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

271. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassies in Morocco, Algeria, and Mauritania, and the Mission to the United Nations¹

316492.

Washington, October 9, 1987, 1820Z

SUBJECT

• UNGA: The Secretary’s Meeting With Moroccan FonMin Filali, October 1, 1987.

1. Secret—Entire text.

2. Summary. Foreign Minister Filali expressed pessimism on the Gulf war and the peace process, sought U.S. support for Moroccan candidacy for the UN Security Council, invited the Secretary to visit Morocco as part of his upcoming Middle East trip,² and asked the U.S. to support the UNSYG efforts to resolve the Western Sahara dispute. On the level of U.S. assistance to Morocco, Filali stressed Morocco and the administration had to make Congress sensitive to Morocco’s special situation, but recognized U.S. budgetary problems. The Secretary said the U.S. appreciated Morocco’s stand on the Gulf war and its attempts to assist in the peace process, including the Hassan-Peres meeting. He said he welcomed the invitation to visit, but that time prevented him from paying the kind of visit that would allow for good, reflective exchange of views. The Secretary stated the U.S. had a traditional position of refraining from expressing a view on Security Council candidacies at an early stage, but from his own standpoint, would like to see Morocco on the Security Council. End summary

3. Gulf War. Filali said the GOM was very concerned the Gulf war would destabilize the entire region. The Iranians were attempting to neutralize Resolution 598,³ and may have succeeded in splitting the Security Council, which would be detrimental to the credibility of the SC and the five Perm Reps. Morocco had close relations with countries in the region, and after the Mecca incident,⁴ was willing to lend both political and military aid to safeguard the stability and independence of the Gulf area. The GOM very much appreciated the U.S. position and the dispatching of U.S. naval vessels to protect the area. The Secretary expressed appreciation for Morocco’s readiness to stand by its friends, stating we had to remain firm and strong.

4. Extraordinary Arab League Summit.⁵ Filali was pessimistic the summit would achieve concrete results, either on the Iran-Iraq war or the Arab-Israeli dispute. He said a consensus could not emerge, given the extent of intra-Arab problems, and the probable attempt of some to sow disarray by introducing extraneous issues.

5. Middle East Peace Process. The Secretary welcomed GOM views on the peace process, stating there seemed to be some movement toward willingness to think creatively on the Middle East problem. Filali stressed intra-Arab disputes impeded efforts to resolve the Arab-Israeli dispute, and said the former had to be resolved in order to focus on the latter. He characterized Israeli Foreign Minister Peres’s UNGA speech as moderate, and was hopeful it could lay a foundation for progress, even though it did not meet all Arab requirements.

— International Conference. Filali said he had discussed the summit and the peace process recently in Jordan. The core issue of Jordanian-Palestinian problems also had to be resolved before an international peace conference took place. The Secretary wondered whether King Hussein could designate certain Palestinians as part of the delegation. Filali said such a solution would not work. He had heard contacts among West Bank peoples had been initiated by the people themselves, but that Palestinian problems remained murky. The Palestinians were subject to considerable pressures from various sources, including Syria, Egypt, Libya and Algeria.

— Moroccan Role. Filali pointed to the Fez Summit and the Hassan-Peres meeting as evidence of Moroccan attempts to resolve both intra-Arab and Arab-Israeli problems. The Secretary agreed the Peres meeting had been a dramatic, powerful statement. Filali said the Moroccans had been surprised at initial Arab reaction to the meeting, but that things had quieted down since then. He said the Syrians, had recently dispatched intermediaries to Morocco to discuss gradual resumption of ties.

6. Moroccan UNSC Candidacy. Morocco had seniority rights over Algeria to the contested Security Council seat, Filali asserted. Morocco could help its friends if it had a seat on the Security Council. The Secretary expressed the traditional U.S. position that the U.S. did not express its views at an early stage in the selection process, but added his own view that he would like to see Morocco on the Security Council.

7. Western Sahara. Filali asked the U.S. to support the UNSYG’s efforts to resolve the Western Sahara dispute through a UN referendum in the Sahara region, calling this the “last chance” to resolve the conflict. He said Algeria and its friends were reluctant to hold a referendum because they were not used to free elections. The Secretary assured him Morocco could rely on the U.S. to support the UNSYG’s efforts.

8. Algeria. Filali expressed concern about the Algerian “game” with Iran, claiming some Gulf states also were worried about what Algeria was doing with Iran. He also mentioned the Algerian-Libyan unity plan as a cause for concern.

9. U.S. Assistance to Morocco. The Secretary agreed with Filali that he would like Congress to increase the level of assistance to Morocco. Filali said Morocco, and the U.S., had to work more closely with Congress on the issue.

10. Visit invitation. King Hassan was anxious to have the Secretary visit Morocco as part of his Middle East trip, according to Filali. The King wanted to convey Morocco’s perspective on the Gulf war, peace process and current Maghreb problems, and believed a visit at this time would be most helpful. The Secretary said he very much wanted to visit, but time was a major problem for him.

11. Participants. U.S.: The Secretary, General Walters, Assistant Secretary Murphy, Assistant Secretary Redman, Ambassador Boeker, Country Officer Fitzpatrick (notetaker), interpreter Alec Toumayan. Morocco: Foreign Minister Filali, UN Ambassador Slaoui.

Whitehead

1. Source: Department of State, Central Foreign Policy File, Electronic Telegrams, D870834–0412. Secret; Immediate; Exdis. Drafted by Kathleen Fitzpatrick (NEA/AFN); cleared by William Haugh (S/S–O), Lisa Kubiske (S/S–S), Murphy, and Richard Mueller (S/S); approved by Shultz.
2. Shultz visited the Middle East October 16–19.
3. See footnote 3, Document 171.
4. See footnote 4, Document 169.
5. A summit of the Arab League was scheduled to take place in November.