IRAQ: TURKEY'S "PEACE INITIATIVE" - NOT PREP MTG,

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 000495

SIPDIS


STATE FOR P, NEA CROCKER, NEA/NGA AND EUR/SE; OSD FOR LUTI
AND HRHODE; NSC FOR KHALILZAD; LONDON FOR GOLDRICH;
DAMASCUS FOR WALKER


E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/21/2013
TAGS: PREL MARR TU IZ PHUM PREF
SUBJECT: IRAQ: TURKEY'S "PEACE INITIATIVE" - NOT PREP MTG,
FM'S TO ATTEND IN INSTANBUL


REF: A. STATE 16544

B. ANKARA 302

C. ANKARA 201

D. ANKARA 461

E. ANKARA 484


(U) Classified by DCM Robert Deutsch. Reasons: 1.5b and d.



1. (C) DDG/Mideast Safak Gokturk told Pol-MilCouns 1/21 that
Turkey's "Peace Initiative" meeting would go ahead as planned
on 1/23 in Istanbul. However, it will be at ministerial
rather than summit level. All Foreign Ministers have agreed
to attend.



2. (C) Gokturk was reluctant to characterize the meeting as
"preparatory" since the MFA was not sure whether it would be
the last such meeting. That would depend on what happened in
Istanbul.



3. (C) Regarding the declaration, Pol-MilCouns stressed that
our goal is to send the strongest possible signal to Saddam.
If the statement is "balanced" with criticism of the US, it
will be terribly counterproductive. Gokturk said that the
declaration had not been discussed with the other countries
but that Turkey would do its best to keep criticism of the US
out.



4. (C) Finally, Gokturk went over the points his boss DG
Burcuoglu had made with the DCM (reftel),adding that Iran
had pressed for Kuwaiti inclusion "for its own reasons."


PEARSON