US embassy cable - 05SANAA577

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 000577 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/12/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PARM, PTER, OVIP, LE, SY, ET, ER, YM, DEMARCHE 
SUBJECT: YEMEN: SYRIA OUT OF LEBANON, IN DUE TIME 
 
REF: A. SECSTATE 39018 
     B. SANAA 477 
     C. SANAA 564 
 
Classified By: DCM Nabeel Khoury for reasons 1.4 b and d. 
 
1. (C) Summary:  Ambassador delivered ref A demarche to 
Foreign Minister Qirbi on March 11.  Ambassador conveyed the 
U.S. demand for full compliance with UN Security Council 
Resolution 1559, calling for a complete Syrian withdrawal 
from Lebanon, including the Syrian Military Intelligence 
(SMI) presence.  Other issues discussed were next steps in 
SALW, the security situation in HOA, and the FM's interest in 
visiting Washington this spring.  End Summary. 
 
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FM Urges Caution With Syria 
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2. (C) Yemen agrees with the U.S. position on Syrian 
withdrawal from Lebanon, Qirbi told Ambassador, pointing out 
that President Saleh made this clear to Syrian President 
Bashar al-Assad in his recent phone call (ref B).  At the 
same time, Qirbi expressed concern over recent pro-Syrian 
demonstrations by Hizbollah, claiming that they represent the 
views of a large portion of the Lebanese people and should 
not be dismissed.  Qirbi warned that the situation is very 
delicate and urged all sides to be responsible.  Qirbi said 
the Lebanon crisis will be discussed in detail at the March 
22-23 Arab Summit in Algiers. 
 
3. (C) The FM noted the recent withdrawal of Syrian troops to 
the Biqa' as a positive step, one that the international 
community should encourage.  Qirbi said Assad wants the U.S. 
to understand that he is "not Saddam," and suggested that the 
U.S. capitalize on Syria's positive gestures.  The U.S. 
should make a clear statement in support of elections, 
stability, and the democratic process in Lebanon, advised 
Qirbi, but added that the world has lived with this problem 
for 22 years and it may take longer than two months to 
resolve.  Ambassador agreed that Syria's withdrawal to Biqa' 
was a positive move, but emphasized that in the U.S. view, it 
is far from sufficient.  What is needed from Syria, said 
Ambassador, is full compliance with 1559, including removal 
of SMI offices.  Washington's will on this issue is strong, 
he told the FM, Syria needs to take urgent action. 
 
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Roadmap for Lebanon... Leads to Damascus 
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4. (C) The FM recommended the U.S. take Syria's concerns over 
Israel into account and suggested that all sides develop a 
roadmap to resolve the crisis in Lebanon.  Ambassador 
responded that our roadmap for resolving the current crisis 
in Lebanon is UNSCR 1559, and that Israel is not a factor at 
this time.  DCM added that it would be foolish for Syria to 
use Hizbollah demonstrations to prove that the Lebanese 
people want Syrian forces to remain; this would only serve to 
polarize the country.  They have played this game for two 
long, and the game is up, said DCM, this message should be 
delivered clearly to Syria from all Arab countries. 
 
5. (C) Qirbi agreed with the U.S. view on open Lebanese 
elections, and said Yemen backs Prime Minister Omar Karami's 
current efforts to form a new consensus government.  There 
must be national unity regarding election results, said 
Qirbi.  He added that Syrian troop presence could cause the 
situation to explode in the absence of an accord for the 
future, and supported a partial Syrian withdrawal before the 
elections. 
 
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Small Arms, New Line at MFA 
--------------------------- 
 
6. (S) Ambassador summarized his meeting with President Saleh 
on controlling the flow of SALW to Yemen (ref C). 
Reiterating U.S. concerns over end-user certificates and the 
diversion of weapons to non-military sources, he highlighted 
Saleh's pledge to end the use of private arms dealers. 
Ambassador noted a standing U.S. offer to help with 
procurement and inventory systems to better document ROYG 
arms purchases. 
 
7. (S) Qirbi insisted that Saleh's promise was nothing new, 
and that the ROYG has already been following this policy for 
over a year.  He did confirm, however, that "from now on" the 
ROYG will deal directly with arms producing countries, and 
not employ private brokers.  Shifting his tone, Qirbi blamed 
supplier nations for selling weapons to "unlicensed" Yemenis. 
 It is their responsibility, he said, to check with Yemeni 
embassies and verify dealers are legitimate.  Ambassador 
agreed and said the U.S. would convey this message to the EU, 
NATO, and China. 
 
8. (S) The FM predicted that restricting sales would increase 
SALW prices and likely encourage smuggling.  Echoing Saleh's 
statement on March 10, Qirbi said that in his view the only 
long-term solution to the spread of SALW is for the U.S. and 
the GCC countries to buy out the souks (ref C). 
 
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Risk of Renewed Conflict in HOA 
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9. (C) Having just returned from an official visit to Asmara, 
Qirbi said bilateral relations between Yemen and Eritrea were 
on the right track.  He remained considerably 
more pessimistic about the future of relations between 
Eritrea and Ethiopia.  Qirbi reported that the ROE was 
critical of the African Union, the UN, and the U.S. for not 
taking a harder line on Ethiopian withdrawal, and that both 
sides were holding firmly to their positions. 
 
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Qirbi Goes To Washington? 
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10. (SBU) Qirbi told Ambassador he would like to meet with 
Secretary Rice and suggested a possible May or June official 
 
SIPDIS 
visit to Washington.  Ambassador promised to arrange the 
visit.  Qirbi offered high praise the Secretary, saying she 
was "doing a good job at improving the image of U.S. policies 
and clearly had the President behind her." 
 
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Comment 
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11. (C) Comment:  The ROYG has placed itself with the 
international community in calling for Syrian withdrawal from 
Lebanon, as indicated by Saleh's unusual call to President 
Assad (made public the next day in the official press).  The 
ROYG position on full compliance with 1559 remains fuzzy. 
Qirbi indicated support for a withdrawal in advance of 
Lebanese elections.  The FM dropped the hint, however, that 
Hizbollah demonstrations raise the specter of civil strife -- 
something which may indicate that the ROYG believes inthe 
need for "some" Syrian presence to remain in the country. 
Krajeski