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C O N F I D E N T I A L        BERLIN 03492

SIPDIS
CX2BERLN:
    ACTION: POL
    INFO:   DCM CHRON FAS DAOBONN PAO ECON AMB JIS DAO
CXBERLIN:
    ACTION: POL
    INFO:   DCM CHRON FAS DAOBONN PAO ECON AMB JIS DAO

DISSEMINATION: POL
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: POL:KSILVERBERG
DRAFTED: POL:MALEE
CLEARED: POL:MMARTIN, JBAUMAN

VZCZCRLI642
OO RUEHC
DE RUEHRL #3492/01 3480808
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 140808Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6397

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BERLIN 003492 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/14/2016 
TAGS: UNHRC UNIFIL UN SU IR LE SY EUN GE
SUBJECT: A/S SILVERBERG'S VISIT TO BERLIN 
 
Classified By: A/S SILVERBERG FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D) 
 
¶1.  (C) (Summary) A/S Kristen Silverberg met Commissioner for 
Global Affairs, Peter Wittig, State Secretary Reinhard 
Silberberg, Deputy National Security Advisor Rolf Nikel, and 
other German officials and opinion leaders in Berlin on 
December 4 and 5 to discuss UN policy issues such as Iran, 
Lebanon, North Korea, Darfur, and UN reform.  A/S Silverberg 
also raised concerns about the disproportionate number of 
resolutions and special sessions focusing on Israel in 
comparison to gross human rights violators such as Burma and 
the DPRK.  Wittig briefed the A/S on his recent trip to 
Lebanon with Foreign Minister Steinmeier and discussed his UN 
priorities.  Apart from some differences on Iran and 
disagreements over the wisdom of engaging with Syria, the 
discussions revealed a common approach toward most UN agenda 
issues.  (End summary) 
 
The Germans in Lebanon 
---------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) Wittig, a former German ambassador to Lebanon, 
accompanied Steinmeier to the Middle East region on a 
four-day visit which ended in Damascus on December 4.  Wittig 
provided an outbrief of this visit in his meeting with A/S 
Silverberg, saying that the Germans feel the maritime UNIFIL 
is going well and that they feel satisfied with Germany's 
first-ever contributions to a blue-hat mission.  Wittig also 
commented favorably on the Germans' cooperation with the 
Lebanese navy, which, although it is still small and 
relatively weak, is mainly Christian and is loyal to the 
Lebanese Government, he said.  Wittig said the outlook for 
this mission is good in the near term. 
 
¶3.   (C) Of far greater concern was the land border between 
Lebanon and Syria.  In addition to scanners that Germany has 
already provided, Wittig said that Germany is considering 
contributing additional equipment such as automobiles and 
communications gear to the Lebanese border police.  But he 
said unequivocally that German advisors would not get 
involved directly in patrolling or monitoring the borders. 
Wittig said that the success in this effort depended largely 
on the capacity of the Lebanese army, police, special 
security forces, and customs officers to sustain training and 
patrols.  He said he could not evaluate how effective the 
Lebanese police was in preventing arms smuggling.  However, 
he said that the Syrians know they are "being watched", which 
may be reducing weapons smuggling for the time being. 
 
¶4.   (C) Wittig also said that Siniora discussed with 
Steinmeier possible compromise for proposals for forming a 
new Cabinet.  Siniora said that one option was to expand the 
size of the cabinet to 30 and give the opposition 9 seats, 
reserving 19 for Siniora's party and filling two "neutral" 
seats with technocrats.  This would prevent the opposition 
from having a blocking minority but also keep the ruling 
party from retaining a two-thirds majority.  Wittig said he 
saw no evidence of progress on Hizbollah's disarmament, and 
he did not expect any so long as no progress was made toward 
a political settlement. 
 
¶5.   (C) According to Wittig, Steinmeier plans during the 
German EU presidency, when Germany will represent the EU in 
the Quartet, to energize the Mid-East Peace Process. 
Steinmeier also favors broadening the Quartet's focus on 
Israel and Palestine to also include the situation in Lebanon. 
 
¶6.   (C) In A/S Silverberg meeting with State Secretary 
Reinhard Silberberg, Silberberg also said that Steinmeier is 
seeking a "constructive role" for Syria in the region and 
said that Syria's cooperation is needed for resolution 
between Israel and Palestine.  Silberberg said the Hariri 
tribunal is a key focus of negotiations with Syria. 
Silverberg observed that it would be difficult to get a 
Chapter 7 resolution in the UN to form the legal basis for 
the tribunal. She noted in a separate meeting with Deputy 
National Security Advisor Rolf Nikel that getting consensus 
on a Chapter 7 resolution would be a challenge as the 
Russians are likely to resist this effort.  Nikel agreed on 
this point. 
 
Darfur - Optimism Lacking by All 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶7.   (C) A/S Silverberg's discussions with Wittig and other 
German officials revealed a shared sense of concern regarding 
the situation in Darfur.  There was also agreement that AMIS 
is not working well.  Wittig agreed that Secretary 
General-designate Ban should be encouraged to keep the 
pressure on President Bashir. (Note: Ban arrived for meetings 
in Berlin on December 6. End Note).  A/S Silverberg said it 
was unacceptable to allow Bashir to thwart the will of the 
international community. 
 
¶8.   (C) In a separate meeting, State Secretary Reinhard 
Silberberg discussed German and EU concerns with funding for 
the AMIS mission and said that finding the finances to 
support the AU in Darfur remains difficult.  Wittig suggested 
the need for increased cooperation between the EU and the UN 
on military missions, saying that blue helmet missions should 
not be comprised only of "third-world" members. 
 
¶9.   (C) Deputy National Security Advisor Rolf Nikel agreed 
with A/S Silverberg that Bashir's behavior was not acceptable 
and said he was pessimistic about the effectiveness of 
sanctions in Sudan.  The Chancellor's view, he said, is that 
Germany will stay on its current course of supporting robust 
assistance in Darfur. 
 
Iran Sanctions Still Contentious 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶10.   (C) During A/S Silverberg's meeting with Deputy 
National Security Advisor Nikel, Nikel said the "perfect 
solution" on the Iran nonproliferation issue would not 
happen.  He emphasized that, although possible sanctions on 
Iran must be credible, unity among the EU, the US, Russia, 
China, and Islamic countries must stay strong.  Nikel said 
that a divided stand on Iran would be the worst outcome 
because Iran could exploit it. 
 
¶11.   (C) On the prospect of targeted financial sanctions, 
Nikel noted that the German government has some concerns 
about outstanding export guarantees, and it does not want 
Iran to use sanctions as an excuse for not repaying its 
debts.  The Germans agreed that sanctions are important, but 
raised practical concerns and repeatedly stressed the 
importance of maintaining international solidarity.  A/S 
Silverberg replied that, while the U.S. agrees consensus is 
important, it should not come at the cost of a strong and 
meaningful UN Security Council resolution that creates 
tangible costs for Iran in its pursuit of a nuclear weapons 
capability. 
 
¶12.   (C) State Secretary Silberberg said that he thought the 
Russians were showing some signs of flexibility on the issue 
of Iran sanctions, and now may be the time to reach 
agreement.  He noted, more pessimistically, that little can 
be done to make an impact on Iran's behavior, and said that 
Iran probably will not give up its nuclear program in spite 
of whatever resolution the international community agrees on. 
 
 
UN Reform and the Human Rights Council 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶13.   (C) A number of German interlocutors raised questions 
about the USG's view on the Human Rights Council (HRC).  All 
expressed the hope that the U.S. would be a candidate to join 
the Council next year.  A/S Silverberg reinforced U.S. 
concerns about the disproportionate number of resolutions and 
special sessions the HRC handles on Israel, a point which was 
met with general agreement by the Germans, and on the failure 
of the HRC to address other issues.  Wittig noted that the 
NGO community in Germany had been very hopeful about the HRC 
but that the government had always been more skeptical 
because of the Council's composition.  Wittig said 
constructive participation by the Latin American countries 
will be key to the success of the HRC, but conceded that 
current trends do not appear promising. 
 
¶14.  (C) A/S Silverberg noted that the U.S. and its allies 
have had more success in dealing with human rights issues in 
the Third Committee.  MFA Office Director for Human Rights 
Peter Rothen agreed and said that Germany strongly believed 
in the need to continue introducing country-specific 
resolutions.  Wittig also said that "Germany likes 
country-specific resolutions." 
 
¶15.   (C) Wittig expressed satisfaction for both the German 
and U.S. contributions to the Democracy Fund.  When A/S 
Silverberg raised the proposed Entrepreneurship Fund, Wittig 
expressed interest, although he said that the 
Finance Ministry makes it difficult for the Foreign Ministry 
to contribute to such funds. 
 
¶16.   (C) Most German interlocutors expressed high hopes for 
Secretary General-designate Ban on reform issues.  Wittig and 
 
SIPDIS 
Silverberg agreed that momentum for reform is currently 
lacking.  Wittig agreed with A/S Silverberg that Ban would be 
wise to put ethics reform at the top of his agenda to set a 
positive tone for his tenure. 
 
¶17.   (C) Wittig ended his meeting with A/S Silverberg by 
noting the persistent gap between the EU and the USG on the 
scale of assessments.  Silverberg underscored the firmness of 
the U.S. position that the twenty-two per cent ceiling could 
not be increased.  Silverberg and Wittig agreed that 
countries like China with fast-growing economies could 
contribute more. 
 
¶18.   (C) Deputy National Security Advisor Rolf Nikel agreed 
with A/S Silverberg on the need for continued reform in the 
UN and said that there is broad consensus in Germany on the 
need for "multilateral diplomacy."  Like other German 
interlocutors during A/S Silverberg's visit, Nikel expressed 
strong interest in who would be the likely candidates for the 
new U.S. ambassadorship to the UN. 
TIMKEN JR