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

173. Telegram From the Embassy in Algeria to the Department of State¹

1402.

Algiers, March 10, 1988, 1245Z

SUBJECT

• Ambassador Walters’ Meeting With President Bendjedid.

1. Secret—Entire text.

2. Ambassador Walters accompanied by Ambassador Johnstone met with President Bendjedid March 7. Also attending were Presidential Cabinet Director Belkheir and MFA SecGen Hamdani. Cordial meeting covered following:

A) PLO Office in New York:

— Bendjedid expressed concern over closing of PLO office.² Walters pointed out that Congress was forcing action and that administration had opposed the move. Walters said he hoped to gain some time to see what might develop. Bendjedid reiterated Algerian concern and cited closing as a dangerous precedent.

B) Middle East Peace:

— Walters responded to Bendjedid’s concerns on peace problem by noting that demonstrations were having major impact on U.S. opinion. He said that there was no going back to status quo of several months ago. Walters pointed to efforts being undertaken by Secretary Shultz in the context of UN Resolution 242³ as a demonstration of U.S. willingness to become involved in a search for a solution. Bendjedid commented on the insufficiency of U.S. proposals and said he was particularly upset over Israeli crackdown on press coverage of West Bank disturbances. Walters counseled moderation, noting that this was a time for a flexible search for solutions and not for fixed positions.

C) Western Sahara:

— Ambassador Walters spoke of his meeting with Hassan⁴ and conveyed strong U.S. support for the efforts of the UNSYG to organize a referendum. Bendjedid offered nothing new in Algerian position.

D) Iran-Iraq:

— 1) Walters spoke of US efforts to get Soviets to support a strong resolution. He said that U.S. was offering a 30–60 day implementation delay for the arms embargo. Walters was optimistic that Soviets would be willing to go along with a resolution and pointedly expressed hope that there would be no effort to get strong resolution side-tracked. Bendjedid agreed but went on to explain that he had found new flexibility in Iranian position during visit of Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Larijani. He alluded to reports of Iranian note supporting 598 in UN.⁵ Walters countered by noting that if Iranian’s want to get credit for supporting 598 in UN they must come out and state their support publicly.

— 2) On Larijani visit, Bendjedid said that Iranians had complained at alleged Iraqi unwillingness to go along with a ceasefire. Algerians had argued that solution was a complete package of which ceasefire was only a part. According to Bendjedid, Larijani had expressed willingness to go along with ceasefire and other elements of Resolution 598. He said the two sides had discussed issue of war reconstruction (reparations) and Algerians had told Iranians they would have to make their claims more practical. He concluded by saying that Iranian visit had given him greater hope. He said that if Algeria undertook to do anything (to mediate) it would be in the context of the UNSYG effort.

E) Tunisia:

— In course of discussion of Tunisia, Bendjedid noted that Ben Ali appears to have taken hold effectively. He noted that Tunisia faced economic problems and that Ben Ali needed help on his debt problem. Bendjedid solicited U.S. review of what it could do to ease Tunisian burden.

F) Libya:

— In short discussion Bendjedid alluded to reference in President’s letter (delivered by Walters) on Libya.⁶ He explained Algerian policy along usual lines saying that Algeria had to give priority to regional stability. Walters asked how stability was possible with Qadhafi and reminded Bendjedid of a previous visit in which he had shown Bendjedid photographs of Libyan hardware.

G) Chad:

— 1) Bendjedid said that Algerian role in the postponement of OAU consideration of Chad dispute had been misinterpreted as a pro-Libya position. He argued that Algeria had been concerned that OAU meeting would not achieve results, an outcome that would lead to a breakdown in the situation. He said that Algeria was now attempting to pull together a meeting of Presidents Bongo, Bendjedid, Qadhafi and Habre before OAU meeting in order to explore possibilities.⁷ He thought this could prepare the way for direct contact between Habre and Qadhafi. Bendjedid claimed that both Libya and Chad favored such a proposal. Walters expressed surprise over Chadian willingness and Bendjedid said that Chad agreement was quote in principle unquote. Bendjedid said that the issue now rested with Bongo. Walters offered to discuss it with him during his forthcoming visit.⁸

— 2) Bendjedid noted that issue might eventually be referred to World Court although Libyans were hesitant. Algerians had reminded Libyans of World Court treatment of recent Libya-Tunisia dispute as proof that Court would treat Libya fairly.

H) UN Voting Record:

— Meeting closed on friendly note with Walters giving Bendjedid a useful prod on Algeria’s UN voting record.

3. Comment: Bendjedid was relaxed and although clearly in strong disagreement with U.S. Arab-Israeli policy, he did not make the issue the centerpiece of the meeting. On balance, meeting was a useful review of international issues even if no new ground was broken.

Johnstone

1. Source: Department of State, Central Foreign Policy File, Electronic Telegrams, D880210–0807. Secret. Sent for information to USUN, the Gulf War Collective, and the UN Security Council Collective.
2. Reference is to “Chapter 61—Anti-Terrorism-PLO,” 22 USC S–5201, in which Congress determined that “the PLO and its affiliates are a terrorist organization and a threat to the interests of the United States, its allies, and to international law and should not benefit from operating in the United States.”
3. See footnote 5, Document 111.
4. See Document 274.
5. See footnote 3, Document 171.
6. Reagan wrote Bendjedid: “Libyan aggression also remains an important concern for my administration. In this connection, the U.S. continues to encourage a vigilant approach to Libya, and strongly discourages integration of Libya into regional political and diplomatic arrangements.” (Telegram 60878 to Algiers, February 27; Department of State, Central Foreign Policy File, Electronic Telegrams, D880169–0188)
7. The OAU was scheduled to discuss Chad during a May meeting of its Foreign Ministers in Addis Ababa.
8. A record of Walters’s meeting with Bongo, which took place on March 13, is in telegram 973 from Libreville, March 19. (Department of State, Central Foreign Policy File, Electronic Telegrams, D880713–0696)