US embassy cable - 05DJIBOUTI221

C O N F I D E N T I A L DJIBOUTI 000221 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/02/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, SO, DJ 
SUBJECT: SOMALIA: PUBLIC STATEMENT - DJIBOUTIAN REACTION 
 
REF: SECSTATE 34956 
 
Classified By: Pol/Econ Erinn C. Reed for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) Pol/Econ delivered reftel demarche 2 March to Director 
of Bilateral Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 
Mohamed Ali Hassan. Hassan stated there would be a 
Ministerial level meeting of Intergovernmental Authority on 
Development (IGAD) member states in Nairobi during March to 
review the Somalia situation. He said the main issue 
addressed in the meeting would likely be security. The 
meetings will also address the debate over whether to send 
troops from neighboring countries as a part of peace keeping 
forces. Hassan said Ethiopia, being more interested than 
other neighboring states to send its troops on a peacekeeping 
mission in Somalia, was a worry for Somalia and the 
international community. He added Djibouti had said it was 
ready to send its troops as part of the IGAD peace mission if 
asked, but the general idea of this mission has changed now. 
Djibouti does not think neighboring countries should send 
troops. Hassan said a consensus on the issue within IGAD is 
necessary before any troops are sent. He added his personal 
opinion that the African Union (AU), IGAD and the Security 
Council of the AU will make the right decision. 
RAGSDALE