UNSC: RUSSIANS MOVING FORWARD WITH PLANS FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000421 C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (ADDED UN SEC COUNCIL) SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/23/2019 TAGS: PREL UNSC KWBG KPAL IS RS SUBJECT: UNSC: RUSSIANS MOVING FORWARD WITH PLANS FOR COUNCIL MINISTERIAL ON MIDDLE EAST, MAY 11 REF: USUN NEW YORK 362 USUN NEW Y 00000421 001.3 OF 002 Classified By: Ambassador Susan E. Rice for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Ambassadors Rice and Wolff met bilaterally with Russian Perm Rep Churkin and Deputy Perm Rep Dolgov on April ¶23. Ambassador Churkin confirmed that his government plans to send out invitations April 24 to its proposed May 11 Council ministerial meeting on the Middle East. He said only UN Security Council members would be invited to participate in the meeting. (Note: In order to make it a ministerial-level meeting, the Security Council President, at the Foreign Minister-level, must formally issue invitations to his Council counterparts to participate in a meeting. End note.) Churkin noted that while the Secretary-General would brief the Council, per the usual format of the Council's monthly briefings on the Middle East, the Russians also planned to invite Quartet Representative Tony Blair to the meeting. Churkin said he did not think Council members would object since there has been an outstanding invitation since last fall for Blair to brief the Council. ¶2. (C) Churkin emphasized that Russia's priority is the Council ministerial meeting followed by a luncheon for heads of delegation. Churkin said he understood that capitals were still discussing the possibility of a Quartet meeting in New York on May 11 and welcomed such a meeting. (Comment: Russian expert Gleb Desiatnikov told PolOff after the meeting that the ministerial meeting could be switched to the afternoon to accommodate a morning Quartet meeting. End comment.) Ambassador Rice noted that we are still waiting for instructions from Washington on our own participation in the Council ministerial meeting. Churkin said that his delegation had received indications of likely foreign minister participation from the following other delegations: UK, France, Japan, Turkey, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Austria. He said the Chinese Foreign Minister is likely to attend since he is now traveling in the Middle East. ¶3. (C) Churkin shared with Ambassador Rice the text (see para four) of the draft Presidential Statement (PRST) his delegation would like the Council to adopt on May 11. He emphasized that the PRST language is drawn from previous Quartet statements, as well as UNSCR 1850. He said that his delegation is open to comments from the United States before disseminating it to other P-5 members. Though the text could be tightened, Churkin urged that it not be shortened too much since they believe a PRST for a ministerial meeting must be of a certain length. ¶4. (SBU) Begin draft text: Statement by the President of the United Nations Security Council on the Situation in the Middle East The Security Council stresses, that the Middle East peace process reached an important junction. Vigorous diplomatic action is needed to attain the goal set by the international community - lasting peace in the region, based on the enduring commitment to mutual recognition, freedom from violence, incitement and terror, consistent implementation of a permanent two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In this context the Security Council recalls all its previous resolutions on the Middle East, in particular resolutions 242 (1967),338 (1973),1397 (2002),1515 (2003),1850 (2008), 1860 (2009),the Madrid principles and the Arab peace initiative. The Security Council supports the Quartet in fulfilling its task of providing assistance and advice to the parties aiming at achieving just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East. The Security Council reiterates its commitment to the irreversibility of the bilateral negotiations built upon previous agreements and obligations, calls once again on the parties to restart the talks on all tracks and in the multilateral format aimed at resolving all outstanding issues, including all core issues, without exceptions. The Security Council further calls upon Israel and the Palestinian National Authority to fulfill their obligations under the Performance-based Road map and Agreement on movement and access, refrain from all steps that could undermine confidence or prejudice the outcome of negotiations. The Security Council supports the Palestinian National Administration that is committed to the Quartet principles, the Arab peace initiative and respects the obligations of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. It calls for assistance in development of the Palestinian economy and providing the USUN NEW Y 00000421 002.3 OF 002 resources necessary to the Palestinian institution-building in preparation for statehood. It endorses the decisions taken at Sharm el-Sheikh international meeting in February this year, which was dedicated to reconstruction and rebuilding of Gaza. The Security Council recalls its support for Egypt,s efforts to promote the internal Palestinian dialogue leading to the reunification of Gaza and the West Bank within the framework of the legitimate Palestinian National Authority. The Security Council reiterates its support for the proposal of the Russian Federation to convene an international meeting on the Middle East peace process in Moscow in 2009 and calls upon the international community to provide support needed for the successful convening and conduct of this forum. End draft text. Rice