CDA, UNVIE AMB. SCHULTE DISCUSS ASAD VISIT WITH GOA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 VIENNA 000503 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/CE AND NEA E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/27/2019 TAGS: PREL IAEA PHUM PARM SY AU SUBJECT: CDA, UNVIE AMB. SCHULTE DISCUSS ASAD VISIT WITH GOA REF: 4/17/09 NEA EMAIL (MONZ) Classified by: CDA Scott F. Kilner for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Charge Kilner and Ambassador Schulte met April 24 with Johannes Kyrle, MFA SecGen, and (separately) with Alfons Kloss, President Fischer's diplomatic advisor, to discuss Syrian President Asad's April 27-28 visit to Vienna. Charge stressed that the visit should be viewed as an opportunity to press Asad to support regional peace and stability, cut off support for terrorist organizations, and address Syria's deteriorating human rights situation. He said the USG believes progress on the EU-Syria Association Agreement should be tied to Syrian actions. Schulte emphasized that President Fischer and FM Spindelegger should raise Syria's secret nuclear program in their meetings with Asad. He said Asad would try to avoid the issue, but the international community needs to maintain pressure on Syria to cooperate with the investigation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The Austrians indicated broad agreement with the joint U.S. presentation, reporting that their own briefing materials for the visit, which also includes a strong commercial component, were similar to the U.S. points. They also stated that the GOA had coordinated closely with the government of Slovakia, where Asad will travel after Vienna. End Summary. Visit an "Opportunity" to Press Asad -------------- ¶2. (C) Drawing on points provided in Ref email, Charge told Kloss and Kyrle that Syria could potentially play a constructive role in the Middle East. Its actions impact a number of shared U.S. and European priorities in the region, including stability in Iraq, Arab-Israeli peace, an independent Lebanon, counterterrorism, and non-proliferation. The U.S. Administration is open to engagement with the Syrian government, but engagement is a tool for influencing Syria's behavior, not an end in itself. If the U.S. and Europe both use engagement to press Syria to make more responsible choices, the chances of success will be greater. President Asad's visit to Vienna is an opportunity to press the Syrian leader to support peace and stability in the region, cut off support for terrorist organizations, and end the harassment of opposition leaders and civil rights activists at home. Charge stressed that the U.S. believes progress on the EU-Syria Association Agreement should be tied to Syrian actions in addressing these concerns. ¶3. (C) Kloss and Kyrle replied that they also view the Asad visit as an opportunity to influence Syrian behavior. They noted that President Fischer traveled to the Middle East often and was familiar with U.S. and EU concerns regarding Syria. They averred that the briefing papers for Fischer and FM Spindelegger closely track the points raised by Charge. However, MFA Middle East Director Ralph Scheide, who joined the meeting with Kloss, said the EU-Syria Association Agreement would soon be submitted to the European Council for approval. He said he believes there is an increasing readiness among EU members to move forward with the agreement, though progress will probably require some positive action on Syria's part. Secret Nuclear Program Should Be Raised -------------- ¶4. (C) Ambassador Schulte emphasized that Asad wants to ignore the IAEA investigation of Syria's clandestine nuclear program, but the U.S. and European allies need to continue to press the issue. The U.S. is confident that the facility destroyed by Israeli forces in the Syrian desert in September 2007 was a nuclear reactor modeled after North Korea's Yongbyon reactor. He showed the GOA officials pictures revealing how the Syrians had tried to disguise the facility and bury it after the attack. He said the USG believes the facility was built with North Korean assistance and that, like the Yongbyon reactor, it was well configured to produce plutonium. ¶5. (C) Schulte said IAEA inspectors had been permitted to access the site once, and had found uranium particles. But the Syrian government has refused a follow-up visit, and has declined to answer questions from the IAEA on the matter. Since Asad has publicly claimed the facility was not a reactor, the Syrians want to avoid discussing the issue. ¶6. (C) Schulte said the reactor, now buried beneath tens of meters of earth, will not be re-activated. But the VIENNA 00000503 002 OF 002 international community needs to make sure the IAEA follows through on its investigation. IAEA inspectors need to confirm what was taking place at the site, and to ensure that Syria is not engaged in other undeclared activities elsewhere. Moreover, Syria and North Korea must be dissuaded from pursuing a similar program in the future. It is important that the U.S. and EU stick together to pursue this goal. ¶7. (C) Kloss and Kyrle said GOA leaders would raise the IAEA investigation with Asad. Scheide later showed Schulte Fischer's briefing memo, which included points on the investigation. Commercial Component -------------- 8 (C) Asad is bringing a business delegation of about 60 with him, and our interlocutors made it clear that the commercial agenda will be as important in the visit as the political. KILNER