VZCZCXRO5549
OO RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHC #0963/01 3482338
ZNR UUUUU ZZH ZZK
O 132330Z DEC 08 ZFF4
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 STATE 130963 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
ACTION ADDRESSEES PLEASE PASS TO FRONT OFFICE AT OOB SUNDAY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KWBG PGOV PREL UNSC
SUBJECT: DEMARCHE REQUEST: UNSCR ON ANNAPOLIS PROCESS 
 
¶1. (U)  NIACT precedence required for Sunday action at 
addressee posts. 
 
------- 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The Secretary requests that Ambassadors or 
charges demarche Foreign Ministers at the earliest 
opportunity to press for support for a UN Security 
Council Resolution on the Annapolis process and ask that 
the current draft language not be amended.  Posts should 
emphasize that the current text is an affirmative 
resolution that will sustain momentum in the 
negotiations and establish a strategic context within 
which they can continue toward the establishment of a 
Palestinian state and the end of the Arab-Israeli 
conflict.  Posts should impress upon host governments 
that any amendments to the current language will likely 
prevent a resolution from being passed.  Please see 
para. 9 for the text of the resolution as of December 
¶13.  End summary. 
 
---------- 
Background 
---------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) The current text has been agreed between the 
USG and Russia and was shared with the other members of 
the P5 on December 12.  It was distributed to the 
remaining members of the Security Council on December 
¶13.  USUN has requested a ministerial-level meeting of 
the Council on December 16, which the Secretary will 
attend, in order to vote on the resolution.  A meeting 
of the Quartet is scheduled for December 15. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The current draft is written to enshrine the 
principles of the Annapolis process and reflect the 
understandings that the Israeli-Palestinian negotiators 
outlined to the Middle East Quartet on November 9 in 
Sharm El Sheikh: the need for continuous, uninterrupted, 
direct, bilateral negotiations; the principle that 
nothing would be agreed until everything is agreed; and 
the need to reach a comprehensive agreement addressing 
all the issues. 
 
¶5. (SBU) In consultations in New York, the Indonesian 
and Libyan representatives have been supportive of the 
U.S.-Russian draft.  It is imperative that the current 
draft language remain positive, affirmative, and 
forward-looking and that new elements critical of either 
party not be added.  Posts in non-Security Council 
member countries are asked to urge broad Arab support 
for the current resolution, which takes note, among 
other things, of the Arab Peace Initiative. 
 
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STATE 00130963  002 OF 004 
 
 
Points 
------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Department suggests that the demarche be based 
on the following points: 
 
-- The Annapolis Conference established a framework for 
negotiating a final resolution to the conflict: 
Determined, professional negotiations between the 
parties; consistent yet constructive international 
engagement; and a vigorous effort to improve conditions 
on the ground. 
 
-- In their unprecedented November 9 briefing for the 
Quartet, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators re-affirmed 
their commitment to ongoing, bilateral negotiations that 
address all the core issues and their goal of reaching a 
comprehensive agreement. 
 
-- The United States is committed to the irreversibility 
of the bilateral negotiations and to the substantial 
progress made to date toward lasting peace in the 
region. 
 
-- An affirmative UN Security Council Resolution at this 
juncture will solidify these commitments and 
understandings, re-enforce the irreversibility of the 
process, and set the strategic context for the 
negotiations to continue toward the establishment of a 
Palestinian state and an end to the conflict. 
 
-- The current language is consistent with previous 
landmark resolutions-242, 338, 1397, and 1515-in that it 
outlines the principles for successful negotiations and 
a lasting peace. 
 
-- The resolution is not written as a detailed 
evaluation of the parties' actions or their adherence to 
the Roadmap.  The December 15 Quartet meeting, not the 
Security Council, is the appropriate venue for this 
discussion, and a statement will be issued from this 
meeting. 
 
-- Instead, the resolution establishes the basis for 
continued negotiations going forward and for 
comprehensive peace, taking note of the importance of 
the Arab Peace Initiative. 
 
-- It is imperative that no attempts be made to insert 
language into the current text, which will likely 
prevent the passage of this historic resolution. 
 
-- Failure to pass a resolution at this critical 
juncture would be a tremendous setback to the 
negotiations. 
 
For Tripoli: 
 
-- Following a request from Ambassador Aujali, please 
convey these points as a direct message from Secretary 
Rice. 
 
STATE 00130963  003 OF 004 
 
 
 
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Reporting Deadline 
------------------ 
 
¶7. (SBU) Post should report the results of the demarche 
as soon as possible. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Please contact NEA/IPA's Payton Knopf or 
IO/UNP's Andy Morrison for any additional background or 
assistance. 
 
---- 
Text 
---- 
 
¶9. (SBU) The following is the text of the resolution as 
of December 13: 
 
(Begin text) 
 
The Security Council, 
 
Recalling all its previous relevant resolutions, in 
particular resolutions 242, 338, 1397, and 1515 and the 
Madrid principles, 
 
Reiterating its vision of a region where two democratic 
States, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace 
within secure and recognized borders, 
 
Welcoming the November 9, 2008 statement from the 
Quartet and the Israeli-Palestinian Joint Understanding 
announced at the November 2007 Annapolis Conference, 
including in relation to implementation of the 
Performance-Based Roadmap to a Permanent Two-State 
Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, 
 
Noting also that lasting peace can only be based on an 
enduring commitment to mutual recognition, freedom from 
violence, incitement, and terror, and the two-state 
solution, building upon previous agreements and 
obligations, 
 
Noting the importance of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, 
 
Encouraging the Quartet's ongoing work to support the 
parties' in their efforts to achieve a comprehensive, 
just, and lasting peace in the Middle East, 
 
¶1.      Declares its support for the negotiations initiated 
at Annapolis, Maryland on November 27, 2007 and its 
commitment to the irreversibility of the bilateral 
negotiations; 
 
¶2.      Supports the parties' agreed principles for the 
bilateral negotiating process and their determined 
efforts to reach their goal of concluding a peace treaty 
resolving all outstanding issues, including all core 
issues, without exception, which confirm the seriousness 
of the Annapolis process; 
 
STATE 00130963  004 OF 004 
 
 
 
¶3.      Calls on both parties to fulfill their obligations 
under the Performance-Based Roadmap, as stated in their 
Annapolis Joint Understanding, and refrain from any 
steps that could undermine confidence or prejudice the 
outcome of negotiations; 
 
¶4.      Calls on all States and international organizations 
to contribute to an atmosphere conducive to negotiations 
and to support the Palestinian government that is 
committed to the Quartet principles and the Arab Peace 
Initiative and respects the commitments of the 
Palestinian Liberation Organization, to assist in the 
development of the Palestinian economy, to maximize the 
resources available to the Palestinian Authority, and to 
contribute to the Palestinian institution-building 
program in preparation for statehood; 
 
¶5.      Urges an intensification of diplomatic efforts to 
foster in parallel with progress in the bilateral 
process mutual recognition and peaceful coexistence 
between all states in the region in the context of 
achieving a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in 
the Middle East; 
 
¶6.      Welcomes the Quartet's consideration, in 
consultation with the parties, of an international 
meeting in Moscow in 2009; and, 
 
¶7.      Decides to remain seized of the matter. 
 
(End text) 
 
¶10. (U) Tripoli minimize considered. 
RICE