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Cablegate: Mission Usnato

Published: Thu 29 Oct 2009 09:15 AM
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OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHKUK RUEHROV RUEHSL
DE RUEHNO #0484/01 3020915
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 290915Z OCT 09
FM USMISSION USNATO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3533
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI PRIORITY 0317
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV PRIORITY 0915
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 0045
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/USNMR SHAPE BE PRIORITY
RUEHNO/USDELMC BRUSSELS BE PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 USNATO 000484
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR S, D, P, EUR, AND NEA; WHITE HOUSE FOR NSA
JONES, ROSS, SHERWOOD-RANDALL, DOD FOR FLOURNOY AND VERSHBOW
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/29/2019
TAGS: PREL NATO KPAL IS AE
Classified By: Ambassador Ivo Daalder
1. (U) This cable was drafted by Ambassador Ivo Daalder,
reporting from Abu Dhabi.
2. (C) NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen dropped
a bombshell in a NATO-UAE Conference attended by the NAC and
senior UAE officials this morning. At the end of his public
address to the conference, the SYG announced a five-point
plan for Middle East peace (in para 5), leaving Perm Reps and
Conference participants stunned. NATO has no official
position on, nor a role in, the Middle East peace process and
it is unprecedented for the Secretary General to wade into
the issue ) let alone in this detail. None of the NATO
Ambassadors or Missions had any advance warning of the
statement. Many reacted with incredulity to his statement.
The Danish Perm Rep, dean of the ambassadors, said "this
time, he has gone too far."
3. (C) While NATO in the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative
founding document did call for the full and speedy
implementation of of the Quartet Roadmap -- which includes
many of the elements in the Secretary Generals statement --
NATO has also tried to make very clear that it has no direct
role in the Middle East Peace Process. Given the public
nature of the event, Arab governments and others are likely
to take the statement as an endorsement by NATO and its
members, including the United States Government, of the five
point plan. In order to counter this impression, it is
imperative that the Secretary General publicly clarify his
statement ) indicating clearly that these were his own ideas
and that neither NATO nor any of its members had a role in or
endorsed any of the statements. The SYG is scheduled to
deliver a press conference at 17:00 local (13:00 GMT), which
would be the right time for him to deliver such a statement.
4. (C) Unless otherwise directed, Ambassador Daalder will
inform the Secretary General that he needs to use the
occasion of his press conference to clarify his remarks,
stating clearly that his statement on this issue was neither
crafted by nor endorsed by NATO or any of its member
governments and that NATO has no formal role in resolving the
issue.
5. (U) Extract from the as-delivered text of the SYGs
remarks provided by his Private Office to USNATO:
"NATO countries, and I personally when I was still Prime
Minister of Denmark, have repeatedly stressed our attachment
to a two-state solution, in which Israel and Palestine live
side by side in peace and security.
To reach this objective, the parties involved must fulfill
certain requirements:
Firstly, the Palestinians must declare an unequivocal end to
violence and undertake visible efforts to end armed activity
and all acts of violence against Israelis anywhere.
Secondly, Israel must take all necessary steps to help
normalize Palestinian life and stop all settlement activity,
while the Palestinians undertake to reform their civil
institutions and security services.
Thirdly, Israel must withdraw from the Palestinian areas
occupied after the "Al Aqsa intifada" in 2000 and be ready to
do what is necessary for an independent, viable, sovereign
and democratic Palestinian state to be established.
Fourthly, the Palestinian leadership must issue an
unequivocal statement reiterating Israels right to exist in
peace and security.
And finally, the two parties must conclude an agreement that
ends the occupation that started in 1967, which includes a
just, fair and realistic solution to the refugee issue and a
negotiated resolution on the status of Jerusalem that takes
into account the political and religious concerns of both
sides, and protects the religious interests of Jews, Muslims,
and Christians worldwide.
If these conditions are met, we can hopeful accomplish the
desire for a lasting peace in this region based on two
states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace
and security.
And this could hopefully pave the way for a comprehensive
Arab-Israeli peace with security for all the states of the
region."
End of SYG text.
HEFFERN
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