Turkey Not Yet a Party to the ICCAT

UNCLAS ANKARA 004656 SIPDIS DEPT PASS NOAA FOR KIM BLANKENBECKER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EFIS AORC PHSA SENV SUBJECT: Turkey Not Yet a Party to the ICCAT Ref: State 209478 In response to reftel demarche requesting support for the U.S. candidate for Executive Secretary of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT),Asli Oral, MFA Head of Department for Environmental Affairs, told Econoff July 23 that Turkey is not yet a party to the ICCAT and will thus not have a vote on this issue by July 31. The GOT is an observer, and has applied to the ICCAT to become a party, but the necessary domestic procedures are unlikely to be completed before November 2003. Deutsch