VZCZCXRO5980
RR RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHAM #0552 0601132
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 011132Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4572
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 000552 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR H/RGF AND NEA/ELA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/28/2019 
TAGS: PREL PGOV JO
SUBJECT: STAFFDEL DIAMOND, GOJ OFFICIALS DISCUSS REGIONAL 
ISSUES 
 
Classified By: Ambassador R. Stephen Beecroft for reasons 1.4 (b) and ( 
d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: In separate meetings February 16-17, Foreign 
Minister Salah Al Bashir and Advisor to the King Ayman Safadi 
told Staffdel Diamond that to obtain peace in the Middle East 
the U.S. administration needed to pursue immediate 
negotiations, not a protracted process.  It also needed to 
prepare to pressure the new Israeli government on settlements 
and other issues.  Safadi likened an Israeli cabinet 
including Beitenu Leader Avigdor Lieberman to a Palestinian 
government that included Hamas and stressed that Lieberman's 
inclusion would make it difficult to justify to the 
Palestinians excluding Hamas from negotiations.  Bashir 
suggested the U.S. exercise caution in considering whether to 
engage with Syria and Iran and stressed the importance of not 
allowing the administration's focus to drift from the 
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the central problem in the 
region.  (Note: Al Bashir was replaced February 23rd as 
Foreign Minister in a general cabinet re-shuffle.  End Note.) 
End Summary. 
 
Time to Negotiate 
----------------- 
 
¶2. (C) Foreign Minister Bashir told Howard Diamond and David 
Beraka of the House Foreign Affairs Committee in a February 
17 meeting that the U.S. should advance "negotiations rather 
than a process" as soon as possible and that he was 
encouraged by the current level of U.S. engagement.  He 
pressed for bolstering the stature of PA President Mahmoud 
Abbas by providing him deliverables to present to the 
Palestinian people.  It was not sufficient, he added, to 
insist that "only Abbas" be the Palestinian leader but then 
not let him deliver.  Israel undermined him by increasing 
settlements and checkpoints after Annapolis and by letting 
2008 end without an agreement, he said.  Asked for his 
thoughts on pursuing a Palestinian unity government rather 
than an "Abbas or nothing approach," Bashir responded 
reconciliation talks were ongoing but that we should not wait 
for a result.  Palestinian unity would come from support of a 
negotiated outcome, he said.  Diamond asked Bashir what the 
minimum time requirement was for the administration to 
achieve results.  Bashir replied that the question made him 
"extremely nervous" because it suggested to him that the U.S. 
might not take immediate action. 
 
Hamas and Lieberman 
------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) Safadi expressed concern over the prospect of an 
Israeli government that would include Beitenu's Lieberman and 
likened Lieberman's position on a negotiated settlement to 
that of Hamas.  If Lieberman can be in government, people 
will ask, "Why not Hamas?" he claimed.  Safadi said that 
Hamas will be strengthened if Palestinians see no hope for a 
resolution due to a Netanyahu government.  Safadi said 
Palestinians and Arabs at large will be watching closely to 
see how President Obama handles the new Israeli government 
and that "people need to see that he can be critical of 
Israel," he asserted.  Bashir separately stated that 
Lieberman's reported comments about Israeli Arabs were 
"unacceptable" and equivalent to espousing ethnic cleansing. 
 
Syria and Iran 
-------------- 
 
¶4. (C) When asked for his views on possible U.S. engagement 
with Syria, Bashir responded that the Israel-Palestinian 
track remained the central issue and that Syria needed to be 
convinced that it had an interest in supporting a Palestinian 
deal.  Syria had to be presented with benchmarks for good 
behavior if it was engaged, such as supporting Palestinian 
reconciliation, the Arab Peace Initiative, and the PA/PLO 
structure.  Syria used each of these issues as tactical 
cards, which needed to stop, Bashir declared.  Safadi said 
that the key to Syria was to watch its relationship with 
Iran.  Despite the outward appearance of a close 
relationship, Safadi declared that Syria was jealous of 
Iran's growing power in Lebanon relative to its own and would 
not risk losing power there by making a deal with Israel. 
 
¶5. (U) STAFFDEL Diamond did not have an opportunity to clear 
this message before departing Jordan. 
 
Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman 
Beecroft