AUSTRIAN FOREIGN MINISTER TOURS ISRAEL, WEST BANK,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 VIENNA 000205 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/25/2025 TAGS: PREL KWBG IS SY LE AU SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN FOREIGN MINISTER TOURS ISRAEL, WEST BANK, LEBANON, SYRIA Classified By: Econ/Pol Counselor Dean Yap. Reason: 1.4(b) and (d) Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Though cast as a renewal of Austrian engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Foreign Minster Spindelegger's trip to the Israel, the West Bank, Syria and Lebanon the week of March 15 served primarily as a stock- taking, with no specific new roles or missions for Austria in the region. Spindelegger used his visit to Israel to take a slightly tougher stance on possible Iran sanctions and his visit to Lebanon to advocate for an Austrian role in UNIFIL, a step the Austrian Defense Minister does not yet support. End Summary. ¶2. (U) E/P Counselor obtained a readout on Spindelegger's visit from MFA Middle East Director Friedrich Stift who accompanied the Minster throughout he visit. Stift said the Austrian had meetings at the head of state and/or government level in all his stops and met with FonMins as well. Ramallah -------------- ¶3. (C) Spindelegger's first stop left the Austrians with little optimism about the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian dialogue, whether direct or in proximity talks. They believe Abbas offered the proximity approach as a face-saving measure following Israel's rejection o a stop to settlement construction. Abbas told them he would like a format involving a single negotiator from Israel and Palestinian working through Special Envoy Mitchell. However, he also said he had not yet received answers to four questions he had passed to Mitchell about the talks. Abbas himself, Stift said, seemed tired and depressed. He spoke of having "no achievements" to point to after his years in office and complained that "other parties," which the Austrians took to mean Israel and the U.S., were hampering the reconciliation process with Hamas and about Iranian influence on Hamas itself. Israel -------------- ¶4. (C) The Israelis seemed comfortable with the stall in the peace process, Stift indicated. Their security cooperation with the West Bank Palestinians is good and the domestic economy is also in good shape. The Israelis don't believe the latest diplomatic flare with Syria will have lasting impact; they see it as the result of a misunderstanding. Netanyahu was inflexible when it came to security issues in any peace settlement, arguing that Israel alone must have control on matters (such as a presence along the Jordan or in the Golan Heights) that affect its security. ¶5. (C) The Israelis pushed the Austrians hard on Iranian sanctions that bite." They urged Austrian to support the introduction of EU and UN sanctions in parallel; The Austrians said that sanctions should be considered in sequence. Stift reported that President Peres told Spindelegger he wasn't so interested in economic sanctions. What Peres thought would have an impact would be a travel ban on Ahmadinejad and his associates -- they "would hate" that and, the President said, it would truly demonstrate Iran's isolation, Spindelegger did use his public statements to provide a somewhat more forward-leaning statement about the eventual need for sanctions. Lebanon -------------- ¶6. (C) Stift had little to say about the visit to Lebanon, noting that their interlocutors had been reluctant to speak about relations with Iran or Syria; PM Hariri only indicated that relations with Syria had improved. The one issue all their interlocutors raised was the importance of reaching a Israeli-Palestinian settlement so that Palestinians. whose presence the Lebanese said was destabilizing, could go home. ¶7. (C) Spindelegger also took advantage of his trip to get briefed on the UNIFIL mission. He has openly advocated Austria sending a contingent to Lebanon to back-fill for the departing Belgians (who are re-deploying to Afghanistan). The issue has become a domestic bone of contention in Austria, with Defense Minister Darabos initially rejecting the idea when Spindelegger first floated it in public. More recently, Darabos has said he will consider the deployment but dislikes how the Foreign Minister has made announcements about the deployment of the military prior to a cabinet agreement. According to Stift, the Austrian government it VIENNA 00000205 002 OF 002 2-3 weeks away from a decision. The MFA very much supports the deployment so as to demonstrate that Austria is meeting its obligations as a member of the Security Council and especially because SYG Ban made a direct request to Austria to deploy to UNIFIL. Syria -------------- ¶8. (C) Discussions in Syrian covered a wide range of regional issues. The Syrians reaffirmed their determination to remain allied with Iran "as long as it serves our national interests. and told the Austrians that sanctions against Iran would not work. The Syrians argued for a Turkish led process of indirect, Turkish-mediated talks with Israel, but stuck to their insistence that Israel agree to return the Golan as a pre-condition for talks. The Syrians said they had not signed the EU-Syria Association Agreement because they had decided the EU was not "generous" enough and wished to re-open some of its provisions. Spindelegger also visited Austrian troops in the Golan duringhis visit to Syria. Comment -------------- ¶9. (C)Spindelegger frequently referred, in the media andto diplomatic interlocutors, about a greater rol for Austria in the peace process. However, Stif affirmed that no specific new missions for Austian emerged during the trip and media commentaryhas suggested that the trip reaffirmed the centrlity of the U.S., rather than the European, role i the process. Spindelegger has show a penchant for conflating his own travels with new Austrian initiatives but in most cases to date there has been little follow-through. If, however, his Lebanon trip does lead to an Austrian deployment to UNIFIL, he will have achieved his first lasting foreign policy success -- albeit over a domestic rather than a foreign challenge. End Summary. EACHO