VZCZCXRO6459
PP RUEHDE RUEHDIR
DE RUEHAD #1145/01 1900932
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 090932Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9315
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 0797
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 0471
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 0558
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 0357
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 0223
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 001145 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
NOFORN 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ARP, NEA/IPA, NEA/I, NEA/IR 
NSC FOR NRAMCHAND, EABRAMS 
JERUSALEM PLEASE PASS TO USSC GENERAL DAYTON 
 
E.O. 12958:  07/08/2017 
TAGS: PREL KPAL KNUC IQ IR AE
SUBJECT:  FOREIGN MINISTER ABDULLAH ON ABBAS VISIT; GCC MINISTERIALS 
 
REF: A) ABU DHABI 1119 
 B) RIYADH 1454 
 
Classified By:  Ambassador Michele J. Sison 
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) Ambassador spoke via telephone with Foreign Minister Sheikh 
Abdullah bin Zayed (AbZ) Sunday afternoon, July 8, regarding the 
visit of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who had arrived the day 
before.  AbZ reported that Abu Mazen was still in Abu Dhabi, and 
would be meeting with UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed.  Thus 
far, the conversations had focused on political support rather than 
additional financial assistance. 
 
¶2. (C) The UAE leadership intends to press others in the region to 
support Abu Mazen and Salam Fayyad, according to AbZ.  Abu Mazen had 
not made any specific requests.  The UAE leadership feels it 
important to encourage others in the region to support Abu Mazen, and 
will target Bahrain and the Mahgreb (probably Morocco) as the most 
likely sources of support.  The Omanis have shown good will but have 
not done much over the summer, said AbZ, who remarked that "it is no 
use asking the Qataris to help."  Convincing the Saudis to assist the 
Palestinian Authority and the new Palestinian government is "a 
delicate matter," he added, noting that it is important to support 
the Fayyad government and the Palestinian people.  AbZ reiterated his 
disappointment that Saudi King Abdullah at the last minute 
cancellation of a meeting with Abu Mazen in Amman in late June, 
emphasizing that this gesture made Abu Mazen "look bad." 
 
¶3. (C) AbZ also reported that the Palestinians (NFI) had informed the 
UAE leadership that they could only identify $118 million of the $400 
million in Qatari assistance to the former PM Haniya -- which meant 
that the remaining $282 million had most probably gone to "straight 
to Hamas," he added caustically.  The UAE had little hope that it 
could talk sense to the Qataris, he said, but hoped that entreaties 
to Egypt on the border situation would prove fruitful.  In any event, 
AbZ said, the UAE would seek to strengthen Abu Mazen's hand.  (Note: 
the UAE provided $80 million to Abu Mazen in security assistance in 
May 2007 on top of $30 million provided in December 2006. End Note.) 
 
¶4. (U) Attending on the UAE side were President Sheikh Khalifa bin 
Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed al Nahyan, AbZ, 
Interior Minister Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, and National Security 
Advisor/State Security Director Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed.  Accompanying 
Abu Mazen were PLO Executive Committee Secretary General Nasser Abed 
Rabbo and Palestinian Ambassador Khaire Al Aridi. 
 
¶5. (C) Ambassador then asked AbZ for a readout of the July 3-4 GCC 
meetings of foreign, and defense, and national security ministers in 
Riyadh.  "It was the worst meeting I've ever been to in terms of 
progress," complained AbZ.  Although the topics were important (Iraq 
and the influence of Iran in the region) the poor chairmanship of 
Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Prince Abd al-Rahman bin Abd al-Aziz 
had led to a very unproductive meeting on July 3, said AbZ.  For each 
one to two minute intervention, he complained, the chair had insisted 
on holding forth with a minimum ten-minute monologue.  There was no 
substantive progress on the development of new strategies on either 
Iraq security or Iranian nuclear proliferation, he said.  In spite of 
the GCC communiqu issued (Ref B), no concrete action plan had been 
decided upon.  There had been agreement the following day at the 
meeting chaired by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, 
however, that the GCC-state intelligence chiefs would gather together 
several times over the next several months "to better understand" the 
situation.  This was a positive move, noted AbZ (who then admitted 
that it had been his "idea").  AbZ added that he looked forward to 
the next GCC+2 meeting. 
 
¶6. (U) The official UAE news agency, WAM, issued the following press 
release on Abu Mazen's visit on July 8: 
 
Begin text.  President H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan 
received in the afternoon of today at the Al Bateen Palace 
Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas. 
 
Deputy Prime Minister, Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, was present 
at the meeting during which the two leaders reviewed the latest 
developments on the Palestinian scene. 
 
Sheikh Khalifa reiterated the UAE's firm stance in support of the 
Palestinian people and its just cause.  He also reiterated the UAE's 
support for the Palestinian National Authority.  He called on the 
 
ABU DHABI 00001145  002 OF 002 
 
 
Palestinian people to rally together, unite and patch up their 
differences to enable them to face the dangerous challenges facing 
them and their cause. 
 
The UAE President urged the international community to work seriously 
to bring an end to the sufferings of the Palestinian people and to 
activate the peace process on the basis of the Arab Peace Initiative 
that would lead to the establishment of an independent Palestinian 
state with Jerusalem as its capital. 
 
The Palestinian President expressed profound gratitude to the UAE for 
its continuous support for the Palestinian people in various areas to 
enable them to achieve their national objectives.  End text. 
 
SISON