US embassy cable - 05CAIRO3175

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 003175 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/ELA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/28/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, KPAO, EG, LE, SY 
SUBJECT: GOE TRACKING SYRIAN MOVES IN LEBANON; NOTES OUR 
DEMARCHE ON MAINTAINING PRESSURE. 
 
REF: STATE 78006 (NOTAL) 
 
Classified by ECPO Counselor John Desrocher for reasons 1.4 
(b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C) The Charge delivered reftel demarche to Presidential 
Spokesman Soliman Awad April 28.  Before hearing the 
demarche, Awad noted that the just-concluded visit of Russian 
President Putin had been very successful.  Turning to 
Lebanon, the Charge drew from reftel talking points to stress 
the importance of maintaining pressure on Syria to fully 
implement UNSCR 1559.  Awad took careful note of the points, 
noted President Mubarak's interest in this matter, and said 
that he would deliver our points directly to the President. 
 
2.  (C) Poloff followed up with MFA Cabinet staff member Amr 
Sherbiny.  Sherbiny, who will accompany the Minister later 
April 28 to Istanbul for an Iraq Neighbors meeting, said that 
Egypt was watching developments in Lebanon and Syria closely. 
 Citing public comments by the State Department Spokesman, 
Sherbiny said that he had anticipated the U.S. demarche and 
understood that pressure on Damascus and the Lebanese regime 
would continue until UNSCR 1559 was fully implemented. 
Sherbiny promised to pass our demarche directly to the 
Foreign Minister. 
 
3.  (C) Reviewing the status of events in Lebanon, Sherbiny 
believed elections would be held on time starting May 29, 
based on the "law of 2000 with minor amendments."  On Syrian 
troop withdrawal, Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Walid Al 
Muallim reportedly told assembled Arab Ambassadors April 27 
that all Syrian forces ("kuwwat") had departed Lebanon and 
that a "full withdrawal" had been completed.  Sherbiny said 
that Muallim reportedly said that Syria was "thinking about 
establishing diplomatic relations with Lebanon," as UN 
Special Envoy Larsen had urged during his latest regional 
tour.  Responding to poloff's assertion that militias in 
Lebanon would need to be disarmed, Sherbiny stated that this 
difficult task would take time and would need to be addressed 
by the Lebanese themselves after elections. 
 
 
Visit Embassy Cairo's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/cairo 
 
You can also access this site through the 
State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. 
 
CORBIN