US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT4903

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 004903 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/ARPI; LONDON FOR TSOU; PARIS FOR ZEYA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/26/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, PGOV, SY, KU 
SUBJECT: MFA UNDERSECRETARY SAYS SYRIAN PRESIDENT'S 
WILLINGNESS TO CHANGE HAMPERED BY THOSE AROUND HIM 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) 
 
1.  (C)  During a November 27 meeting, Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs Undersecretary Khaled Al-Jarallah shared his views on 
the recent Syrian decision to send officials to Europe in for 
questioning by the Mehlis commission.  Al-Jarallah said the 
SARG's decision to cooperate was the right one.  Al-Jarallah 
commented that he suspected that President Bashar al Asad's 
willingness to cooperate but may feel constrained by the 
potential reactions of hard-liners in the regime.  He 
speculated that al Asad would be even more cooperative if he 
had some "guarantee of support" from the international 
community.    Al-Jarallah was unsure how to convey such 
expressions of support, but felt strongly that al Asad needed 
sustained encouragement to behave in a positive way with 
regard to global issues, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, 
Iraq, and Lebanon.  Greater cooperation would prevent the 
creation of a vacuum that would be detrimental to the entire 
region. 
 
2.  (C)  The Ambassador countered that the international 
community has been clear about what it sought from Syria: 
positive changes by the regime, not regime change. 
Unfortunately, there is not enough evidence that al Asad was 
willing to change and was focused on the long-term. 
Al-Jarallah agreed that change was needed and said the Syrian 
President seemed confused about which path to take.  His 
statements during his CNN interview were positive, but he 
gave a very negative speech to the Syrian parliament. 
Al-Jarallah said that the December 7-8 summit of the 
Organization of the Islamic Conference in Mecca presented an 
opportunity for regional leaders to share their concerns with 
al Asad. 
 
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