IRAQI GOVERNING COUNCIL PRESIDENT TALABANI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 007300

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/20/2013
TAGS: PREL ETRD ETTC PTER TU IZ
SUBJECT: IRAQI GOVERNING COUNCIL PRESIDENT TALABANI
DESCRIBES UPBEAT MEETINGS WITH TURKISH OFFICIALS; SAYS GOT
RECOGNIZED IGC, READY TO RECEIVE NEW IRAQI AMBASSADOR

REF: ANKARA 7253


Classified by DCM Robert Deutsch. Reasons 1.5 b and d.
Recommendations at Para 2.


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Summary and Recommendations
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1. (C) Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) President Jalal Talabani
and his delegation to Turkey met Ambassador, DCM and
A/PolMilCouns Nov. 21, providing a readout of their Nov.
19-20 meetings with Turkish officials and businessmen,
including PM Erdogan, Acting FM/Trade Minister Tuzmen, MFA
U/S Ziyal, TOBB Chairman Hisarciklioglu, and over 100 Turkish
businessmen. Talabani said the visit had opened a new page
in Turkey's relationship with the new Iraq. PM Erdogan was
positive about future relations and said that all Iraqis were
Turkey's brothers, according to Talabani. Talabani also said
the GOT recognized the IGC, and was ready to have a new Iraqi
Ambassador in Ankara, whom FM Zebari said would be named as
soon as possible. On the PKK/KADEK, Talabani assured the
Turks that the Iraqis were opposed to such foreign armed
groups in Iraq and while the Iraqis themselves currently
lacked the capability to eliminate them now, politically, the
IGC would oppose them. He said the Turks offered to train
police in Turkey and Iraq, adding, with reference to police
training in Jordan, that Iraq should not put all of its
police eggs in one basket. On Habur, Talabani suggested
adding a bridge to the existing facilities at Habur to
increase capacity, but the Turks rejected the idea, insisting
on a second crossing point as the solution. Talabani said he
had no objection, and FM Zebari said Iraq would welcome more
border crossings with Turkey. Talabani said the Turks seemed
unprepared for the amount of substance the Iraqi delegation
came prepared to discuss, but were pleased by it and were now
ready to engage the Iraqis on issues spanning the range of
normal relations.



2. (C) Given Talabani's positions on the PKK and Habur, we
recommend Washington and CPA work to get: a statement from
the IGC clearly stating that the PKK/KADEK/KHK is a terrorist
organization that has no future in Iraq, and urging its
members to take advantage of the Turkish Reintegration Law
before it expires on Feb. 6, 2004; and a three-way discussion
in Ankara among Iraqi, CPA and Turkish officials on
increasing the capacity for cross-border traffic immediately,
including, but not limited to discussion of getting Habur to
operate on a 24/7 basis, increasing Habur's capacity, and
opening additional border crossings between Turkey and Iraq.
End summary and recommendations.


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Turkey-Iraq Relations on Positive Track
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3. (C) On November 21, ICG President Talabani, accompanied by
IGC members Wael Abdullatif, Yonadam Kanna, Abdul Karim
al-Muhammadawi, and Mowaffaq al-Ruba'ie, and Minister of
Foreign affairs Hoshyar Zebari, Minister of Industry and
Minerals Mohammad Tawfiq Rahim and PUK Ankara rep Bahros
Galali met Ambassador, DCM and A/PolMilCouns to recap the
Iraqis' Nov. 19-20 meetings with Turks. The Ambassador
stressed the importance of developing the best possible
Turkey-Iraq relationship. Talabani said he believed this
visit had put the two countries on the right track, opening a
new page in the relationship in a variety of areas. Talabani
said he had explained to the Turks that Iraqi opposition to a
Turkish troop deployment was not something aimed against
Turkey, but part of an effort by Iraqis to take
responsibility for their own security.


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Iraqis Eager to Staff-up Embassy Ankara
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4. (C) Talabani said that PM Erdogan had been very positive
and stressed that all Iraqis were Turkey's brothers.
Talabani said he expected the trade agreement (Reftel) with
Trade Minster Tuzmen to be signed later that day (Nov. 21),
and described the delegations meeting with U/S Ziyal and the
MFA staff as mostly positive. In all these meetings,
Talabani said he assured the Turks that the new Iraq would
not be used by terrorists to attack Turkey. He also assured
them that Iraq's territorial integrity would be preserved.
When PM Erdogan noted that the new Iraqi constitution must be
for all Iraqis, Talabani replied that under Saddam, many
Iraqis were oppressed, but now the Shia could express
themselves openly and the Assyrians and Turkmen could
publicly assert their identities. The oppression was over.
Talabani told Erdogan that while the constitution would
reflect democratic respect for the majority, it would also
capture a consensus on other main issues including the
demands of Iraq's minorities. Talabani said that the Turks
confirmed that they recognized the IGC, and said they were
prepared to receive an Iraqi Ambassador in Ankara. Talabani,
unaware that Turkey had an Ambassador in Baghdad, replied
that Iraq was prepared to receive a Turkish Ambassador as
well. FM Zebari noted that Iraq needed to enhance its
diplomatic activities in Turkey and that he would speed up
the selection process to get a strong ambassador appointed to
Ankara as soon as possible. (Note: Zebari paid a visit to
the Iraqi Embassy 11/20 and told us its small staff had been
grateful for the contact with US Embassy and CPA officers in
the run-up to A/S Dewey's Nov. 19 visit.)



5. (C) Zebari said that the Iraqi delegation's message that
they wanted to reach out beyond the recent friction with
Turkey was well understood and appreciated by the Turks.
Turkey, he said, would have significant influence in Iraq
based on good relations, trade and good will, not based on a
military presence. Iraq, he continued, would be a major
workshop for democracy in the years ahead, one in which
Turkey would play a key role. Noting that none of Turkey's
fears had proven accurate (the division of Iraq, waves of
refugees, etc.) the Turks were still having trouble absorbing
the fact that the old regime was gone for good and that the
IGC, or at least some of its members, would be among the
future leaders of Iraq with whom Turkey will need to work.
Part of the Iraqi message, he said, was that Turkey needed to
take a fresh look at the situation in Iraq. Zebari said that
the PM seemed to have been well-advised, was supportive and
took positively the Iraqi message. Zebari noted that the
delegation had no meetings with military or TNIO
representatives.


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PKK/KADEK
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6. (C) Turning to the PKK/KADEK, Talabani said he told the
Turks that the IGC was against any foreign armed group in
Iraq, that they did not want any terror attacks launched on
Turkey from Iraq and that while the Iraqis themselves
currently lacked the means to eliminate such groups, the IGC
would do what it could politically to oppose them. When
A/PolMilCouns asked Talabani privately whether he could make
a statement specifically naming the PKK/KADEK/KHK a terrorist
organization that had no future in Iraq, he said that would
require an IGC decision, but was not out of the question.


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Police Training and Diplomat Training
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7. (C) Talabani said the Turks had offered to train Iraqi
police in Diyarbakir and Iraq. When DCM mentioned the police
training planned for Jordan, Talabani said that the need was
so great that Iraq should take offers to train in Turkey and
Egypt as well as Jordan, and not put all its eggs in one
basket. He also noted that Iraq needed training for new
diplomats, that the Turks had offered to provide such
training, and that Iraq would appreciate an USG offer to
train diplomats as well. (Turkish MFA Iraq Assistance
Coordinator Ahmet Okcun called the Embassy 11/21 to confirm
that Turkey would like to train Iraqi police in Diyarbakir
and may send some trainers to Iraq, but would not/not
participate in the Jordan program.)


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Habur/Second Border Crossing
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8. (C) Talabani said he had proposed to the Turks placing
another bridge at Habur to increase cross-border capacity
there (a military bridge, he said, could be ready in seven
days),but the Turks rejected the idea, stating that the
answer for increased capacity was a second crossing point and
increasing the use of the rail link via Syria. Talabani said
he told the Turks the IGC had no objection to a second
crossing, or even four or five of them, but those could not
be ready as quickly as was needed. Zebari added that for the
time being, bureaucratic delays, cumbersome military checks
and several hours per day when Turks closed operations at
Habur were causing the congestion. If the Turks wanted to
open more crossings, he said, that would be welcomed. He
added that the Iraqis told the Turks they welcomed enhanced
trade, but that it had to be part of Iraq's broader trade
policy and could not be isolated to bilateral arrangements.



9. (C) The Turks asked if the Iraqis could help arrange
better security for Turkish truckers working in Iraq.
Talabani said they would. The Turks also raised the issue of
security for the Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline. Ambassador asked
Talabani if there was a role BOTAS could play in securing the
pipeline. Talabani replied that was up to the CPA. The CPA,
he complained, had hired tribal chiefs with ties to Saddam to
guard the pipeline, which was a key reason for continuing
sabotage. He said and Zebari seconded that security for the
pipeline should be provided by Iraqis from local areas who
support the new Iraq. Talabani stated that there were Arabs
who supported the IGC prepared to guard the pipeline between
Kirkuk and Mosul. They should be used.



10. (C) Finally, Talabani noted that the Turks seemed
unprepared for, but pleasantly surprised by the content and
breadth of what the Iraqi delegation came prepared to
discuss. Comment: We will seek a separate readout from the
Turkish MFA today, but the impression Talabani and his
delegation left with us was one of a serious and diverse
group of Iraqi leaders who have established a solid platform
for building a good relationship with Turkey.



11. (U) Baghdad minimize considered.
EDELMAN