US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT1131

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 001131 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/ARPI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/18/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, EAID, SY, IS, IZ, KU 
SUBJECT: KUWAIT DEMARCHE ON ARAB LEAGUE SUMMIT DELIVERED 
 
REF: A. STATE 45505 
     B. KUWAIT 942 
     C. STATE 31746 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1.  (SBU)  Ambassador raised reftel points with Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs Under Secretary Khaled Al-Jarallah on March 
19.  Foreign Minister Shaykh Dr. Mohammed Al-Sabah Al-Salem 
Al-Sabah had already departed for Algiers to prepare for the 
arrival of Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber 
Al-Sabah, who will head the Kuwaiti delegation to the Arab 
League summit. 
 
2.  (C)  The Ambassador stressed the U.S. is serious about 
the full withdrawal of Syrian troops and intelligence service 
personnel from Lebanon in accordance with UNSC 1559.  He said 
the Lebanese people must be free of intimidation, especially 
in the run up to parliamentary elections.  Al-Jarallah 
expressed concern about general Syrian interference in the 
region, but with regard to Lebanon, was more troubled about 
the role of Hizballah.  He said Hizballah was playing a dirty 
role in Lebanon and the region, and would continue to create 
problems in Beirut and southern areas.  He described 
Hizballah as difficult to contain, and recommended that some 
thought be given to integrating Hizballah's fighters into the 
Lebanese Army.  He was critical of Hassan Nasrallah's 
statements and said Hizballah was prepared to play an 
extremely negative role in Lebanon if it felt it faced an 
internal and/or external threat. 
 
3.  (C)  On Israeli-Palestinian issues, the Ambassador 
explained the presence of Lieutenant General Ward in the 
region and spoke about the importance of promoting political, 
economic, and security stability.  He also asked Al-Jarallah 
for an update on Kuwait's assistance to the Palestinian 
people.  Al-Jarallah reported that in the past week, the GOK 
transferred USD 40 million to the PA, thus fulfilling the 
pledge made at the Beirut summit.  Al-Jarallah said the funds 
were sent to the Kuwaiti Embassy in Cairo where they will be 
transferred into PA accounts.  Al-Jarallah also said that 2 
years ago, the GOK honored a PA request for USD 45 million. 
There were no immediate plans for other financial assistance, 
but he expected new commitments may come out of the Algiers 
summit. 
 
4.  (C)  Commenting on the return of the Egyptian and 
Jordanian ambassadors to Tel Aviv, the Ambassador encouraged 
Kuwait to consider ways to open a dialog with Israel. 
Al-Jarallah replied it was difficult to normalize relations 
with Israel when a lasting peace seemed elusive.  He noted 
that the PA requested the GOK use the normalization of 
relations as a bargaining tactic with Israel.  The Ambassador 
also encouraged the GOK support a diplomatic conference on 
bringing Magen David Adom into Red Cross/Red Crescent 
Movement and left ref C points with the Under Secretary. 
 
5.  (C)  The Ambassador and Al-Jarallah also discussed the 
March 16 meeting of the Iraqi Transitional National Assembly, 
the importance of Iraqi sovereignty in the formation of its 
government, and the need for neighboring countries to 
normalize relations with the ITG. 
 
5.  (U)  Baghdad:  Minimize considered. 
LEBARON