VZCZCXRO6539
OO RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV
DE RUEHDM #0396 1151429
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 251429Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3378
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 0411

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 000396 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
PARIS FOR WALLER; LONDON FOR TSOU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AMGT ABLD ASEC PGOV SY
SUBJECT: CHARGE DISCUSSES NEW EMBASSY COMPOUND, DIPLOMATIC 
ZONE WITH MFA 
 
REF: A. 05 DAMASCUS 3443 
     ¶B. 05 DAMASCUS 0366 
     ¶C. 05 DAMASCUS 0796 
     ¶D. 05 DAMASCUS 5288 
     ¶E. 05 STATE 180634 
 
 ¶1.  (SBU) In an April 23 meeting MFA Director of Protocol, 
Amir Smadi, the Embassy's designated SARG interlocutor, 
Charge followed up on previous approaches on the issue of the 
proposed Diplomatic Zone (DZ) that President Bashar al-Asad, 
FM Walid al-Mu'allim, and other senior SARG officials had 
made reference to in recent meetings with CODELS.  (Note: 
These SARG officials raised the DZ, asserting that it would 
be ready within a year, in order to address CODEL members' 
expressions of concern about Embassy security and their 
questions about why the Embassy was not able to proceed with 
moving to a new, more secure embassy compound.)  Charge also 
noted to Smadi that in one of these meetings, a senior SARG 
official had charged his deputy with reviewing Embassy plans 
for the move to the DZ.  Charge referred to these assurances 
to CODEL members and noted that he wanted to resume 
discussions with the SARG on purchasing land in the DZ for 
the new embassy compound (NEC). 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Charge also noted that there had been a series of 
previous discussions with the MFA over the past several years 
about the particular plot of land the SARG intended to sell 
to the U.S. for its NEC, including a commitment to assign the 
U.S. an 80,000 square meters (eight hectares) plot of land 
for this purpose.  He showed Smadi a copy of a map, 
previously provided to the Embassy by the MFA, which detailed 
the DZ and those areas that had been discussed as possible 
sites for the NEC.  Charge emphasized the need for the SARG 
to reach a decision about the precise plot of land and its 
price, and noted that he would like to meet with the 
appropriate MFA official, charged with administrative issues, 
to move these discussions forward, building on the previous 
discussions.  Smadi promised to follow up on the matter but 
requested a dipnote seeking the meeting. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) In the context of this discussion, Charge 
reiterated his concern for Embassy security, especially in 
the wake of the September 12 terrorist attack, and urged the 
SARG to move on the Embassy's repeated requests to close or 
partially close to vehicular traffic the streets surrounding 
the Embassy.  Smadi was non-committal, noting that street 
closures were problematic and that he had "no answer" on that 
issue.  Other issues discussed are covered septel. 
 
CORBIN