guinea's Defense Minister Sekouba Konate taking over as a
caretaker leader and shepherding Guinea to new elections.
President Dadis Camara, who was shot in an assassination
attempt on December 3, would need to remain in Morocco, where
he was receiving medical treatment, as Kouchner thought
Camara's return to Guinea "would lead to civil war." Rice
agreed that Camara should remain in Morocco and that Sekouba
was best placed to serve as an interim leader. She said
Secretary Clinton had also intended to speak to King Mohammed
about Camara remaining in Guinea. Rice said she had spoken
to UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs,
Haile Menkerios, who also believed Sekouba was the right
person to take over as interim leader, but that Sekouba
should not run in an election for a permanent replacement for
Camara.

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ERITREA SANCTIONS
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4. (C) Ambassador Rice urged Kouchner to support U.S. efforts
to impose Security Council sanctions on Eritrean officials
who are undermining the Djibouti agreement and giving active
support to the al-Shabaab terrorist group in Somalia. Rice
pointed out that it had been a year since the Security

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Council had threatened sanctions against Eritrean officials
if they did not comply with their international obligations,
and it was time for the Council to make good on its promise.
Kouchner stated that Eritrea served as the only conduit to
Somali extremists regarding the final humanitarian worker
held hostage. Rice said she understood that France did not
want to drive the sanctions process. Somali rebels connected
with al-Shabaab, but that Russia and China were hiding behind
French reluctance to move ahead with sanctions. African
members of the Security Council wanted to get the sanctions
in place during December, and had toned down the draft
resolution considerably in order to attract wider support.
Kouchner said he could join a consensus to impose sanctions,
but "additional days" to work toward release of the French
hostage "would help us so much."

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DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO (DRC)
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5. (C) Discussing the upcoming mandate renewal for the UN
Organization Mission in DRC (MONUC),Rice sought support for
a 12-month extension of the MONUC mandate. Rice thought that
DRC President Joseph Kabila was looking to signal the
beginning of the end of MONUC during June 2010 celebrations
of the 50th anniversary of the DRC, and would use the end of
a six-month mandate to his own advantage. A 12-month
renewal, which would include an initial 4-month strategic
mandate review, could make clear to the region that the
Security Council is serious about MONUC, and would encourage
Kabila to follow through on security sector and other
reforms. Rice said the MONUC mandate could be adjusted, if
necessary, after the 4 month review. Kouchner said he did
not think it mattered whether the mandate would be six or 12
months, since, in his view MONUC was not effective in
fulfilling its mandate to protect civilians, and in
particular in protecting women from sexual violence. French
Permrep Gerard Araud added that it would be difficult to
convince the Security Council to create a 12-month mandate if
Kabila was seeking a six-month extension, even though MONUC
is a Chapter 7 mandate, which does not require consent of the
host government.


6. (C) Rice acknowledged that MONUC had failings, but
believed it had made a difference in the protection of
civilians. A four-month strategic review would allow the
Security Council to make the mandate more effective,
including to address the real issues of how to continue to
pressure the FDLR and how to transform the FARDC into a
reliable partner. As an alternative to a 12-month renewal,
Rice floated the idea to extend MONUC for an initial
four-month period to carry out the strategic review, while at
the same time signaling its intention to renew MONUC for an
additional 12 months with a revised mandate at the end of
four months. Kouchner expressed doubt that the international
community would muster the resources to address the real
problems in DRC, but expressed some willingness to consider
the 4-month 12-month scenario but was non-committal on the
timeline.
RICE