TURKEY: IN SEARCH OF A ROLE IN PSI

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 007584

SIPDIS


FOR NP, T, AND EUR/SE


E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/10/2013
TAGS: KNNP MNUC PARM PREL TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: IN SEARCH OF A ROLE IN PSI


REF: A. SECSTATE 335671

B. HEALD-HRYCAJ EMAIL 12/09/03

C. ANKARA 7443


(U) Classified by Pol-Mil Counselor Timothy Betts, reasons
1.5, b/d.



1. (C) PolMilOff delivered ref A and B information to MFA
Disarmament Department Head Bulent Meric. Meric said that
the GOT had discussed at length the PSI Principles and
supported them unambiguously. In addition, the GOT was
committed to making an "effective contribution" to
interdiction activities and was searching for a role in which
it could do that. After reviewing the "London document" the
GOT believed that its support for PSI was sufficient to
participate in the December meeting. PolMilOff reiterated
that the December meeting was for operational experts to plan
their contributions to future activities. PolMilOff
suggested that bilateral consultations might be a better
means of answering Turkey's questions. But Meric said Turkey
wanted to see how other countries, not just the US, were
participating, how they came to define their roles in PSI,
and what capabilities they were providing. Then the GOT hoped
to determine what Turkish capabilities were needed and assign
them.



2. (C) Meric noted that the GOT still had questions about
the modalities of a PSI interdiction, and he was unsure how
to get these answers without participating in the experts
level meetings. He said that Turkey would be open about its
own interdiction shortcomings -- its legislation for this
type of interdiction was still "embryonic" and its
bureaucratic coordination needed to be streamlined. When
PolMilOff asked if TGS and the Ministry of Interior had been
consulted on the issue, Meric replied that the Turkish policy
on support for PSI was clear.



3. (C) Comment and Recommendation: The Turks clearly support
PSI and want to participate, but they need to be exposed to
the process in order to feel comfortable with it and
determine how best to contribute. Embassy Ankara recommends
inviting an expert team of Turks to participate in the
December meeting (clearly defining what type of experts are
expected),and providing a day of consultations the day prior
to the meeting in order to answer some of the GOT's
questions. Embassy Ankara looks forward to Washington's
decision.
EDELMAN