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PP RUEHWEB

DE RUCNDT #0641/01 1812040
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 302040Z JUN 09
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6816
INFO RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 1661
RUEHLI/AMEMBASSY LISBON 0635
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 6421
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 0181
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 0113
RUEHJI/AMCONSUL JEDDAH 0011
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 3795

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000641 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
IO; IO/UNP; DRL/IRF; DRL/MLA; P, R; NSC FOR ELIZABETH 
SHERWOOD-RANDALL, MICHAEL FROMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/30/2019 
TAGS: PHUM PREL KIRF KISL SP TU
SUBJECT: ALLIANCE OF CIVILIZATIONS: AMBASSADOR RICE MEETS 
WITH TURKISH AND SPANISH PERMREPS 
 
REF: A. USUN 638 
     ¶B. 2008 STATE 42613 
     ¶C. 2008 STATE 62006 
     ¶D. 2008 USUN 814 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Susan Rice, for reasons 1.4(b)(d) 
 
 ¶1.  This is an action cable.  See paragraph 6 below. 
 
¶2. (SBU)  Turkish PermRep Ilkin and Spanish PermRep 
Yanez-Barnuevo requested a meeting with Ambassador Rice to 
urge U.S. backing for the Alliance of Civilizations (AOC). 
They explained that the initiative for the AOC came from 
their governments in 2005, is was aimed at fostering 
inter-cultural dialogue and addressing misunderstandings in 
an international fora, and has been endorsed by SYGs Annan 
and Ban.  Turkey and Spain would like to have both Israel and 
the U.S. fully on board, to enhance the credibility of the 
AOC.  They appreciate the U.S. sending observers to last 
week's meeting (ref a) of Friends of the AOC, and noted that 
the Israeli ambassador to Turkey attended the Istanbul Forum. 
 They acknowledged the difficulties that Israel and the U.S. 
had with the November 2006 Report of the High-Level Group of 
Experts recommendation to develop a "White Paper" on the 
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  (Note: U.S. and Jewish experts 
were included in the 20-member expert group, namely Rabbi 
Arthur Schneier of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation and UN 
East Park Synagogue, and Professor John Esposito of 
Georgetown University. Passages in the portion of the report 
dealing with the history of relations between Western and 
Muslim societies, as well as the recommendation to produce 
the above-mentioned "White Paper" were considered problematic 
by the Department and some members of Congress.  The entire 
text of the High-Level Group's report can be found on the AOC 
website: www.unaoc.org.  End note.) 
 
¶3. (C) Ambassador Ilkin underlined that the high-level panel 
was not a part of the AOC, that the recommendation on a White 
Paper had been sidelined and would not be acted upon, and 
that the governments of Turkey and Spain would never allow 
the AOC to become an Israel-bashing platform.  Ambassador 
Yanez-Barnuevo noted that former Portuguese President Jorge 
Sampaio, the Secretary-General's High Representative for the 
AOC, had visited Israel, and would have visited NY and 
Washington last week had he not fallen ill.  In response to 
Ambassador Rice's question about the membership of nations 
with an anti-Israel bias, they acknowledged that Iran, Syria 
and Libya were all members of the AOC, but that the two 
co-sponsors, Turkey and Spain, along with High Representative 
Sampaio and the Secretary-General controlled the agenda of 
the AOC.  They further stressed that the annual AOC Forum did 
not result in any agreed outcome document, but only in a 
report by the High Representative to the SYG.  They described 
the AOC as a UN initiative similar in nature to the Global 
Compact and the Democracy Fund, i.e., having the imprimature 
of the UN, but avoiding the oversight of its activities by 
the GA. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Ambassador Rice asked what obligations the U.S. 
would be expected to undertake if it were to become a member 
of the AOC.  The PermReps assured her that all the activities 
of the AOC were voluntary, that funding was also voluntary 
and came mainly from Spain and Turkey, and that no outcome 
document was adopted in the annual Forum.  They noted that 
many civil society organizations, foundations and academics 
take part in the Forum, as well as international 
organizations and governments.  The AOC members undertake 
programs in four areas: migration, youth, education and the 
media.  (Note: EUR A/S Volker in April 2008 announced to the 
Spanish and Turkish governments (ref b) that a public affairs 
program, the Department of State's Citizen Dialogue Program, 
which sent American Muslims overseas on speaking tours, could 
be considered to "further the objectives of the AOC", after 
repeated pleas from the Spanish government to find a means of 
linking the U.S. to the AOC.) 
 
¶5. (U) The PermReps ended the meeting by asking the U.S. to 
attend the September ministerial-level breakfast meeting in 
New York of the Group of Friends of the AOC, underscoring the 
important boost that would be given towards the target of 
creating more understanding in the world if the U.S. placed 
 
 
its weight behind the AOC. 
 
 
 
¶6. (C)  In a private pull aside after the meeting, the 
Spanish PR indicated to Amb. Rice upon instructions from 
Madrid the crucial importance that Spain places on being 
included in the G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh.  He called it a 
critical issue in the bilateral relationship. 
 
¶7. (U)  ACTION REQUEST: Mission requests an update on the 
results of the Department's ongoing review of its position 
regarding membership in the Alliance of Civilizations. 
RICE