US embassy cable - 05PARIS2263

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 002263 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/05/2015 
TAGS: PREL, FR 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S FAREWELL MEETING WITH FOREIGN 
MINISTER BARNIER 
 
 
Classified By: Amb. Howard Leach for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D) 
 
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Bilateral Relations 
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1. (C) In a thirty-minute farewell call April 5 with Foreign 
Minister Barnier, Ambassador Leach reviewed improvements in 
the U.S.-French relationship, noting that Barnier had played 
an important role in improving communications with 
Washington.  He regretted that the Pope's death prevented 
Barnier from traveling to Washington this week, and praised 
the minister for his initiative to visit the U.S. quarterly. 
Barnier said he hoped to be able to reschedule soon his visit 
to Washington.  He thanked the Ambassador for his own role in 
helping improve relations, and reiterated his intention to 
visit not only Washington, but different U.S. states on each 
of his trips to improve reciprocal understanding of our 
respective positions.  Barnier recalled his invitation to the 
U.S. under the International Visitor Program when he was 
first elected to the French Assembly.  He said he had been 
marked by that visit and was keen to establish a similar 
program in the French foreign ministry. 
 
2. (C) Barnier said we had two centuries of close relations 
and we needed to keep this essential element in mind.  At the 
same time, he said the U.S. should understand better what the 
Europeans are trying to do together.  The Ambassador recalled 
President Bush's and Secretary Rice's efforts to highlight 
the importance that the U.S. places on its relationship with 
Europe.  While friends don't always agree, it was important 
to work the issues in a constructive spirit.  Barnier agreed, 
citing the recent negotiation over the Darfur/ICC resolution. 
 While the French position had irritated the U.S. side, 
Barnier said he had deliberately chosen to seek a "high road" 
solution and refrained from making this disagreement public. 
The Ambassador noted that while neither side obtained its 
ideal outcome, the result was a good, workable compromise. 
 
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Middle East 
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3. (C) Lebanon:  Citing our cooperation on Lebanon, the 
Ambassador noted that both the U.S. and France were able to 
do many things better when we worked together.  Barnier said 
Lebanon was a good specific example where we worked together 
intelligently and established the framework for broader 
international cooperation to pressure the Syrians to 
withdraw.  Nonetheless, the situation in Lebanon remained 
fragile, and it was not enough simply to get the Syrians out. 
 We needed to ensure that the Lebanese government moved as 
quickly as possible to elections.  Barnier added that we 
needed to pay attention to all the Lebanese communities, 
including the Shia who were patriotic nationalists.  They 
needed to be factored into any political approach. 
Responding to the Ambassador's question, Barnier said he 
believed elections could take place on schedule in the 
May/June timeframe, noting that we could not accept anything 
more than a minor, technical delay of a few days.  He said 
that anything longer would create another, unacceptable 
"logic" on the ground. 
 
4. (C) Israeli-Palestinian Conflict:  Ambassador Leach said 
we faced a period of opportunity in the Israeli-Palestinian 
conflict.  It was important for the region and elsewhere that 
Europe and the U.S. work together on the issue.  Even if 
positive results are not guaranteed, there is room for common 
effort.  Barnier concurred, recalling that he had raised this 
issue during his December 2004 visit to Washington when he 
said the Middle East problem should be at the top of the 
agenda for the U.S. and Europe.  He said he had been pleased 
by President Bush's statement to this effect during his visit 
to Brussels.  Barnier argued that the conflict continues to 
emit shockwaves within the region and beyond.  Leaving the 
issue unresolved threatened us all, "maybe here in France 
more directly".  He said there was an opportunity to take 
advantage of a new phase in the dialogue between Israelis and 
Palestinians.  Barnier noted that the situation remained 
fragile for the Palestinians in general and Abbas in 
particular.  We needed to watch carefully what was happening 
in Jerusalem to avoid the moving of lines that would 
complicate even more the establishment of a Palestinian 
state.  Barnier said he had praised the courage of both 
Sharon and Abbas, and now we needed to get through the 
Palestinian elections in July with Abbas being able to 
demonstrate progress for the Palestinians.  The Ambassador 
noted that while we would be supportive, it was ultimately up 
to the Israelis and Palestinians to make the final decisions. 
 Barnier concluded that there could be a positive outcome 
only if Europe and the U.S. are together on this issue.  The 
U.S. has influence with Israel, and the Europeans with the 
Arabs, Barnier argued, adding that he had gone to Israel to 
"make clear that we won't compromise Israel's security." 
5. (C) Iran:  Noting that he would be meeting with the 
visiting Iranian President and Foreign Minister later in the 
day, Barnier said the EU-3's negotiations with Tehran 
remained fragile.  He had been impressed that after President 
Chirac's presented his view on the Iran negotiations in their 
last meeting, President Bush responded that he understood and 
would think about Chirac's request for U.S. support to make 
the EU effort more credible.  The French were pleased to see 
the gestures that followed.  The best guarantee against 
Iran's use of nuclear technology for military purposes 
remains cessation of enrichment activities.  The Iranians 
have only agreed for the moment to extend their suspension. 
The Ambassador said the U.S. supported the EU effort but 
worried about Iran's commitment.  Barnier said "we are 
approaching this with our eyes open; we aren't naive -- but 
we are convinced that the diplomatic option remains the best 
one." 
 
6. (C) Iraq/Afghanistan:  Ambassador Leach said gestures from 
France on both Afghanistan and Iraq would contribute further 
to our relationship.  We hoped that France would be able to 
help finance the Afghan elections and be supportive of Iraq. 
Barnier replied that these were distinct issues, but that 
France would be prepared to respond in the political and 
economic reconstruction of these countries.  He explained 
that Iraq was a difficult issue for the French, and that he 
had shown his support by attending the Sharm al Sheikh 
meeting.  While Paris remained willing to train 1500 Iraqi 
security personnel, Barnier said he preferred that Europe 
pool its response, adding that the U.S. should be prepared to 
see Europe act with one voice.  In response to the 
Ambassador's comment that we recognize that France is an 
important part of Europe, Barnier said "so do we, but without 
arrogance." 
 
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European Constitution Referendum 
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7. (C) Turning to the French referendum on the EU 
Constitutional Treaty, Barnier said this was an extremely 
important issue at the moment.  If we wanted a strong Europe 
at 25, we needed the institutions and rules in place to 
better manage it.  This would be a major challenge, but he 
believed that the French would ultimately succumb to logic 
and vote "yes".  Still, a positive outcome was not 
foreordained, and the French leadership would have to make 
clear that the French should not sacrifice their future to 
the present.  If people focused only on the present, the 
referendum could fail. 
LEACH