VZCZCXRO2452
OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDIR RUEHKUK
DE RUEHLO #0055 0081746
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 081746Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY LONDON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0863
INFO RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 1331

C O N F I D E N T I A L LONDON 000055 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT OF STATE FOR IO/EDA CHARLES CHANG AND NEA/IR 
VICTORIA TAYLOR 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/08/2019 
TAGS: KPRP PGOV PHUM PREL UN IR UK
SUBJECT: OPPOSING IRAN PRESIDENCY AT UNDP: HMG BELIEVES ISSUE IS NOT WINNABLE AND USG SHOULD NOT ASK FOR A VOTE  
REF: A. DEPT IO (CHANG) EMAIL TO EMB LONDON (GAYLE 1/8/08)      B. STATE 1500  

Classified By: Political Counselor Rick Mills for reasons 1.4 (b) and ( d)  

¶1.  (C) Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Iran Coordination Group Multilateral Team Leader Will Gelling, in several conversations January 8 with London Iran Watcher (Poloff) on ref b, said  HMG would stand with USG if there is a vote but deferred to FCO officials leading on the issue. Gelling said UK Political Director Mark Grant's office had cancelled its recommended call to P on the issue due to the Undersecretary's absence from Washington.  

¶2.  (C) Poloff also contacted FCO's International Organizations office (William Gatward) and passed on Department's suggestion (ref a), that HMG request  UNDP member governments and UNDP officials to delay the January 9 vote.  

¶3.  (C) Gatward, however, called Poloff back to advise that HMG firmly opposes the USG suggestion to call a vote on the issue, rather than allowing the Board's standard silence procedures to operate.  Gatward said HMG estimates any vote on the issue would be lost regardless of when a vote occurred, due to opposition by G-77 governments who sit on the UNDP board.  HMG also believes the position at stake is a relatively unimportant one, and that in the atmosphere created by violence in Gaza any lobbying of UNDP Board member governments by HMG or USG would be especially counterproductive and would needlessly draw attention to what HMG sees as an inevitable win for Iran.  Gatward said the mutual USG-UK objective should be to draw as little attention to the matter as possible, and allow standard Board no-objection procedures to operate, "with Iran going through on the nod."  

¶4.  (C) Gatward said he would follow up directly with IO officials by phone today January 8 and that UK Embassy Washington would also be briefing Department today on HMG views.   Visit London's Classified Website: XXXXXXXXXXXX
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