US embassy cable - 05HELSINKI948

UNCLAS HELSINKI 000948 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, IZ, FI, Finland-Iraq 
SUBJECT: GOF RESPONSE ON IRAQ CONSTITUTION 
 
REF: STATE 158420 
 
1. DCM met September 1 with Finnish MFA Undersecretary for 
Political Affairs Markus Lyra to discuss the GOF's public 
response to the Iraqi draft constitution and to request a 
public statement supporting the democratization process in 
Iraq.  She noted that the foreign ministers from the five 
Nordic countries had made a very positive joint statement in 
support of Iraqi democracy in June at the time of the Iraq 
conference in Brussels, and that we hoped the GOF would see 
presentation the draft constitution as another opportunity to 
show support for the Iraqi people. 
 
2. Lyra responded by emphasizing that the GOF remained very 
supportive of the process in Iraq.  While Iraq is not on the 
official agenda for the Sept. 1-2 Gymnich meeting in Wales, 
the issue of the Iraqi constitution was sure to be discussed 
in that forum, Lyra said, and he expected that the ministers 
would make a positive statement along the lines of what we 
had suggested.  He also acknowledged the statement made by 
the UK in its capacity as EU presidency as well and said that 
the GOF generally supported it.  Lyra stopped short of 
committing the foreign minister to issuing a statement but 
said that he would raise the issue with him on his return 
from Wales. 
MACK