VZCZCXYZ0002
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGB #0233/01 0300908
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 300908Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6353
INFO RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0960

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 000233 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/27/2018 
TAGS: IZ JO KU PGOV PREL SY TU YM
SUBJECT: A/S FELTMAN AND FM ZEBARI LAUNCH DIPLOMATIC JCC- 
PART I: REGIONAL OVERVIEW 
 
Classified By: Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Gary A. Grappo for reason 
 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1.  (C)  Summary:   On January 24, Assistant Secretary for 
Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, A/DCM, and a delegation 
of experts on Chapter VII issues met with Iraqi Foreign 
Minister Hoshyar Zebari and an interministerial committee of 
Iraqi experts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Baghdad. 
The discussion marked the inaugural meeting of the Diplomatic 
and Political Joint Coordination Committee (JCC), and focused 
on regional relations and the way forward on a host of 
Chapter VII issues, as well as plans for future bilateral 
engagement and cooperation.  This cable focuses on the first 
portion of the meeting, during which FM Zebari offered an 
overview of Iraq's relations with neighboring countries and 
solicited A/S Feltman's "panoramic views" of U.S. relations 
with Iraq's neighbors.  A second cable will focus on the 
group's discussion of Chapter VII issues during the latter 
half of the JCC. End summary. 
 
 ¶2.  (C)  NEA A/S Jeffrey Feltman co-chaired the first 
meeting of the Diplomatic and Political Joint Coordination 
Committee with FM Hoshyar Zebari at the MFA on January 24. 
The Iraqi interministerial committee at the meeting included 
Zebari's COS Sroud Najib, DFM Labeed Abbawi, Senior Policy 
Advisor Fareed Yasseen,  Ambassador Mohammed al-Hamameidi, PM 
legal advisor Fadel Jawad Kadhum, and PM Advisor Sadiq 
Rikabi, as well as other experts.  The U.S. side included 
A/DCM, Deputy Pol/C, NEA Senior Advisor Elissa Slotkin, USUN 
Deputy Political Counselor Ellen Germain, NSC Advisor Peter 
Vrooman, Attorney Advisor Jeremy Sharpe, IO officer Bill 
Haldeman, and Iraq desk officer Wa'el Alzayat.  FM Zebari 
welcomed A/S Feltman and his delegation to Iraq and stated 
that the messages conveyed by Vice President Biden during his 
visit the previous weekend "reinforced the depth of the 
U.S.-Iraq relationship".  He further expressed that the JCC 
marked an important development in bilateral relations, as it 
enables the Government of Iraq (GOI) to fulfill the key goals 
of supporting Iraq's position in international organizations, 
developing positive relationships with neighboring countries, 
and regaining Iraq's position in the international community 
by taking the necessary steps to exit Chapter VII.  A/S 
Feltman echoed the FM's sentiments, characterizing the JCC as 
a "foundation" of the U.S.-Iraq relationship and an important 
vehicle for furthering bilateral goals. End summary. 
 
IRAQ-IRAN RELATIONS:"A TOUGH NEIGHBORHOOD" 
------------------------------------------- 
 
 ¶3.  (C)  FM Zebari offered an overview of Iraq's relations 
with neighboring countries and solicited A/S Feltman's 
insights into U.S. relations with Iraq's neighbors, joking 
that Iraqis "live in a tough neighborhood".   He began with 
Iraq-Iran relations, stating that despite a long history of 
animosity between the two nations, Iran remains Iraq's 
biggest neighbor, and the first to support regime change and 
democratic transformation.  The FM elaborated that a key 
concern for Iran has been the presence of forces and hostile 
elements in Iraq, and that the recent Fakka oil well issue 
was a "great embarrassment" that "poisoned" relations.  When 
asked by A/S Feltman about the motivations behind the Fakka 
oil incident, Zebari called the incident "stupid", stating 
that Iran's leadership "is not unified", but that he is 
hopeful such dissension will be resolved soon.  Despite 
current Iran-Iraq tensions, he added, dialogue between the 
Qcurrent Iran-Iraq tensions, he added, dialogue between the 
two nations on political issues continues, trade relations 
exceed USD 5 billion, and Iraq continues to receive lots of 
distinguished visitors from Iran.   He concluded that Iran is 
"in competition" with other regional powers to determine the 
outcome of Iraq's upcoming elections, and solicited A/S 
Feltman's thoughts on U.S. relations with Iran.  A/S Feltman 
responded that while the USG has made it clear it is willing 
to move its relationship with Iran in a positive direction, 
the Government of Iran has not been responsive, particularly 
in discussions about its nuclear file, in essence failing to 
confirm that the USG's offers of engagement are working.  FM 
Zebari offered that the GOI might be in a position to help 
the United States, since Iraq has better relations with Iran 
than any other nation in the region and has been "very direct 
in its messaging to the Government of Iran, even on the 
nuclear file." 
 
 
RELATIONS WITH TURKEY, SAUDI ARABIA, AND OTHERS 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
 ¶4.  (C)   Turning next to Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, 
and Yemen, FM Zebari described Iraq-Turkey relations as 
"modest", highlighting as areas of concern the PKK presence 
in northern Iraq and Turkish efforts to "step in at every 
 
level" to influence Iraq's elections.  Zebari added that Iraq 
is "making progress" in its relations with Jordan and has 
become Jordan's largest trade partner, but that Ba'athist 
activities in Jordan continue to cause problems for Iraq.  On 
Saudi Arabia, Zebari stated that relations are bad, adding 
that "Saudi Arabia doesn't want to see the rise of Shi'a 
power in Iraq" in spite of the eagerness of some Saudi 
businessmen to develop trade relations with Iraq.  A/S 
Feltman shared that the USG believes Saudis are far behind in 
warming relations with Iraq, but that there may be an 
opportunity  to improve relations after elections.  A/S 
Feltman noted that the U.S. has maintained a strong focus on 
Yemen for some time and continues to take a two-pronged 
approach that involves offering short-term assistance to the 
Government of Yemen (ROYG) to fight the al- Qa'ida threat 
while increasing long-term assistance to help the ROYG 
provide crucial services to the Yemeni people.   FM Zebari 
responded that the GOI sees "all the ingredients of 
Afghanistan in Yemen." 
 
KUWAIT 
------ 
 
 ¶5.  (C)   The FM shared that the GOI and the Government of 
Kuwait (GOK) are communicating, but outstanding Chapter VII 
resolutions restrict the bilateral dialogue.  Zebari 
commented that it will be "very difficult" to resolve issues 
with Kuwait, and no progress is expected before the 
elections.  A/S Feltman commended the MFA's efforts to work 
with the Kuwaitis, at the same time urging the GOI to send an 
Iraqi ambassador to Kuwait to further improve relations.  FM 
Zebari countered that the Parliament kept the list of Iraqi 
ambassadors for one year without announcing their countries 
of assignment, but the MFA is in the process of identifying 
possible candidates for Kuwait and sorting out the larger 
group, adding skeptically that an announcement might happen 
before elections. 
 
LIBYA 
----- 
 
 ¶6.  (C)   When asked by A/S Feltman about Iraq's current 
relationship with Libya, FM Zebari related that Libya has an 
"ideological position", focused on an outdated view of Iraq 
as "occupied", and does not support a democratic Iraq.  The 
FM expressed disappointment that Libya has not as yet 
leveraged the large and highly skilled Iraqi community in 
Tripoli to better its relations with Iraq, but offered that 
he is optimistic that relations will improve through 
discussions at upcoming events like the Arab Summit. 
 
SYRIA 
----- 
 
 ¶7.  (C)   FM Zebari and A/S Feltman next discussed Syria, 
the former stating that Syria supports the violent 
opposition in Iraq while simultaneously endorsing every 
Iraq-related Security Council resolution to show support on 
an international level.  He intimated to A/S Feltman that as 
Syria's actions "grow bolder and bolder", Iraq cannot control 
Syria without help from the United States, stressing that the 
GOI strongly believes Ba'athist elements with links to Syria 
are responsible for the August 19 bombing in Baghdad and 
subsequent attacks.  When asked by FM Zebari to offer his 
views on U.S.-Syrian relations, A/S Feltman stated that the 
USG's agenda with the SARG includes relations with Iraq, 
Iran, Lebanon, human rights, and the Middle East Peace 
Process.  A/S Feltman added that while the USG "has no doubt 
that Syrian territory is being exploited to carry out 
attacks," the GOI's response to the August 19 bombing placed 
the USG in an "awkward" position since the specific 
accusations leveled against Syria by Iraq were not the same 
Qaccusations leveled against Syria by Iraq were not the same 
conclusions reached by the USG.  FM Zebari solicited thoughts 
from A/S Feltman's delegation on how to seek follow-up on UN 
Assistant Secretary Oscar Fernandez-Taranco's November visit 
to Baghdad to view evidence related to the August 19 bombing. 
 Zebari noted that the visit was helpful, but that if it 
continues to be a stand alone gesture, it will be a "joke". 
USUN Deputy Pol Counselor Germain told the FM that 
Fernandez-Taranco is compiling a report and that there exists 
a common understanding that his visit was "the start of a 
process", but that the UN SYG never defined a timeline for 
the process.  Germain added that the way forward is to 
approach the UN to determine next steps and how to address 
the root causes of the August 19 bombing. 
 
 ¶8. (U) NEA Assistant Secretary Jeffrey Feltman reviewed this 
cable. 
 
HILL