TURKS LUKEWARM ABOUT LUKASHENKO'S ATTENDANCE AT

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 008089

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/08/2012
TAGS: PREL BO TU NATO
SUBJECT: TURKS LUKEWARM ABOUT LUKASHENKO'S ATTENDANCE AT
PRAGUE


REF: STATE 224591


Classified by Pol-Mil Counselor Stuart Brown, reasons 1.5,
b/d.


(C) Pol-MilOff delivered reftel demarche Nov. 8 to MFA DDG
for NATO Affairs Sanivar Kizildeli. Kizildeli noted that
Turkey had voted with the consensus when the PermReps decided
to demarche Minsk on Lukashenko's non-attendance at the
summit. Turkey would act in accordance with that decision.
However, because the Turks have bilateral relations with
Minsk and prefer to keep the dialogue with Belarus open and
not push the country any farther away from NATO, Turkey will
discourage Lukashenko's attendance through oral, vice
written, messages. Kizildeli said it would "not be such a
bad idea" for Lukashenko to hear the truth about the manner
in which he is running Belarus at the EAPC, because he would
not hear the truth from his own people. But she reiterated
Turkey would honor its commitment to discourage him from
attending.
PEARSON