IRAQ: TURKS TERM JULY 21 CAIRO IRAQ NEIGHBORS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 004132

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/25/2014
TAGS: PREL PTER PINS IZ TU EG IS
SUBJECT: IRAQ: TURKS TERM JULY 21 CAIRO IRAQ NEIGHBORS
MEETING "GOOD START;" HIGHLIGHT THEIR OWN HELPFULNESS IN
DERAILING UNHELPFUL PROPOSALS

REF: CAIRO 5534

Classified By: CDA Robert Deutsch for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

Summary
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1. (C) Iraq's neighbors are increasingly willing to engage
with a newly sovereign Iraqi government, Turkish officials
told us on July 23, though some are still holding back. MFA
Deputy Director General for Middle East Safak Gokturk said
that the tone of the July 21 Cairo meeting of Iraq's
neighboring FonMins was positive, and that their agreement to
bring together a similar grouping of interior ministers was a
good concrete initiative. Gokturk said that the Turks worked
hard and successfully to turn off two unhelpful proposals at
the meeting: one (oddly) to tie the neighbors group to the
UNSC P5, the other to include negative language on alleged
Israeli activities in northern Iraq. Gokturk cited Iranian
activities in Iraq as a major GOT concern. The Turks are
annoyed by Iraqi ForMin Zebari's nonchalance about a map
reportedly used in schools in northern Iraq showing a greater
Kurdistan biting off large chunks of Turkish territory.
Finally, the Turks are shrugging off Iraqi PM Allawi's
unavailability to visit Ankara in July; PM Erdogan will offer
another date for the fall. End summary.

Turkish MFA: Cairo Meeting Positive, Interior Minister
Initiative a Concrete Step
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2. (C) On July 23, PolMilCouns and PolMilOff called on MFA
Deputy Director General for Middle East Safak Gokturk for a
readout of the July 21 meeting of the FonMins of Iraq and its
seven neighbors. Gokturk reported that the tone of the
meeting was more constructive than previous meetings since
this was the first such gathering following the handover of
sovereignty to the Iraqi Interim Government (IIG). It was,
he pronounced, "a good start." He noted that some ministers
who had been less willing to engage the Iraqi Governing
Council were more willing to do so with the IIG, though
"some" still have misgivings. Gokturk cited the decision to
convene a meeting of interior ministers and security
officials of the neighboring states as a positive, concrete
outcome. It became clear during the discussion, he said,
that Iraq's neighbors were just as concerned about security
concerns emanating from Iraq as Iraq was about the terrorist
and other threats coming into the country. In addition to
Turkey, he cited Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Iran as among the
most concerned.

Turks Turn Off Proposal to Tie Neighbors Group to P5...
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3. (C) Gokturk was anxious to highlight for us Turkey's role
in blocking two unhelpful proposals which came up during the
meeting. According to Gokturk, Iraqi ForMin Zebari suggested
that the neighbors group establish a contact group to work
with the UNSC P5. This struck the Turks and others as
strange, as there are many other groups (the entire UNSC, the
UNSYG's "Friends of Iraq" grouping, even the OIC) with which
the neighbors group could so interact. Indeed, Gokturk found
this suggestion even more odd since the P5 was so divided on
OIF in the first place. He suspected that Zebari was making
this suggestion in an attempt to phase out the neighbors
group by making it senseless. Turkey, he said, spoke up most
vocally against this idea during the senior officials meeting
to hash out the declaration text; later the ministers dropped
the contact group idea altogether. He added that Amb.
Brahimi had also opposed Zebari's proposal.

...And Fight Against Negative Language on Israel
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4. (C) Gokturk reported that Syria and Iran pushed hard for
language on alleged Israeli activities in northern Iraq, with
Jordan and host Egypt willing to go along. According to the
Turks, Zebari himself opposed language on Israel, saying that
they were unsubstantiated. The Turks argued that this
gathering was the wrong forum for going after Israel, and
that to single out Israel in the midst of numerous reports
that other countries are interfering in Iraq would "place the
burden of proof on the shoulders" of the neighbors group. In
the end, the ministers killed the language but allowed the
Egyptian ForMin to mention the issue at his discretion during
the Q and A of his closing press conference.


5. (C) Possible Israeli activity and intentions in northern
Iraq are a concern for the GOT, Gokturk confirmed, but Turkey
had bilateral channels through which it could address these
directly with Israel. Gokturk added that the GOT remains
most concerned about Iran's intentions in Iraq, citing the
clear presence of many Iranian operatives there and the
appointment of a SCIRI leader to the Deputy FonMin post.

Turks Annoyed at Kurdistan Map...
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6. (C) Gokturk reported that in his formal statement at the
gathering, FonMin Gul showed his colleagues a troubling map
that--he claims--is being used in schools in northern Iraq.
It shows a greater Kurdistan as a separate political entity,
an entity which includes large chunks of Turkish territory.
Zebari reportedly (and disingenuously, for the Turks)
responded that these were merely "population maps," simply
showing where there were large pockets of Kurds in the
region. If this were the case, the map ought to show large
chunks of western Turkey all the way to Istanbul, since that
is where most of Turkey's Kurdish population resides, Gokturk
added.

...But Take Allawi's Snub in Stride
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7. (C) According to Gokturk, PM Erdogan had some time ago
offered Iraqi PM Allawi a July 26 date to visit Ankara. The
Iraqis did not reply until after Allawi had left Baghdad for
his current barnstorming tour, stating as the reason that the
PM was going to be elsewhere but without much more
explanation. Apparently the Turks have decided to play it
cool on this issue: Gokturk said that the GOT "will not make
a big deal" out of the fact that Allawi placed first priority
on Iraq's Arab neighborhood. The Turks will offer PM Allawi
another date in the fall.


8. (U) Baghdad minimize considered.
DEUTSCH