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.


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Summary
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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