Foreign Relations of the United States, 1981–1988, Volume XXIV, North Africa

139. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassies in Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Tunisia, Chad, and France¹

292635.

Washington, October 2, 1984, 1506Z

SUBJECT

• Vice President’s Breakfast for FonMin Ibrahimi.

1. (S—Entire text).

2. Vice President hosted breakfast Sep 28, 1984 for FonMin Ibrahimi of Algeria. The following were participants:

• U.S.
  • -Vice President
  • -Donald Gregg, Vice President’s Office
  • -Geoffrey Kemp, NSC Staff
  • -Thomas A. Nassif, DAS NEA
• Algeria
  • -Ahmed Taleb Ibrahimi, Foreign Minister
  • -Mohamed Sahnoun, Algerian Ambassador-Designate to U.S.
  • -Ahmed Attas, Interim Director, International Political Affairs, Foreign Ministry

3. The breakfast was preceded by a brief private meeting between the Vice President and the Foreign Minister. At breakfast the Vice President offered to discuss whatever subjects were of interest to the Foreign Minister.

4. The Vice President expressed U.S. surprise and disappointment at the Libya-Morocco union. He stressed the point that we had had no advance notice and had given Guedira a harsh message. The United States did not trust Qadhafi and we are looking at the agreement with great skepticism. The Vice President also reiterated the importance the U.S. attaches to its relationship and dialogue with the Algerians.

5. The Foreign Minister said he would like to talk about the Libyan-Moroccan Treaty and to give us both the facts and his analysis. He began by stating that Royal Counselor Guedira of Morocco during talks with Ibrahimi in May of 84 on the Western Sahara had offered a treaty of union similar to the Moroccan-Libyan Treaty. Ibrahimi had told Guedira that it was unrealistic. Unions in the Arab world are done too hastily. It was unacceptable in that it sidestepped the main issue in dispute which was the Western Sahara. Additionally, it made no reference to Mauritania and Tunisia. Guedira insisted that President Bendjedid see the document. Ibrahimi reported that Bendjedid agreed with Ibrahimi’s position.

6. In July of ’84 Ibrahimi made a counter-proposal to the Moroccans suggesting that the discussion continue in an enlarged meeting which would include Tunisia, Mauritania, Algeria, Morocco, and Libya. The purpose of the meeting would be to find a solution to the Western Sahara. Ibrahimi also suggested to the Moroccans a treaty between Morocco, Algeria and the Western Sahara. Guedira said that was unacceptable because it put the Western Sahara on the same level with Morocco. This conversation occurred about a week before the negotiations began on July 13 between the Moroccans and Libyans.

7. After the Moroccan-Libyan agreement was signed, Qadhafi came to Algeria and told Pres. Bendjedid that King Hassan was proposing a union with Libya and that Qadhafi had it under study. When Qadhafi began reading the text, Pres. Bendjedid interrupted him and began quoting to him the text, explaining that the Moroccans had proposed the same treaty of union to Algeria. Ibrahimi said to the Vice President that the Algerian Government considers to have been lied to twice by Qadhafi. First, by not saying that the agreement between Morocco and Libya had already been signed at the time of Qadhafi’s visit, and second, by not revealing the two defense articles, Article 4 and Article 12. The Foreign Minister stressed to the Vice President that the defense provisions had not appeared in the draft offered to Algeria by Morocco and had probably been added by Qadhafi to the Moroccan-Libyan treaty.

8. Ibrahimi told the Vice President that Guedira had called him after the union was announced. He told Guedira that there was nothing more to talk about. Morocco and Libya should conduct their experiment and they would talk later.

9. The Vice President asked the Foreign Minister whether the treaty would require Morocco to assist Libya, if the Libyans went into Tunisia. The Foreign Minister said they were looking at the effect of the mutual defense provisions on many scenarios, the possibility of Libyans and Moroccans going into either the Western Sahara or Mauritania. Ibrahimi reminded us that President Bendjedid had previously notified King Hassan that if Morocco moved against Mauritania, Algeria could not stand idly by and that he had also warned Qadhafi against moving on Tunisia.

10. The Foreign Minister told the Vice President that on two occasions the Moroccans had turned over Libyan dissidents. In one instance they invited to Morocco a dissident who was in Egypt and then on the pretense of going to Saudi Arabia, flew him instead to Libya where he was greeted by Col. Qadhafi. The Moroccans had also been responsible for fingering Libyan dissidents in Libya. The Vice President expressed his shock and concern at this betrayal by Hassan of Libyan opposition leaders.

11. The Foreign Minister made his assessment that the Moroccan-Libyan Treaty was tactical, based on present circumstances and would be a short-term agreement. He noted that the Libyans had until 1983 been the primary military supporter of the Polisario.

12. There was a brief discussion of the Iran-Iraq war. The Foreign Minister asserted that no progress has been made and even though some Iranian leaders now feel that the war has not been useful nobody can make a move while Khomeini is alive.

13. The possibility of progress with the Syrians was also discussed briefly. The unresolved question being how much flexibility the Israelis will exhibit and how much the new rotating premiership will hinder progress.

14. The Vice President asked the Foreign Minister about President Bourguiba’s health. He replied that he was as well as any 80-year old man and that he was very lucid, despite appearances.

15. The Vice President thanked the Foreign Minister for the meeting and offered to meet with him again anytime he was in Washington. The Vice President felt that these were useful exchanges and still remembered fondly his visit to Algeria and the hospitality shown to him by President Chadli Bendjedid.

Dam

1. Source: George H.W. Bush Library, Vice Presidential Records, Office of National Security Affairs, Donald P. Gregg Files, Meetings with Foreigners Files, OA/ID 19777, Folder 19777–129, Meetings with Foreigners—September 1984: Breakfast with Algerian Foreign Minister Taleb Ibrahimi, September 28, 1984. Secret; Immediate; Exdis. Printed from a copy that indicates the original was received in the White House Situation Room.