US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT3423

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 003423 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/29/2013 
TAGS: PREL, EAID, KU, XF 
SUBJECT: GOK SAYS P.A. SUPPORT A BILATERAL ISSUE 
 
REF: KUWAIT 2486 
 
Classified By: ADCM John G. Moran for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary: During meetings with the Ambassador on July 
27 and 28, respectively, MFA U/S Khaled Jarallah and Minister 
of Foreign Affairs Shaykh Dr. Mohammed Al-Sabah discussed 
Kuwaiti financial support for the Palestinian Authority 
(P.A.).  Both made it clear that Kuwait intends to treat 
financial assistance for the P.A. as a bilateral issue, and 
will discuss the matter directly with Abu Mazen during his 
upcoming visit to Kuwait.  End Summary. 
 
U/S Jarallah on the P.A. 
 
2. (C) The Ambassador raised the issue of Kuwaiti financial 
assistance to the Palestinian Authority during his July 27 
meeting with MFA U/S Khaled Jarallah.  Jarallah said current 
Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah had received a 
letter from Abu Mazen before OIF, asking Kuwait for financial 
assistance in "an amount that was more than the figure now." 
Jarallah said that the GOK has since received a letter asking 
for USD $ 3-4 million, which represented obligations to the 
P.A. that pre-dated the Gulf War.  Shaykh Sabah had agreed to 
make this payment.  He said Palestinian National Council 
member Tawfiq Abu Bakr had recently visited Kuwait and raised 
three issues with Shaykh Sabah.  First, he requested that the 
agreed to assistance be transferred to the P.A.  Secondly, he 
asked about establishing an "embassy" in Kuwait, primarily to 
offer Palestinian expats citizen services, and finally, he 
noted the P.A. was now willing to work with Kuwaitis who had 
property claims in Ramallah (formerly a popular destination 
for Kuwaiti investment).  Although the GOK recognized that 
the opening of a P.A. mission in Kuwait would be politically 
complicated, Jarallah said Shaykh Sabah had agreed to all of 
Abu Bakr's proposals.  However, the mission would not receive 
formal embassy status. 
 
3. (C) Jarallah, who praised recent progress on Road Map 
implementation, asked the Ambassador whether the USG had any 
plans to move forward on other (non-Palestinian) tracks.  He 
said that Syria was of particular concern, and noted that it 
"needs encouragement" before it will begin to take the steps 
necessary to move towards peace.  The Ambassador replied that 
the whole region would do well with peace, and Syria, as a 
key player in the region, could be influential in bringing it 
about. 
 
FM Dr. Mohammed Al-Sabah: "Now you're Amr Mousa?" 
 
4. (C) Following up on A/S Burns' discussions with FM Dr. 
Mohammed Al-Sabah (reftel), the Ambassador asked the Minister 
during their July 28 meeting if Kuwait had taken any action 
on it's P.A. commitments.  Smiling, the FM asked, "So now 
you're Amr Mousa, huh?"  Dr. Mohammed went on to explain that 
the GOK understanding of its Arab League commitments were 
different than ours.  He said Kuwait considers that it has 
already fulfilled its Beirut Summit pledge, which was made 
during the height of the Intifada, and which was linked to 
the continuation of "Israeli atrocities" against the 
Palestinians.  Since "the Intifada is basically over," Kuwait 
has decided that it will now deal with any P.A. issues in the 
context of a bilateral relationship, instead of through the 
Arab League. "We consider this a bilateral issue," he said. 
 
5. (C) Declaring that the GOK has "issues" with the Arab 
League, and with Amr Mousa in particular, Dr. Mohammed 
reminded the Ambassador that Mousa is persona non grata in 
the UAE, and has also had trouble in the not too distant past 
entering Morocco.  Dr. Mohammmed said the GOK would push for 
language from the Arab League condemning the regime of Saddam 
Hussein, and supporting the new Iraqi Governing Council.  He 
added that Kuwait had already drawn up language on the latter 
issue, and would need Palestinian support to get it adopted. 
He implied this would be quid pro quo for additional Kuwaiti 
support. 
 
6. (C) Dr. Mohammed said Abu Mazen will be received by Kuwait 
during the last half of August, when he plans a tour of the 
Gulf. 
 
7. (C) Comment:  The GOK decision to treat the P.A. funding 
matter as a bilateral issue is positive in that it reflects 
official recognition of the strengthening of Abu Mazen's 
position and stature.  It also reflects the fragile status of 
GOK/AL relations and Kuwaiti anger with Amr Mousa.  In this 
environment, asking the GOK to honor Arab League commitments 
would not seem the best tack to take to encourage support for 
the P.A.  End Comment. 
JONES