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PP RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHLO #1853 1971102
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 151102Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY LONDON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9193
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHSB/AMEMBASSY HARARE PRIORITY 0167
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 3250
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 1224
C O N F I D E N T I A L LONDON 001853
SIPDIS
NOFORN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/15/2018
TAGS: PREL PHUM UNSC KDEM ZI ZU UK
SUBJECT: ZIMBABWE: UK LOOKS FOR WAY FORWARD, TURNS TO EU
FOR SANCTIONS
Classified By: Political Counselor Richard Mills, reasons 1.4(b/d).
1. (C/NF) The Foreign Office continues to treat the situation in Zimbabwe as a crisis. After the July 11 defeat of the
U.S. draft UNSCR on Zimbabwe, FCO Zimbabwe Team Leader Ben Llewellyn-Jones said July 14 HMG will "give Zimbabwe a break
in the Security Council for a little while," especially since Prime Minister Brown feels as though "his nose has been
bloodied" by the Russians. Instead, he said, HMG will pursue EU sanctions. The UK is aiming for three measures: add an
additional 36 or 37 individuals to the current asset freeze and travel ban; sanction approximately ten companies; and
limit the exceptions that allow Mugabe and others in the regime to travel to the EU, as Mugabe did for the Lisbon Summit
and the UN World Food Summit in Rome. The FCO has requested, to the extent possible, the USG provide names and details
of companies already subject to U.S. sanctions. Embassy London requests the Department consider sharing company names
and details with HMG to bolster the UK's argument for EU sanctions.
2. (C/NF) Llewellyn-Jones said there has been some opposition to additional sanctions amongst EU partners. Germany
continues to question the legality of some of the instruments, and some of the Southern European states (like Greece,
Spain, and Italy) have their "usual existential problems with sanctions." He said the U.S. could be helpful in two ways
with specific groups of European countries. He thought a general demarche to the entire EU would be counterproductive.
First, he suggested, the USG could approach UNSC member states in Europe to encourage them to weigh in the EU to push
forward tougher EU measures. Second, he said, the USG could approach Eastern European states (like Slovakia, the Czech
Republic, and Hungry) to encourage them to support EU sanctions. Llewellyn-Jones said that Foreign Secretary Miliband
thought that Russia's veto in the Security Council could be useful in engaging these states. Miliband's view was that
these states could be encouraged to support EU sanctions "as advocates of democracy, unlike Russia." Miliband also
specifically suggested that engaging Georgia to reinforce democracy would be fruitful. Llewellyn-Jones said HMG would
approach Germany and the Southern European states separately.
3. (C/NF) Llewellyn-Jones also said Miliband had asked Her Majesty's Treasury to look into financial flows of funding to
the regime to see what pressure, if any, could be applied that way. Visit London's Classified Website: XXXXXXXXXXXX
TUTTLE