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O 251425Z JAN 06
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6708
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON IMMEDIATE 0317
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS IMMEDIATE 0338
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV IMMEDIATE 0738
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE IMMEDIATE 0236
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAMASCUS 000276 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA/ELA 
NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/SINGH 
TREASURY FOR GLASER/LEBENSON 
EB/ESC/TFS FOR SALOOM 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/24/2015 
TAGS: ECON EINV ETTC PGOV SANC SY
SUBJECT: SANCTIONS: REACTION TO THE SHAWKAT DESIGNATION 
 
 
Classified By: CDA Stephen Seche for reasons 1.5 b/d. 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary.  The Treasury Department,s designation of 
President Asad,s brother-in-law, Asif Shawkat, received 
considerable regional press coverage and stirred some 
internal discussion in Damascus.  The move was quietly 
welcomed by most groups, including the Sunni business 
community, though many questioned the timing.  Our European 
colleagues say they lack the legal tools to take similar 
unilateral action, but are prepared to designate anyone 
identified by the UN sanctions committee as complicit in the 
assassination of former Lebanese PM Hariri.  Asif Shawkat 
himself is reportedly unfazed by the designation and prepared 
to discuss ways to improve relations with the US.  End 
summary. 
 
¶2.  (C) Like the previous designation of deceased Interior 
Minister Ghazi Kanaan E.O. 13338, the January 18 Treasury 
Department order to freeze any assets belonging to Asif 
Shawkat, and prohibiting US individuals from conducting 
transactions with him, received significant regional media 
coverage though it wasn't reported in the local, 
state-controlled press.  Syrians we,ve talked to have 
quietly applauded the designation, though unsure of what 
practical effect the sanctions may have.  Dr. Abdul Rahman 
Attar, the head of one of the most important Sunni business 
families in Damascus, commented to us that the designation 
was a positive step and wondered aloud when there would be 
others.  He drew a hopeful parallel between Asif Shawkat and 
the deceased former Interior Minister Ghazi Kanaan, who was 
designated under the same Executive Order in June of 2005 and 
ended up dead by what was officially deemed a suicide some 
four months later.  According to Attar, the Damascus rumor 
mill is actively speculating on the health of Shawkat,s 
relations with President Asad following the designation. 
 
The Europeans 
------------- 
¶3.  (C) The EU mission in Damascus, which was unaware of any 
of our previous 18 designations of individuals and entities, 
did take notice of Shawkat,s designation.  Loic Lallemand 
Zeller, EU pol/econ counselor, commented to us that the 
designation triggered an internal discussion within the EU in 
Brussels and among his colleagues at other European missions 
in Damascus.  According to Zeller, the EU has no legal 
mechanism similar to the US International Emergency Economic 
Powers Act (IEEPA), or consequently E.O. 13338, for placing 
financial sanctions on individuals or entities outside of a 
UNSCR.  Zeller said that it has taken months of discussion 
between the European Commission and the European Parliament 
to create a mechanism to implement UNSCR 1636, which calls 
for financial sanctions on individuals named as suspects in 
the Hariri assassination.  Parliamentary action is necessary 
for each new UNSCR, according to Zeller.  Zeller expressed 
confidence, however, that within days the EU, and all member 
states, would be in a position to take immediate action to 
place financial sanctions on any Syrian named by the UN 
sanctions committee. 
 
Timing 
------ 
¶4.  (C) All our interlocutors of the last week looked for 
significance in the timing of the Shawkat designation.  Abdel 
Kader Husrieh, informal economic advisor to Deputy Prime 
Minister Abdullah Dardari, commented to us that the 
designation came at a time when the SARG felt a slackening in 
the international pressure it faced, with the local 
impression being it has found a way to manage the UNIIIC 
investigation into the Hariri assasination.  As proof, 
Husrieh echoed a sentiment we have heard from others, that 
there has been a perceptible softening of US rhetoric against 
the regime since before the release of the second Mehlis 
report.  According to Husrieh, the SARG was therefore in a 
relatively strong position to be able to shrug off any 
incremental pressure, domestic or otherwise, resulting from 
one of its key pillars being sanctioned. 
 
Shawkat,s Reaction 
 
DAMASCUS 00000276  002 OF 002 
 
 
------------------ 
¶5.  (C) Shawkat,s business partner and Member of Parliament, 
Hashem Akkad, insisted to us that the designation did not 
worry Shawkat and would not influence his reported 
willingness to collaborate with the USG in the future 
(septel).  Akkad said he saw Shawkat on the day following the 
designation and Shawkat's mood was light.  Akkad said he 
pointed out to Shawkat that the USG action had no teeth but 
would instead be viewed as a badge of honor by the Arab 
street.  Akkad also questioned the timing but was otherwise 
dismissive of the significance of the USG action. 
 
¶6.  (C) Comment.  The level of the regional media coverage 
and resultant Syrian awareness of the Shawkat designation is 
a positive improvement over earlier anouncements and is 
likely attributable to both the subject's prominence and the 
number and level of official USG statements emanating from 
Washington on the designation.  Similar future designations 
will likely continue to be welcomed by the Damascene elite, 
but having the EU follow suit would greatly amplify the 
sanction's effect.  It is encouraging that the EU will soon 
have a mechanism in place to designate anyone identified as a 
suspect in the Hariri investigation (of whom Shawkat should 
be one) but it still requires action by the UN sanctions 
committee to trigger the EU designation. 
SECHE