Cablegate: Finns Tell Syria to Honor Unscr 1701; Syrians

VZCZCXYZ0029
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHHE #0854/01 2361350
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 241350Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY HELSINKI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2361
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L HELSINKI 000854

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/24/2016
TAGS: PREL MOPS PGOV MARR FI SY LE
SUBJECT: FINNS TELL SYRIA TO HONOR UNSCR 1701; SYRIANS
REJECT DISARMING OF HEZBOLLAH

REF: A. HELSINKI 842
B. STATE 136196

Classified By: PolChief Gregory Thome, Reasons 1.4 (b,d).

1. (C) SUMMARY: On Aug. 23 in Helsinki, Finnish FM Tuomioja
told Syrian FM Al-Moallem that the EU expected the Government
of Syria (GOS) to support the ceasefire in Lebanon and wider
peace in the Middle East by respecting all provisions of
UNSCR 1701; by honoring the arms embargo in Lebanon; and by
toning down its "belligerent" public rhetoric. The Syrian FM
responded that the GOS supports 1701 and could support an
expanded UNIFIL -- but only if the UN does not give UNIFIL a
"peace enforcement" mandate, does not call for disarming
Hezbollah, and does not place UNIFIL on Syria's borders. He
also said that Syria already proved its willingness to
support the peace process by not entering the war, and warned
that "by isolating Syria, the EU is isolating itself."
Tuomioja told Al-Moallem that the international community
would not view such demands as realistic and that it would
watch Syrian actions carefully, urging Syria not to be a
"spoiler" of the fragile peace in the region. End Summary.

2. (SBU) Finnish Foreign Minister Errki Tuomioja met with
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Moallem in Helsinki August
23. On August 24, PolChief and Poloff obtained a read-out on
the meeting from MFA Regional Manager for Israel, Lebanon and
Syria Sofie From-Emmesberger, who had served as note-taker.
As noted reftel a, the GOF was not acting unilaterally, but
rather in response to conclusions adopted at the Aug. 1
extraordinarly GAERC on Lebanon. The GOF emphasized that the
meeting did not represent an upgrading of EU-Syrian
relations, produced no commitments, and was intended to
deliver a message to the Syrians demanding that they support
the ceasefire in Lebanon and wider peace in the Middle East
by respecting all provisions of UNSCR 1701. Tuomioja held a
low-profile press conference Aug. 23 from which Al-Moallem
was excluded. There, he downplayed the nature of the meeting
while emphazising EU expectations that Syria needed to play a
positive role in the region.

SYRIA AS POTENTIAL "SPOILER"
----------------------------
3. (C) From-Emmesberger said that Tuomioja opened the meeting
by emphasizing that a fragile peace had been reached in
Lebanon, but that the "ball was now in Syria's court" to help
ensure that peace endured. He noted that Syria had a choice:
it could play a constructive role, or it could be "the
spoiler." Tuomioja said that the EU expected Syria to
support the provisions of UNSC Resolution 1701 and, in
particular, to honor the strict embargo on the shipment of
arms to Lebanon. He also asked that Syria remain politically
supportive of the Lebanese government's efforts to gain
control its territory and that it accept the presence and
role of an enhanced UNIFIL in Lebanon.

4. (C) Al-Moallem responded by saying that Syria supported
UNSCR 1701, although he complained that the resolution did
nothing to solve other regional problems, including those in
the Golan Heights, the Palestinian territories, or at Shebaa
Farms. The Syrian also stated that his government accepted
the deployment of the Lebanese army into Southern Lebanon and
a larger UNIFIL. However, From-Emmesberger said, Al-Moallem
insisted that UNIFIL's mission should be "peace keeping, not
peace enforcement." Syria would not accept a UN mandate that
granted UNIFIL Chapter 7 authority or called upon it to
disarm Hezbollah, he said, noting also that if UNIFIL
deployed along the Syrian border, the GOS would view this as
"an act of aggression." Al-Moallem also stated unabashedly
that if UNIFIL's mandate were purely peace-keeping and
humanitarian assistance, "Syria could gaurantee UNIFIL will
be respected by Hezbollah."

UNREALISTIC DEMANDS
-------------------
5. (C) As for Syria's own role, Al-Moallem argued that Syria
had already played a positive role by not "entering the war
and opening a third front." President Assad took a lot of
heat domestically for this decision, he continued, and the EU
should see this decision as a positive. He also said that
the EU must be careful not to press Syria into a corner,
noting that "by isolating Syria, the EU is isolating itself"
because Syria can always turn to "other partners in the East
or in Latin America" -- a formulation From-Emmesberger
interpreted to mean, among others, Iran and Venezuela.

6. (C) Tuomioja responded that while the international
community desired Syria's cooperation, it would view many of
these demands as unrealistic. Regarding UNIFIL's mandate,
Tuomioja said that specifics were still being negotiated but
that the UN had already (in UNSCR 1559) made clear that

disarming the militias in Lebanon was a key to the process.
He urged Al-Moallem not to mis-interpret UNIFIL's presence as
a threat, and cautioned in general against "belligerent"
public statements out of the GOS that served only to
exacerbate tensions and potentially undermine the peace
process -- this being a specific reference to President
Assad's terrible mid-August speech, which forced the German
FM to cancel his trip to Damascus. According to
From-Emmesberger, Tuomioja totally rejected Al-Moallem's
other arguments, saying that threats about turning to "other
partners" would only deepen Syria's own isolation, and that
Syria's decision not to enter the war was simply the very
minimum the EU would expect -- certainly not something it
would "reward."

COMMENT
-------
7. (C) Comment: From-Emmesberger's read-out appears to
indicate that Tuomioja delivered as tough a message as might
be expected. At a minimum, he put the Syrians on notice that
the world is watching and, as we has requested (ref b), he
delivered a hard message on 1701 and the need for Syria to
respect the arms embargo. Depending on how Syria behaves in
the coming weeks, Germany may be the next to initiate contact
with Damascus; this will be the subject of discussion at the
Sept. 1-2 GYMNICH. End Comment.
WARE

© Scoop Media