VZCZCXRO0526
PP RUEHPA
DE RUEHRY #0837 0061412
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P 061412Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY CONAKRY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3315
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE

S E C R E T CONAKRY 000837 

SIPDIS 

EO 12958 DECL: 01/06/2018 
TAGS PREL, PGOV, ASEC, GV 
SUBJECT: LIBYAN LEADER MEETS WITH GUINEAN PRESIDENT 

Classified By: POL/ECON CHIEF SHANNON CAZEAU FOR REASON 1.4 B AND D

¶1. (U) On a trip that included several stops in neighboring West African countries, Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi spent approximately three hours in the VIP lounge of the Conakry airport on January 3 where he met with President Moussa Dadis Camara and Prime Minister Kabine Komara. Press reports indicate that Qadhafi chose not to leave the airport because the Guinean Government could not offer adequate security. In anticipation of his arrival, some 250 Libyan paratroopers reportedly arrived in two aircrafts the evening of January 2.

¶2. (S) Specific details as to what was discussed in the meeting between the leaders are murky. Sensitive sources indicate that Qadhafi may have offered to provide the new Guinean Government with weapons. XXXXXXXXXXXX local press speculated that the Libyan leader may have been looking to reinstate a controversial hotel contract that had been negotiated by former Prime Minister Kouyate in late 2007, and then cancelled a few months later by the late President Conte. The Spanish Ambassador mentioned to DCM on January 5 that he had heard that Qadhafi had negotiated some kind of arms deal.

¶3. (S) Both press and independent sources reported that Qadhafi gave a bullet-proof Nissan vehicle to President Camara. A sensitive source told Embassy that Qadhafi also gave the president a large sum of cash.

¶4. (U) Libyan press (Tripoli Great Jamahiriyah TV) reported that Qadhafi congratulated his “companions in the military council” for having the “situation in Guinea under control after the death of President Lansana Conte” and for having “managed to save Guinea from internal problems.” Qadhafi reportedly said that the Guinean people “are backing the revolutionaries.”

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COMMENT
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¶5. (S) Civilian contacts have claimed that Libya provided financial support for the December 23 coup, and that opposition political leader Alpha Conde (Rally for the Guinean People - RPG) may have personally solicited Qadhafi’s support. During his administration, former Prime Minister Lansana Kouyate’s frequent trips to Libya generated rampant speculation as to what the Guinean leader may have been trying to negotiate with Qadhafi. In the absence of any clarification from either government as to what was discussed, speculation continues. Relations with Libya are viewed with suspicion by some Guineans due to Qadhafi’s alleged support of controversial leaders in neighboring countries (i.e. Charles Taylor in Liberia and RUF rebels in Sierra Leone). END COMMENT. 

RASPOLIC