US embassy cable - 05CAIRO9134

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 009134 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/07/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, SY, LE, EG, Terror attacks 
SUBJECT: MUBARAK REBUFFS DECEMBER 6 AL SHARA'A PLEAS 
 
 
Classified by DCM Stuart Jones for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C)  President Mubarak met with Syrian Foreign Minister 
Farouk al Shara'a in Cairo on December 6.  Presidential 
Advisor Soliman Awad gave the DCM a readout of the meeting on 
December 7.  Awad said that Al Shara'a asked Mubarak to 
mediate for Syria with Chirac and the President and to 
recruit the Saudis to counter a potential UNSCR or Security 
Council Presidential Statement following the release of the 
next Mehlis report.  Al Shara'a reportedly complained that 
the Saudis -- and Bandar in particular -- had failed the 
Syrians.  Awad said Mubarak rebuffed Shara'a's request and 
said Syrian cooperation, until recently, had been lacking. 
Mubarak did, however, note that sending the witnesses to 
Vienna was a positive step.  Mubarak advised al Shara'a that 
Syria had relied too much on Russia, and said that blocking a 
UNSCR or statement would be impossible. 
 
2.  (C) Al Shara'a then asked Mubarak to help ensure that any 
tribunal established to prosecute the Hariri murderers not be 
international, but instead fall under the Arab League 
(modeled on the Sudan Tribunal, overseen by the AU) and based 
on Lebanese or Syrian law.  Awad said Mubarak rejected this 
request also, remarking that discussing a tribunal is 
premature and implied guilt.  Awad said Mubarak then asked al 
Shara'a whether Syria had indeed killed Hariri.  Al Shara'a 
then asked for an Arab summit, but Mubarak said Algeria (as 
Chair of the Arab League) had already refused.  When al 
Shara'a asked instead for a mini-summit, Mubarak said "no" 
and said that only Egypt and Saudi Arabia could help Syria 
and only if Syria cooperates fully with Mehlis. 
 
3.  (U)  Local press ran front page stories on the visit, 
emphasizing Mubarak's statement following the meeting that 
the Mehlis investigation "could last another six months, a 
year, or even longer."  According to reports in the Arabic 
language daily "Al Akbar", al Shara'a said that Syria wants 
better relations with Lebanon and to uncover the truth about 
Hariri's death, but noted that "some inside and outside of 
Lebanon" are trying to internationalize the matter and use it 
to pressure Syria.  Articles in the pro-government Arabic 
language daily "Al Ahram" reported that al Shara'a complained 
that although Syria supports the Mehlis investigation, it 
does not support the politicization of the inquiry because an 
investigation with a political objective does not aim to 
uncover the truth. 
 
 
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