IRAQ: TURKISH MFA DG BURCUOGLU ON VISIT OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 007340 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/24/2013 TAGS: PREL ETRD ETTC PTER TU IZ SUBJECT: IRAQ: TURKISH MFA DG BURCUOGLU ON VISIT OF TALABANI/IGC DELEGATION: IRAQI VISIT EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS REF: A. ANKARA 7300 ¶B. ANKARA 7253 ¶C. STATE 321138 Classified by DCM Robert Deutsch. Reasons 1.5 b and d. -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) DCM met MFA Director General for the Middle East Tahsin Burcuoglu Nov. 21 to deliver the Secretary's oral message on Iraq (Ref C) and to get a Turkish readout of the Talabani/IGC visit (Ref A). Burcuoglu pointed to the CPA-IGC agreement's reference to a federal structure, suggesting that if federalism were part of the fundamental law, it would also end up in the constitution, and Turkey would be unhappy about that. Turkey was pleased, he said, with the prospect of a rapid transfer of sovereignty. U/S Ziyal would raise these issues in Washington in early December. Burcuoglu said that the large, representative IGC delegation Talabani brought to Turkey had delivered a message of friendship, and that Talabani had "promised us everything we wanted." Personally, Burcuoglu said he was skeptical as to whether the IGC would live up to the promises. Burcuoglu said the IGC wanted agreements with the GOT to enhance IGC legitimacy, and reported that the IGC reps told the Turks, "forget about CPA, work with us." The IGC reps told the Turks they were ready to cooperate in every field, including receiving training for Iraqi police and diplomats from Turkey. End summary. ¶2. (C) On Nov. 21, DCM met MFA DG for Middle East Burcuoglu. Burcuoglu took note of the Secretary's oral message and provided a readout of the visit of IGC President Talabani and his delegation. Burcuoglu, after noting that Turkey would be unhappy if there were a direct provision for federalism in the fundamental law, as in that case, it would inevitably end up in the constitution. Burcuoglu also said that during Undersecretary Ziyal's early December visit to Washington, the Turkish delegation would expect detailed consultations with the USG on Iraq issues, and would be sending DDG Safak Gokturk with Ziyal's team for that purpose. He expressed frustration that Turkey was learning about changes in Iraq from news reports rather than from the US. Decisions about Turkey's neighbor would be made in the UNSC by Chile and Peru, but were not being discussed with Turkey. This, he said, was not fair. ¶3. (C) Turning to the Talabani visit, Burcuoglu said that the GOT had reached an understanding with Talabani and his delegation. Burcuoglu characterized the delegation as big and representative, with some very impressive individuals and others who were not. They brought, he said, a message of friendship and repeatedly cited Turkey as a leading country with great importance for the region and for Iraq. Burcuoglu said the Iraqis complained about UNSCR 1438 because of its limitations on sovereignty, but were satisfied with UNSCR ¶1511. They complained to the Turks that they had lost 7 months of time due to CPA's refusal to have a provisional government. Since gaining more power on Nov. 15, they now considered themselves a de facto government. FM Zebari told the Turks that Iraq would send a Sunni Arab ambassador to Ankara as soon as possible. ¶4. (C) Burcuoglu reported that the Iraqis were keen to sign agreements on everything from security and defense to border crossings with the GOT because, he said, it would enhance the IGC's legitimacy. The Iraqis told the Turks they were ready to cooperate in every field, he said, and had signed an agreement on trade matters earlier that day (see Ref B). U/S Ziyal offered training for Iraqi police at the Turkish facility in Diyarbakir. Talabani said Iraq would welcome that. FM Zebari asked the Turks if they could provide training for Iraqi diplomats, which the Turks said they were prepared to offer in Ankara. The Iraqis, Burcuoglu repeated, agreed in principle on everything. They asked Turkey to use some of the USD 50 million pledged in Madrid to build hospitals in Basra as well as in Najaf and Karbala (to counter Iranian influence there). ¶5. (C) Taking pleasure from reporting this, Burcuoglu told the DCM that when Talabani spoken about federalism with PM Erdogan, others in the Iraqi delegation challenged Talabani. After the meetings, some IGC members complained to the Turks that they were under intense pressure from the Kurds in Baghdad, according to Burcuoglu. Burcuoglu questioned whether the IGC had the authority or influence to convince the Iraqi people as a whole about the future of Iraq. However, he said, in general they were cheerful about being in Turkey. ¶6. (C) Burcuoglu said the visit went far beyond GOT expectations, that he would reserve judgment on the Iraqis' ability to meet their promises, but that all their meetings were good ones and the visit passed without drama or controversy. He said Turkey hoped to have a visit in December from that month's IGC President Abdulaziz Bakr al-Hakim, but dates had not yet been set. ¶7. (U) Baghdad minimize considered. EDELMAN