US embassy cable - 04AMMAN2735

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 002735 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/08/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, SY, IZ, JO 
SUBJECT: BASHAR AL-ASAD IN AMMAN:  PROGRESS ON REFORM, MEPP 
LANGUAGE FOR SUMMIT AMID BORDER FLARE UP 
 
Classified By: Amb. Edward W. Gnehm for reasons 1.5 (b) (d) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (S)  FonMin Muasher told the Ambassador that Bashar 
al-Asad's April 7 visit to Amman had been productive, with 
the Syrians assenting to inclusion of positive reform and 
MEPP language at the Arab Summit.  King Abdullah told a group 
of House staffers just before Bashar's arrival that Syrian 
firing across the border over three consecutive nights had 
wounded a Jordanian soldier, and that the Jordanians had 
responded with mortar fire on the third night.  Despite the 
bizarre firing incident, Muasher was upbeat about the 
possibility of bringing Syria to at least accept an Arab 
Summit consensus on reform and the peace process.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
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BASHAR VISITS AMMAN 
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2.  (C)  Syrian President Bashar al-Asad visited Amman April 
7.  Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher told the Ambassador and 
PolCouns April 7 that King Abdullah had hosted Bashar for 
lunch and held a separate one on one meeting.  Foreign 
Minister Farouq Sharaa accompanied Bashar. 
 
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SUMMIT REFORM AND MEPP LANGUAGE OK? 
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3.  (S)  Muasher commented that the Syrians "came with a 
positive attitude."  Bashar, he said, had asked the King 
about whether an Arab reform document was really necessary. 
The King argued that it was necessary for Arabs to seize 
control of this agenda and produce a statement of reform 
principles.  Muasher said Sharaa was "enthusiastic" about 
including reform in the Arab Summit agenda, as long as the 
Summit is "abstract" and endorses only a "statement of 
principles" without specific benchmarks or commitments. 
"They're fine with this," Muasher concluded. 
 
4.  (S)  On MEPP language, Muasher said the Syrians objected 
to a reference to the roadmap in the resolution dealing with 
the Beirut Summit initiative, but said they would not object 
to mentioning the roadmap in a "purely Palestinian" 
resolution or as part of the Summit final declaration. 
Muasher said Sharaa had also agreed to references condemning 
attacks against civilians and calling for an 
Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire, again as part of a separate 
Summit resolution on Palestinian issues or in the final 
communique.  "We might have an opening here," Muasher 
commented.  In a subsequent call to the Ambassador on April 
8, Muasher said he had spoken to Nabil Shaath about the 
Syrian approach toward accommodating language on the roadmap. 
 Shaath rejected the approach saying the PA wanted reference 
to the roadmap in the resolution on the Beirut initiative 
precisely because the Syrians were attempting to undercut 
them.  Muasher remained optimistic that a compromise could be 
found. 
 
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BORDER FIRING INCIDENT MARS VISIT 
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5.  (S)  Just before his meeting with Bashar April 7, King 
Abdullah told a group of visiting House staffers that he was 
upset that there had been firing along a segment of the 
Syrian-Jordanian border for the three previous nights (April 
4-6).  According to the King, Syrian forces had fired across 
the border April 4, and had wounded a Jordanian soldier 
during the night of April 5.  On April 6, the Jordanians 
responded with mortar fire against Syrian positions.  Shortly 
after the Jordanian mortar fire and in the middle of the 
night, the King said, a Syrian official had called Amman and 
asked for resumption of the bilateral border demarcation 
committee.  The King wondered aloud why the Syrians would 
fire across the border for three nights before the visit of 
the President.  "This is not just trouble between guys," he 
declared, saying that he would present a strong protest to 
Bashar during his visit.  (NOTE:  Muasher said that the King 
did not deliver such a message during the large group 
meeting, but might have done it during the tete-a-tete which 
Muasher had not attended.  END NOTE.) 
 
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COMMENT 
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6.  (S)  Despite the bizarre border firing incidents, Muasher 
was upbeat about the chances of gaining Syrian acquiescence 
to inclusion of positive language on reform and the MEPP at 
the Arab Summit. 
7.  (U)  CPA Baghdad minimize considered. 
 
Visit Embassy Amman's classified website at 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ 
 
or access the site through the State Department's SIPRNET 
home page. 
GNEHM