(C) UAE WILL FULFILL TURKISH DEFENSE

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 000783 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/SEE, NEA/NGA AND NEA/ARP NSC FOR ZKHALILZAD, RHANSON CENTCOM FOR POLAD AMBASSADOR LITT E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/17/2013 TAGS: PREL IZ TC SUBJECT: (C) UAE WILL FULFILL TURKISH DEFENSE FUND OBLIGATIONS REF: A) STATE 38531 (notal); B) ABU DHABI 236 C) 02 ABU DHABI 6776; D) 02 STATE 248431 E) 02 ANKARA 8791 ¶1. (U) Classified by Ambassador Marcelle M. Wahba for reasons 1.5 (B) and (D). ¶2. (C) MFA Minstate Hamdan Bin Zayid Al-Nahyan informed the Ambassador on 2/17 that the UAEG has agreed to fulfill its outstanding obligations to the Turkish government pursuant to the Turkish Defense Fund. Following the joint demarche presented by the Ambassador and her Turkish counterpart on 1/14 (ref B),Hamdan met with the Ambassador privately on 1/19 to convey that the UAE, i.e. Abu Dhabi Crown Prince (and keeper of the purse strings) Khalifa Bin Zayid, and UAE COS Shiekh Mohammed Bin Zayed (MBZ) had consulted and decided not to fulfill this obligation due to current cash flow constraints. The Ambassador urged Hamdan to reconsider, noting that while Turkish support for a military option in Iraq did not hinge on UAE contributions to the TDF, the much needed financial support would help Turkey offset any economic damage. The Ambassador appreciated UAEG financial constraints and thus suggested to Hamdan that consideration be given to payment of the amount owed in several tranches. Hamdan cottoned to the idea immediately and promised to make another pass at Crown Prince Khalifa. ¶3. (C) Upon receipt of ref A oral message from the Secretary, the Ambassador, upon her return from the SIPDIS NEA COM conference, raised the TDF issue with Hamdan in a 2/15 meeting. Hamdan, who had himself just returned to the UAE after a two week sojourn in Europe, promised to take it to Khalifa and MBZ the next day. In his 2/17 phone call to the Ambassador, Hamdan said Khalifa had liked the Ambassador's suggestion and that the UAE was prepared to pay $250 million in installments toward the TDF, not the $350 million claimed by Ankara. According to UAEG records and correspondence between President Zayid and then-President Bush, Hamdan elucidated, the UAEG paid the Turks an initial $100 million (in November 1990),followed by a $100 million payment in 1992 and $50 million in 1994. In his 1/19 meeting with the Ambassador, Hamdan had noted that following the Gulf War, the UAE had given $500 million each to the Brits and the French. ¶4. (C) Comment: This is a clear success story for U.S.-UAE relations and yet another signal of how forward leaning the Emiratis have been on Iraq- related issues, despite the evident public opposition here to an armed conflict. Further, in spite of the fact that they feel stretched financially (see Abu Dhabi 773 on UAE's domestic budgetary woes) and have a number of other international obligations, it is noteworthy that they have agreed to fulfill this 12 year old pledge. End Comment. WAHBA