S12-03: TURKS REQUEST FURTHER DETAILS & UPDATE ON

S E C R E T ANKARA 001737 SIPDIS NP/CBM, EUR/SE, IO/PHO, NEA/NGA, AND INR/SPM E.O. 12958: DECL: 1.6 (X1, X6) TAGS: PARM PREL ETTC IZ TU UNSC CBW SUBJECT: S12-03: TURKS REQUEST FURTHER DETAILS & UPDATE ON S13-03, S01-03, AND S32-02 REF: A. STATE 70562 ¶B. ANKARA 1666 ¶C. ANKARA 1037 ¶D. ANKARA 891 (U) Classified by DCM Robert S. Deutsch. Reasons 1.6 (X1) and (X6). ¶1. (U) This is an action request. Please see paragraph 5. ¶2. (S) Polmiloff met Ferhat Alkan, of the MFA Iraq Desk, and delivered Ref A points on March 18. As has been the case with similar demarches, MFA showed appreciation for the information and a ready willingness to forward our points to the Turkish National Intelligence Organization, the General Staff, and, via the Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade, to Turkish Customs. Alkan expressed a degree of surprise about our close interest in CBW. He said that he thought it would be unlikely that U.S. troops would have to engage Iraqi forces at close enough quarters for CBW to be an issue. ¶3. (S) Separately and later on March 18, econoff raised Ref A points and followed-up on Refs B, C, and D with Tevfik Mengu, DG for Agreements at Foreign Trade. Contradicting what MFA told us as reported Ref B, Mengu said that if shipments of goods to countries other than Iraq were legal, Foreign Trade would not be able to stop them. Econoff emphasized that stainless steel heat exchangers and meteorological balloons are controlled items that could facilitate Iraq's use of CBW against U.S. forces, and asked Foreign Trade to do all it could to stop their delivery to Iraq. ¶4. (S) Econoff asked Mengu to check with Turkish Customs on the companies identified in reftels (and previous): -- Enrofloxacin (Ref A): Mengu checked with Foreign Trade staff during the meeting and found no record of any application by "Vetal Veterinary Vaccine Company" to export to Iraq. -- Stainless steel heat exchangers (Ref B): Mengu noted that there is a very reputable Turkish construction firm called Atilla Dogan, which is presumably not the same firm identified in Ref B. After checking with Customs, he reported that the company had made no shipments to Iraq. -- Meteorological balloons (Ref C): Mengu phoned Yavuz Engineering and Industry during the meeting and contacted Turkish Customs about the export. Yavuz denied any shipment of these items to any customer. Customs reported no record of any shipments by this company to Iraq. -- Atropine autoinjectors (Ref D): Mengu confirmed what MFA told us as reported in Ref B. The Turkish firm has not shipped any autoinjectors to Iraq since August 2002, and the company was in fact doing very little business of any kind due to tight health-care budgets in Turkey. Econoff will follow-up to determine whether there is any record of shipments for these companies/items to Jordan or Syria. ¶5. (S) Action Request: Both MFA and Foreign Trade asked us for further information on Vetal Veterinary Vaccine Company. Our interlocutors were concerned that the company's name might be insufficient for locating the Turkish side of the transaction. Post requests that the Department provide further identifying details, if available, regarding Vetal Veterinary Vaccine Company. End Action Request. PEARSON