VZCZCXRO4406
OO RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #3187/01 3460837
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 120837Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5695
INFO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0934
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003187
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL IZ KU
SUBJECT: GOI AND USG FURTHER DIALOGUE ON CHAPTER VII ISSUES
1. (SBU) Summary: On December 9, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs Senior Policy Adviser, Ambassador Fareed Yasseen, and
MFA Policy Planner Sarhad Fatah, engaged in a
video-conference with a six-member pre-JCC technical group at
the Department of State in Washington and the U.S. Mission to
the United Nations in New York. The videoconference was also
attended in Baghdad by a Senior Advisor at the NSC, as well
as U.S. Embassy Baghdad's Political Counselor, Deputy
Political Counselor, Embassy legal staff, and Poloff. Due to
the cancellation of the pre-JCC delegation's visit as a
result of travel complications, the videoconference afforded
the opportunity to engage the MFA on a variety of Chapter
VII-related issues. The discussion highlighted the urgency
of a DFI extension letter, the need for the GOI to engage the
Government of Russia to overcome resistance to an extension,
and progress in the GOI on ratification of the Additional
Protocol. End summary.
OIL FOR FOOD AND AN EXTENSION OF DEVELOPMENT FUND FOR IRAQ
--------------------------------------------- ---------------
2. (SBU) Purnell Delly, Director of NEA/I, started the
videoconference by conveying condolences to Ambassador
Yasseen for the losses suffered during the bombings in
central Baghdad the day before. He proceeded to introduce
the members of the Chapter VII technical group in Washington
and New York, which included NEA/I Deputy Director, Lisa
Kenna, L/AN Attorney-Advisor, Jeremy Sharpe, USUN Deputy
Political Counselor, Ellen Germain, IO expert, Bill Haldeman,
ISN expert, Jody Daniel. Senior Advisor of NEA/I, Kevin
Taecker, who also joined the videoconference, then gave an
overview of the challenges facing the GOI's request for an
extension of the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI). Taecker
stressed that an extension of the DFI is not a "foregone
conclusion", and will require the MFA to send a letter
requesting an extension that includes language about settling
American claims for victims of the first Gulf War ideally as
the payment of Oil for Food claims.
3. (SBU) Ambassador Yasseen commented that the GOI's
letter to the UN Security Council requesting a DFI extension
will take USG guidance into account and that the GOI is
considering sending a delegation to the UN to advocate for
the extension. He also stressed that a shorter-term DFI
extension is not desirable, as the GOI unsuccessfully
attempted to acquire a three-year extension in 2008, and
would like to obtain a 12-month extension this year. The
Ambassador also shared that an interministerial committee at
the deputy minister level had met the day before at the MFA
to discuss OFF and other Chapter VII-related issues. The
committee discussed options regarding the payment of
outstanding OFF claims, and concluded that an allocation of
unencumbered funds to resolve some of the claims should be
made this year, with a commitment of an end date to resolve
the remaining claims. Yasseen emphasized that claims will be
resolved in the standard manner, including the use of bills
and other documents.
4. (SBU) In response to the pre-JCC group's suggestion
that the resolution of OFF contracts and American claims is
necessary in order to secure a DFI extension, Ambassador
Yasseen inquired whether the outstanding claims must be
resolved by the end of 2009 in order to secure the DFI
extension. USUN representative Germain responded that Russia
is particularly resistant to the idea of an extension to the
DFI due to its unpaid OFF claims, and Russia and other member
states may push for a three to six month extension in lieu of
Qstates may push for a three to six month extension in lieu of
the one-year extension the GOI is seeking. She stated that
USUN strongly urges the GOI to talk with the Russians to
ascertain what conditions they are willing to accept
regarding the OFF claims, as the Russians have expressed that
they want the claims paid off in their entirety. USUN
representative Germain said that the Russians are seeking an
"iron-clad" commitment that contracts will be paid off in two
to three months, rather than a year, and that GOI engagement
with Russia will be necessary to get some clarity on the time
sensitivity of resolving the claims. Ambassador Yasseen
agreed that the GOI should engage the Russians more on this
issue, and stated that GOI officials may seek to meet with
Russian officials during an upcoming meeting in Manama.
MFA ON UNAMI, ASSET FREEZE, AND CULTURAL PROTECTION
--------------------------------------------- -------
5. (SBU) IO expert Haldeman provided an overview of and
solicited Ambassador Yasseen's thoughts on UN resolutions
1483, 1518, and 1546, which treat UNAMI, the freeze and
return of Saddam-era assets, and the prohibition and sale of
cultural property, respectively. Yasseen affirmed that
BAGHDAD 00003187 002 OF 002
UNAMI's effectiveness in resolving challenges with
establishing Iraqi elections, disputed internal boundaries,
and refugees issues is widely noted by the GOI. He
elaborated that as Iraq's security situation improves and
conditions normalize, UNAMI should relax its rules of
engagement, severely restricted since the 2003 explosion that
destroyed its building and killed then SRSG Sergio Vieira de
Mello and others.
6. (SBU) Yasseen further commented in a more limited
manner on resolutions 1518 and 1546 by stating that the GOI
should activate a committee to consider the implications of
these resolutions on the curtailment of terrorist activities
originating in neighboring countries, but that the
conventional arms ban is largely a Ministry of Defense issue.
Speaking off the cuff, he said the ban should be lifted. He
added that there would be GOI consensus that clauses of
resolution 1483 pertaining to cultural property should remain
in place.
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
---------------------------
7. (SBU) ISN's Daniel provided an overview of UNSC 687,
dealing with Weapons of Mass Destruction. He specified that
while the Additional Protocol is not mentioned in the
WMD-related UNSC resolutions, it is an important issue for
the IAEA, and that the importance of ratifying the Additional
Protocol cannot be overstated. Ambassador Yasseen responded
that ratification of the Additional Protocol is "in the
pipeline", and has been approved by the Council of Ministers
and is on the Council of Representatives' agenda.
8. (SBU) Daniel further outlined a second issue, the need
for the GOI to write a letter to the UNSC outlining a
commitment to nonproliferation and steps the GOI intends to
take towards nonproliferation. USUN representative Germain
added that P5 members have expressed support for lifting WMD
restrictions in Iraq, but that there is a lot of focus by
Security Council members on ensuring that Iraq passes the
Additional Protocol. In response to a question from
Ambassador Yasseen about whether the attitudes of the UN and
the IAEA are similar on this issue, Germain stated that they
are fairly consistent.
HILL