IRANIAN FM KHARRAZI'S VISIT TO ANKARA: GOT/GOI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 002259

SIPDIS


STATE FOR EUR, NEA


E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/02/2013
TAGS: MARR MOPS PREL TU IZ SY
SUBJECT: IRANIAN FM KHARRAZI'S VISIT TO ANKARA: GOT/GOI
VIEWS ON IRAQ CONVERGE

REF: ANKARA 2250


(U) Classified by Ambassador W. Robert Pearson. Reasons 1.5
B and D.


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SUMMARY
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1. (C) MFA Deputy U/S Tuygan told the Ambassador late April 7
Iranian FM Kharrazi,s April 6 visit to Ankara revealed a
congruence of views between the GOT and GOI on Iraq.
Kharrazi reportedly requested Gul,s support for
re-establishing Turkish-Iranian-Syrian trilateral
consultations with Syria, but Gul said Ankara preferred to
continue discussions with its neighbors on a bilateral basis.
Gul and Kharrazi stressed the importance of maintaining a
unified Iraq and the unacceptability of an independent
Kurdish state. If there were a refugee crisis with Turkey
closing its borders, the Iranians would want to act
similarly. But Turkey does not believe Iran would intervene
if it reacted to an incident involving PKK/KADEK. Tuygan
attempted to dismiss the notion that high-level discussions
with Iran and Syria are a result of differences between
Washington and Ankara over Iraq, saying it was normal for
neighbors to discuss with each other issues of mutual
concern. End summary.



2. (C) During his April 7 meeting on Northern Iraq
coordination modalities (reftel),the Ambassador solicited
from MFA Deputy U/S Tuygan a readout of Iranian FM
Kharrazi,s April 6 visit to Ankara. Tuygan said the visit
followed FM,s Gul visit to Iran as Prime Minister. PM
Erdogan also met with the Iranian FM, but President Sezer was
unavailable.


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GOT: NO TO TRILATERAL CONSULTATIONS
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3. (C) Tuygan averred that by and large, the Turks did not
hear &anything unreasonable8 from the Iranians during the
visit. Given pursuit of OEF the Iranians were interested in
re-establishing trilateral consultations on northern Iraq
with the Turks and Syrians, a process Tuygan said had started
in the mid-90,s under the leadership of then FM Cem but had
ceased. FM Gul reportedly told Kharrazi that for the moment,
Turkey preferred to continue discussions with the Iranians
and Syrians on a bilateral basis.


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GOT/GOI VIEWS ON IRAQ CONVERGE
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4. (C) Tuygan said that Gul and Kharrazi talked about a range
of bilateral issues, including Iraq. The views of Turkey and
Iran are congruent in many respects. Both countries had
wished the Iraqi crisis could have been resolved without
force, but agreed this had not been possible. Turkey and
Iran hope for a prompt end to hostilities in Iraq, and both
expressed hope that reconstruction efforts would begin soon.
Turkey and Iran agree on the importance of maintaining
Iraq,s territorial integrity, and believe the establishment
of an independent Kurdish state would be unacceptable.
Tuygan added Gul and Kharrazi agreed the establishment of an
independent Kurdish state would lead to a &new Middle East
crisis,8 including the disintegration of Iraq.



5. (C) Tuygan said Iran shares Turkey,s concerns regarding
massive movements of Iraqi refugees. Like Ankara, Tehran
would prefer to close its border and address the refugee
issue on the Iraqi side of the Iraqi-Iranian border. Tuygan
noted Kharrazi had stressed Iran,s cooperating with ICRC,
UNHCR and other UN organizations.


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IRAN UNLIKELY TO INTERVENE IN IRAQ
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6. (C) The Ambassador asked Tuygan about the GOI,s current
position on PKK/KADEK. Tuygan said Iran recognizes the PKK
as a terrorist organization, but not KADEK. Tuygan said
that, in response to a request from Gul, Kharrazi had agreed
to look into Iran recognizing Kadek as a terrorist
organization. Tuygan said following Gul,s discussions with
Kharrazi, the MFA does not believe that Iran would intervene
in Iraq if the event of an incident involving PKK/KADEK.


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FM GUL'S UPCOMING VISIT TO DAMASCUS
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7. (C) The Ambassador also asked about Gul,s upcoming visit
to Syria. Tuygan replied &it was our turn to visit Syria.8
Gul intends to discuss the normal range of bilateral issues,
including Iraq. The Ambassador said some believed Turkey,s
current high-level engagement with the Iranians and Syrians
stemmed in part from the alleged differences between
Washington and Ankara on Iraq. Tuygan tried to dismiss this,
saying countries had no choice but to discuss issues of
mutual concern with their neighbors. If the three neighbors
have overlapping messages, he added, that is not necessarily
concertation, but a factor of their shared situations.
PEARSON