MFA REACTION TO CONGRESSIONAL DRAFT RESOLUTION ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 000885

SIPDIS


DEPT. PLS. PASS TO EUR/SCC WESTON, EUR/SE


E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/04/2013
TAGS: PREL CY TU GR
SUBJECT: MFA REACTION TO CONGRESSIONAL DRAFT RESOLUTION ON
CYPRUS

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



1. (C) MFA Cyprus DG Ertugrul Apakan called us Feb. 4 to pass
on GOT views about the draft resolution on Cyprus currently
circulating on the Hill.



2. (C) Apakan stated that the GOT disagrees wholly with the
substance of the draft resolution. He offered the following
comments, which he said represented the coordinated position
of the MFA:


-- Turkey has strong reservations about the timing of the
resolution draft. "We don't want two crises -- Iraq and
Cyprus -- at the same time. The resolution will not be
helpful on Iraq," particularly regarding attitudes in the
Turkish Parliament;


-- If the draft goes ahead as is, the AK Government will
"find itself cornered" and unable to explain to either the
Turkish people or to the Parliament the USG's position;


-- "We are at a critical stage in the Cyprus negotiating
process; this is most unhelpful";


-- The admission of "Greek Cyprus'" to the EU will usher in
uncertainties and cause problems for Turkey and others;


-- Turkey maintains the rights of a guarantor power on Cyprus
pursuant to relevant treaties; "no one -- not even the UN --
has the right to refer to Turkey as an 'occupying power'";


-- "TRNC President" Denktas is doing his best to find a
solution to the Cyprus problem. Cyprus President, Clerides,
he insisted, was not/not ready to sign the Annan plan at the
EU Copenhagen summit, perceptions to the contrary
notwithstanding. David Hannay himself recently confirmed
this to Turkey;


-- New, "reputable" public opinion polls on Cyprus show
support for Denktas is high.



3. (C) Comment: MFA's sensitivities and attitudes toward
Cyprus are not new. What is at issue here, however, is the
prospect that the draft resolution uproar will be used by
conservative elements in the MFA and other GOT bureaucracies
to dig in their heels against a possible move to settlement.


PEARSON