US embassy cable - 03ROME4273

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 004273 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT. FOR NEA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/22/2013 
TAGS: PREL, KPAL, EG, IS, IT, UNSC 
SUBJECT: MUBARAK IN ITALY:  EXPELLING ARAFAT WOULD BE A 
DANGEROUS MISTAKE 
 
REF: A. FBIS EUP20030913000007 
     B. FBIS EUP20030912000104 
     C. ROME 1910 
         D. ROME 2495 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: POL M/C TOM COUNTRYMAN FOR REASON 1.5 (B),(D) 
 
1.(U) PRESS COVERAGE OF EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT MUBARAK'S 10-12 
OCTOBER VISIT TO ROME FOCUSED ON HIS VIEWS OF THE MIDDLE EAST 
SITUATION AND ISRAEL'S ANNOUNCEMENT THAT IT INTENDED TO EXPEL 
YASIR ARAFAT FROM THE PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES. IN 
STRAIGHTFORWARD AND BALANCED REMARKS, THE EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT 
DENOUNCED ISRAEL'S THREAT TO EXPEL ARAFAT AS A "DANGEROUS 
MISTAKE," NOT BECAUSE OF ANY LOYALTY TO ARAFAT BUT BECAUSE HE 
HAS BEEN THE CHOSEN PALESTINIAN LEADER FOR FOUR DECADES AND 
HIS EXPULSION WOULD ONLY DESTABILIZE THE SITUATION EVEN 
FURTHER.  ARAFAT IS "OF FUNDAMENTAL IMPORTANCE" TO THE PEACE 
PROCESS, MUBARAK ARGUED.  HE ALSO APPEALED TO THE QUARTET TO 
BRING THE ROAD MAP BACK TO LIFE, AS THE ONLY WAY TO ACHIEVE 
PEACE, A SENTIMENT SHARED BY HIS ITALIAN COUNTERPARTS. 
 
2. (SBU) PM BERLUSCONI REPORTEDLY REMAINED SILENT WHEN 
QUESTIONED BY HIS GUEST ABOUT THE POSSIBLE EXPULSION OF 
ARAFAT, SAYING HE HAD NOT YET CONSULTED WITH EU PARTNERS. 
PRESIDENT CIAMPI, HOWEVER, SHARED MUBARAK'S SENTIMENT, 
EXPRESSING HIS HOPE THAT ISRAEL WOULD REFRAIN FROM TAKING 
ACTIONS, SUCH AS EXPELLING ARAFAT, THAT COULD AGGRAVATE 
TENSIONS.  FM FRATTINI, SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF THE EU, ALSO 
CALLED ON ISRAEL TO "AVOID ANY SHOW OF FORCE, ESPECIALLY THE 
EXPULSION OF PRESIDENT ARAFAT, WHICH COULD JEOPARDIZE THE 
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ROAD MAP."  (REF A) (COMMENT:  IN HIS 
TRIP TO THE REGION IN JUNE (REFS C AND D), BERLUSCONI 
FOLLOWED PRESIDENT BUSH'S EXAMPLE IN REFUSING TO MEET WITH 
ARAFAT, CREATING AN UPROAR AMONG OTHER EU LEADERS WHO STILL 
    CONSIDER ARAFAT TO BE A LEGITIMATE LEADER.  FURTHERMORE, 
BERLUSCONI STRONGLY SUPPORTS THE U.S. POSITION THAT ARAFAT IS 
AN OBSTACLE TO THE PEACE PROCESS AND THEREFORE PROBABLY WAS 
RELUCTANT TO COMMENT. END COMMENT.) 
 
3.(C) BOTH THE MFA AND THE EGYPTIAN EMBASSY CONFIRMED THAT 
MUBARAK'S PRIVATE COMMENTS WITH HIS ITALIAN HOSTS RAN ALONG 
THE SAME LINES AS THOSE HIGHLIGHTED IN THE PRESS, AND THAT 
BERLUSCONI WAS RELATIVELY SILENT ON THE ARAFAT ISSUE. 
EGYPTIAN DCM MAHMOUD EL-DIEB TOLD POL M/C AND POLOFF ON 17 
SEPTEMBER THAT PRESS REPORTS REFLECTED WHAT WAS ACTUALLY 
SAID.  IN ADDITION TO DISCUSSING THE MIDDLE EAST SITUATION, 
HE ADDED, MUBARAK'S MAIN PURPOSE WAS TO MEET WITH 
CONFINDUSTRIA (ITALY'S LARGEST EMPLOYERS' ASSOCIATION) AND 
PRIVATE BUSINESSES IN AN EFFORT TO PROMOTE ITALIAN INVESTMENT 
IN EGYPT (ITALY ALREADY IS EGYPT'S LARGEST TRADING PARTNER IN 
EUROPE).  MFA DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR THE MIDDLE EAST FRANCESCO 
CERULLI ECHOED EL-DIEB'S REACTIONS, TELLING POL M/C ON 19 
SEPTEMBER THAT MUBARAK'S VISIT WAS ROUTINE AND THAT A KEY 
GOAL WAS THE MEETING WITH ANTONIO D'AMATO, THE HEAD OF 
CONFINDUSTRIA. 
 
SEMBLER 
 
 

 
NNNN 
	2003ROME04273 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL