US embassy cable - 05PARIS6908

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 006908 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/06/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, PGOV, BM, FR, UNSC, UNGA 
SUBJECT: FRENCH ON BURMA/UNSC DEMARCHE 
 
REF: STATE 185479 
 
Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Josiah B. Rosenblatt for re 
asons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C) Poloff delivered reftel demarche on October 6 to MFA 
Burma desk officer Franck Vermeulen and UN/IO desk officer 
Benoit Guidee.  Guidee offered as a "first response" (noting 
that the French mission to the UN was presenting the same 
response in New York) that the French are completely open to 
bringing the Burma issue before the UNSC.  In that regard 
France could support a briefing by Special Envoy Razali 
Ismail or SRHR Pinheiro in either an informal or a formal 
session. 
 
2. (C) Guidee underlined, however, the importance, in the 
case of a decision to seek a resolution or Presidential 
Statement, of verifying beforehand that it would be possible 
to count on the necessary nine votes in the case of a 
resolution in favor of doing so.  Noting that China, Japan, 
the Philippines, Russia and Algeria were sure "nos", he 
stressed the importance of getting the two Latin-American 
members and the African states to join.  Guidee repeated 
again that this was only a tactical concern, and that, the 
French are open to bringing the issue to the UNSC and see the 
evolution of events in Burma as very worrisome. 
Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm 
STAPLETON