US embassy cable - 04BRUSSELS2442

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 002442 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR D, EUR/ERA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/07/2014 
TAGS: PREL, GZ, IS, IZ, EUN, USEU BRUSSELS 
SUBJECT: THE DEPUTY SECRETARY'S MEETING WITH EU HI-REP 
SOLANA 
 
Classified By: USEU acting POL MINS-COUNS O'Hara, reasons 1.4 b and d 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  Deputy Secretary Armitage and EU Foreign 
Policy Hi-Rep Solana met June 2 and discussed the Mid-East 
Peace Process (MEPP), Iraq and the forthcoming US/EU Summit. 
Solana said the EU would be as supportive as possible 
regarding the new government in Iraq.  He also emphasized the 
importance of getting a UNSC resolution on Iraq.  On the 
Mid-East, Solana enthusiastically embraced the possibility of 
trying to move ahead on the Roadmap this year and said he 
would be available to do whatever he could in this area.. 
Solana Cabinet member Paul Riederman told us afterwards that 
Solana was very pleased with the meeting -- particularly with 
the   discussion of the MEPP. End Summary 
 
2. (U) Deputy Secretary Armitage and EU Foreign Policy Hi-Rep 
Solana met for 45 minutes June 2 in Brussels in Solana's 
office.  Afterwards, Deputy Secretary Armitage and Solana 
held a joint 10 minute press conference at the EU.  Attending 
the meeting were USEU Ambassador Schnabel, D Special 
Assistant John Gastright, USEU Acting Minister-Counselor 
Harry O'Hara (notetaker), and USEU AID Counselor Pat Lerner; 
on the EU side were Council North America Office head Jim 
Cloos, Council European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) 
Deputy Claude-France Arnoult, Council Deputy Cabinet Head 
Pedro Serrano, and Council Cabinet Advisor Paul Reiderman. 
 
IRAQ AND NEXT EC PRESIDENT 
 
3.  (C) Deputy Secretary Armitage thanked Solana for his June 
1 remarks expressing support for the creation of a new 
government in Iraq,  then updated Solana on the interim Iraqi 
government, Brahimi's efforts, and US efforts to ensure the 
passage of a UNSC resolution for Iraq. Solana asked how a 
deadline for a US/MNF troop withdrawal from Iraq would be 
handled. The Deputy Secretary noted that while a 12-month 
review would be automatic, the new government could ask for 
an earlier withdrawal. 
 
SOLANA/IRAQ: INCREASING LEGITIMACY OF NEW GOVERNMENT 
 
4. (C) Solana said that, much would depend on the quality of 
the people in the new government in Iraq.  He opined that 
many in Iraq seem to view their new government as a rotation 
of chairs. Solana said the new leaders would nonetheless face 
the challenge of earning legitimacy in the street and 
stressed that the EU wanted to help counter the perception 
among many Iraqis that "nothing has changed," and noted that 
an Iraqi constitution, which comes later, will be a tricky 
but necessary part of the legitimization process. Deputy 
Secretary Armitage observed that getting more Iraqi faces on 
 
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Iraqi television -- and less American faces -- would help 
with the image of the new government. 
 
SOLANA'S "STATEMENT" 
 
5.  (C) Solana told the Deputy Secretary that he wanted to 
make a "statement on Iraq." He said that the EU will be as 
supportive as possible with the new government; passage of an 
UNSC resolution is important; the EU wants success. He also 
stressed that the current atmosphere (between the US and the 
EU) is good and that we've passed a hurdle (from last year, 
when transatlantic tensions were higher). 
SOLANA'S THOUGHT-EXPERIMENTS ON IRAQ 
 
6.  (C) To the discomfort -- but not surprise -- of some of 
his staff, Solana strayed from his brief and speculated about 
how, if he was Prime Minister of Iraq, he would look at the 
200,000 Iraqis that entered the Iraqi armed forces from 
1993-2003, and try to rehabilitate them back into the Iraqi 
military. He said that such an approach could help rebuild an 
Iraqi army that could take on visible security tasks.  Deputy 
Secretary Armitage noted the importance of rebuilding the 
 
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Iraqi military but he added that rebuilding the Iraqi police 
is even more pressing due to the need for  "law and order" as 
a top issue for a majority of Iraqis today. 
 
7.  (C) Switching gears, Solana wondered if, as a result of 
changes in Iraq and Turkey, the Turkish/Israeli "strategic" 
partnership was in danger. Thinking out loud, he said that an 
informal Israel-Turkey-Kurdish "triangle" is not functioning. 
On Turkey, Solana noted that the EU will have important 
decisions to make on Turkey and that Turkish/EU relations are 
going to have to change. Solana's staff told us afterwards 
that these remarks were unscripted but reflected Solana's 
concerns that the special Turkish-Israeli relationship is 
weakening, and that Turkey is increasingly uncomfortable with 
what Solana views as Israel's influence with Kurds in Iraq. 
 
MEPP/ROADMAP/QUARTET 
 
8.  (C) The Deputy noted that the May 4 Quartet talks had 
gone well.  Solana stressed the EU commitment to the roadmap 
and reported that EU special Mid-East envoy Marc Otte was in 
Cairo (June 2) and would meet with President Mubarak. 
Restating previous EU markers, Solana said that for full EU 
engagement, we need to see full Israeli withdrawal per the 
roadmap.  Solana expressed worry that the process could 
freeze and that bigger problems would emerge in 2005. He 
asked the Deputy "how much energy can the US put into this 
during (U.S. Presidential) elections?" Deputy Secretary 
Armitage replied that the US does not want to wait until 
after November and that the Administration  is eager to move 
the process forward if the Palestinian Authority can get 
approval from Arafat and Sharon can prevail on the Gaza 
withdrawal. Solana warmly welcomed this and said that as fast 
the US goes, the EU will go faster. Solana has been talking 
to Mubarak, and the Egyptians are also ready to go. Solana 
suggested the need to get the Quartet "on the ground" with 
people in the region. He argued that this would strengthen 
the ability of Jordan and Egypt to play a positive role. 
Solana continued with the need to get momentum going and 
stated that he, Solana, is ready to work this full-time, 
"24/7." 
 
US/EU SUMMIT REVIEW 
 
9.  (C) In response to the Deputy Secretary,s request for an 
EU assessment of where we are concerning US/EU Summit 
preparations, Cloos acknowledged that the &air agreement8 
will not be ready for the Summit but said that even if the US 
and EU cannot have an air agreement deliverable for the 
Summit, perhaps we might find a way to say that we've made 
progress. Cloos stressed how important Galileo is for the 
Summit and noted how pleased he was that Galileo is just 
about settled. Solana said that the US and the EU still have 
time to work out a Broader Middle East and Northern Africa 
(BMENA) statement. He noted EU concerns about having the 
US/EU or any other outside structure "grading" the affected 
countries in the region. He also reiterated an ongoing EU 
concern that their Euro-Med/Barcelona process agreements not 
be diluted at the G-8 or at the Summit. He said that the EU's 
concerns in the region were not just strategic but were also 
based on Europe's close proximity to the BMENA. He said that 
this neighborhood concern needed to be accommodated. For 
Solana, the terrorism declaration is going well and 
Washington had given the EU's new counter-terrorism 
coordinator, Gijs de Vries, a good and successful visit. 
 
SUDAN/DARFUR 
 
10. (C) The Deputy Secretary reviewed US concerns about the 
difficult situation in Sudan, particularly Darfur, where the 
US is pressing to ensure that humanitarian supplies get to 
people in need.  The Deputy said that the US needs to push 
the Sudanese Government to allow this to happen. Solana said 
that the EU may want to do something in the Sudan and is 
considering sending in a team to look at the situation on the 
ground. Without being more specific, Solana said that the EU 
would also want to engage. 
 
11. (U) Deputy Secretary Armitage has cleared this message. 
 
Schnabel