US embassy cable - 05PARIS2660

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 002660 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2015 
TAGS: PREL, SA, SY, LE, ECON, PARM, FR 
SUBJECT: SAUDI CROWN PRINCE VISIT FOCUSES ON LEBANON, CLOSE 
TIES WITH CHIRAC, BUT CONCLUDES NO NEW CONTRACTS 
 
 
Classified By: Acting DCM Josiah Rosenblatt, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) Summary and comment: GoF contacts report that Lebanon 
and Syria were the main topics of Saudi Crown Prince 
Abdullah's recent meetings with President Chirac, with both 
sides agreeing on the need for full Syrian withdrawal, rapid 
formation of a Lebanese government and holding of free and 
fair legislative elections on time.  GoF contacts reported 
that the Saudis were looking for French reassurance that 
UNSCR 1559 did not target Syria, and President Chirac 
affirmed that the GoF was focused on Lebanese sovereignty, 
not regime change in Damascus.  Other topics discussed during 
the Abdullah visit included Iraq, Middle East peace efforts, 
Iran and terrorism (see text of joint communique in para 7.) 
GoF contacts stressed that the Abdullah visit was 
fundamentally political in nature and not focused on 
concluding new commercial contracts, in the wake of erroneous 
French press speculation that major contracts would be 
concluded during the visit, including a protocol to order 
some 48 Rafale fighters from the GoF.  End summary and 
comment. 
 
2. (C) Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah paid an official visit to 
France April 13-15, his first since 2001.  President Chirac 
hosted the Crown Prince for a dinner on April 13 and a 
working lunch April 14, while PM Raffarin hosted a dinner for 
the Crown Prince on April 14.  Chirac reportedly had two 
one-on-one discussions with Abdullah April 13 and 14, while 
FM Barnier had a similar one-on-one discussion with Saudi FM 
Saud al-Faisal April 13.  We received readouts on the 
Abdullah visit April 18 from Presidential Middle East Advisor 
Dominique Boche and MFA DAS-equivalent for Iraq/Iran/Arabian 
Gulf Affairs Antoine Sivan, who both cautioned that they did 
not have many details on the Chirac-Abdullah discussions due 
to the closed nature of the meetings.  French and Arab media 
coverage of the visit highlighted the close, personal ties 
between Chirac and the Crown Prince, who praised Chirac for 
his morality, sincerity and humanity in an April 13 "Le 
Monde" interview.  Chirac, in remarks welcoming the Crown 
Prince April 13, reaffirmed the GoF's desire to take its 
strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia to a higher level, 
and paid tribute to Crown Prince Abdullah's ambitious program 
to transform Saudi Arabia, "while respecting its special 
identity."  French press also noted that Chirac took the 
unusual step of accompanying the Crown Prince to the airport 
for his April 15 departure. 
 
 
SYRIA/LEBANON 
---------- 
 
3. (C) Boche and Sivan reported that Lebanon and Syria were 
the main topics of the Chirac-Abdullah discussions, with both 
sides agreeing on the need for full Syrian withdrawal, rapid 
formation of a Lebanese government and holding of legislative 
elections on time, or with a slight technical delay at most. 
(Note: On the latter point, a well-informed local Lebanese 
journalist told us that Saudi FM Faisal met privately with a 
number of Lebanese opposition members and Lebanese Christian 
Presidential hopefuls while in Paris, and reportedly told 
them that they should be willing to accept a slight delay in 
the elections if necessary, but they should insist on a date 
certain for the ballot if it were to begin after the May 31 
deadline.  End note.)   Boche described the Saudis as 
especially sensitive to the issue of Syrian stability.  On 
this point, he noted that Chirac reassured the Crown Prince 
that UNSCR 1559 was focused on Lebanon's sovereignty and 
independence and that France was not seeking regime change in 
Syria.  On Lebanon's situation post-Syrian withdrawal and 
post-elections, Boche said the Saudis maintained that, in 
accordance with the Ta'if accords, Lebanon should maintain a 
special relationship with Syria, albeit a more equal one than 
the past. Boche said the Saudis were also concerned about the 
"strategic void" vis-a-vis Israel which the Syrian withdrawal 
would create, an argument which he noted was similar to 
Hizballah's justifications for not disarming.  Nonetheless, 
Boche said the Saudis shared French views on the urgency of a 
Syrian withdrawal, and the need to remain vigilant on the 
withdrawal of undeclared security services.  On assistance to 
Lebanon after elections, Boche said Chirac and Abdullah 
agreed that we would need to wait to hear the views of 
Lebanon's new elected government, once it appears, and that 
Lebanon should not be placed under international tutelage. 
 
MIDDLE EAST PEACE EFFORTS 
--------------------- 
 
4. (C) Boche noted that the Crown Prince raised the relaunch 
of his peace initiative at the recently concluded Arab League 
summit in Algiers and emphasized that the Arab world needed 
to reiterate is readiness for peace.  Boche added that Chirac 
and Abdullah agreed that Gaza disengagement needed to succeed 
and that the international community, particularly Israel, 
needed to do more to help President Abbas.  Saudi FM Saud 
al-Faisal, in an interview published April 16 in the French 
daily "Le Figaro," criticized Israel for rejecting the Saudi 
peace proposal out of hand and said that Gaza withdrawal 
would "lead nowhere" if it did not lead to further Israeli 
withdrawals, roadmap implementation, and a return to the 
Madrid Conference principles. 
 
IRAQ, IRAN 
---- 
 
5. (C) Sivan described a total convergence of views between 
Chirac and the Crown Prince on Iraq, with both sides agreeing 
on the need for all of Iraq's communities (read Sunnis) to be 
included in the Transitional Government and constitutional 
drafting process.  He added that the Saudis expressed concern 
about Iranian infiltration in Iraq and the degree of Iranian 
influence on Iraq's Shi'a leadership.  The Saudis expressed 
similar concern regarding the progress of Iran's nuclear 
program, which they viewed as unjustified, and were 
supportive of EU-3 efforts to resolve the issue 
diplomatically with Tehran.  Sivan said the Saudis also 
expressed concern about Kurdish separatism in Iraq, but to a 
lesser degree than their concerns on Iraqi Shi'a issues. 
Boche commented that the Saudis were not thrilled with the 
selection of Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani as Iraq's 
president, but that they were nonetheless committed to 
working with Iraq's new government. 
 
 
NO CONTRACTS CONCLUDED 
------------------ 
 
6. (C) Amid widespread French media focus on the potential 
commercial windfall of the Crown Prince's visit, Boche 
stressed that the focus of the visit was essentially 
political in nature and that no major contracts had been 
concluded.  While the GoF sought to increase it commercial 
ties with Saudi Arabia, Boche claimed that French economic 
relations with Saudi Arabia were largely symbolic and had 
long been overshadowed by political cooperation.  Therefore, 
new contracts were not a GoF objective for this visit. 
(Comment: French press speculated on potential breakthroughs 
on a number of major contracts with a combined value between 
10 to 20 million euros, including the long-discussed, 
estimated 7 billion USD "Miksa" electronic border monitoring 
project pursued by Thales for over 10 years; a proposed 
purchase of 48 French Rafales fighter aircraft from Dassault; 
an order for 20 Airbuses from Saudia Airlines; and the 
construction of a rail line from Jeddah to Mecca. An April 15 
report in the French economic daily "Les Echos" claiming that 
a protocol had been signed to purchase, before the end of 
2005, some 48 Rafales with an option to purchase up to 48 
more, was later denied by Dassault.  End comment.)  On other 
economic issues, Boche noted that the GoF offered support for 
Saudi Arabia's WTO accession and conclusion of an FTA between 
the EU and the GCC in the joint communique issued April 15 
(see para 7). 
 
TEXT OF SAUDI-FRENCH COMMUNIQUE 
--------------------------------- 
 
7. (U) The following is a GoF English-language translation of 
the April 15 joint Saudi-French communique. Begin text: 
 
At an invitation by President of the French Republic Jacques 
Chirac, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn 
Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Vice 
President of the Council of Ministers and Head of the Saudi 
Arabian National Guard, visited France on an official visit 
from April 13-15, 2005.  The two parties conducted in-depth 
discussions on matters of common interest concerning the 
means of strengthening and developing bilateral relations. 
 
With regard to the situation in Lebanon, the two countries 
have noted Syria's commitment to withdraw in accordance with 
UN Security Council Resolution 1559. The two countries 
support the independence of Lebanon, its security and its 
stability.  They also call for the formation of a Lebanese 
government as rapidly as possible and the holding of free and 
democratic elections within the prescribed deadlines. 
 
The two countries stressed the importance they ascribe to the 
Security Council resolution providing for the establishment 
of an international commission of inquiry to elucidate the 
circumstances of the assassination of Lebanon's Prime 
Minister Rafik Al-Hariri and they demand of the Lebanese 
authorities to cooperate, under the resolution, with a view 
to establishing the truth and punishing those involved in 
this terrorist crime. 
 
The two countries reiterated their encouragements for the 
actions conducted with a view to restarting the peace process 
in the Middle East in accordance with the international 
resolutions and the roadmap, which provides for a solution 
based on two independent states living side by side in peace 
and security. They also welcomed the reaffirmation by the 
Arab countries, at the close of the Algiers Summit,  of their 
commitment to the peace initiative put forward by Prince 
Abdullah and adopted by the Arab Summit in Beirut. 
 
They reaffirmed their commitment to peace and security in 
Iraq, to the safeguarding of its unity and its sovereignty. 
They called for participation of all Iraqi people in the 
political process.  Saudi Arabia and France also insisted on 
the need to activate international cooperation in the fight 
against terrorism and its sources of financing.  They have 
planned to deepen their cooperation in this regard within the 
framework of the United Nations. 
 
France expressed its satisfaction with regard to the moderate 
oil policy conducted by Saudi Arabia that aims to preserve 
stability in the oil market as well as to foster global 
economic growth. The two countries have agreed to strengthen 
their cooperation on the economy, investments and cultural 
ties within the framework of their strategic relations. 
Saudi Arabia has also declared that it appreciates French 
support for its joining the World Trade Organization and its 
signing the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union 
and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. 
 
End text. 
 
WOLFF