SUDANESE FM ISMAIL VISITS TURKEY

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 004227 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/28/2014 TAGS: EAID PREL SU TU SUBJECT: SUDANESE FM ISMAIL VISITS TURKEY Classified By: A/DCM James Moore, E.O. 12958, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Sudanese FM Mustafa Osman Ismail visited Ankara July 26-27, meeting with Turkish FM Gul and Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Dulger. One MFA official speculates the trip was designed to influence Turkey, the current OIC SYG, but Ismail reportedly did not directly ask Turkey in its OIC capacity to weigh in with the UNSC and oppose sanctions. FM Gul announced that Turkey will send humanitarian aid to the Darfur region. According to Turkish officials, Gul and Dulger pressed FM Ismail to improve the situation in the Darfur region, particularly on the security side. Ismail also used the trip to press for improved bilateral economic ties. While EU-aspirant Turkey will pay close attention the EU stance on Darfur, it will also be influenced by the positions of other majority-Muslim countries. End Summary. Turks Raise Darfur ¶2. (C) Prior to Ismail's visit, we sent the MFA Africa and East Asia Department DDG Isik suggested talking points drawn from Secretary Powell's July 22 joint press conference with SYG Annan; Department DDG Isik and MFA Foreign Affairs Committee Adviser Ulukan both said the MFA incorporated the points into its papers for the visit. Isik claimed that Gul immediately raised concerns about the need for improved security in the Darfur region and pushed Ismail on the need for the GOS to disarm the janjaweed. Ismail told Gul this would take time. Gul informed Ismail that the GOT will send humanitarian aid in the form of food, medicine and tents to the region. Press accounts asserted the supplies will reach the region within days. MFA officials have no information on the estimated value of the proposed GOT assistance. ¶3. (C) With Parliament Foreign Affairs Chair Dulger, Ismail defended the GOS's efforts to date in the Darfur by presenting Dulger with the OIC's June report on the Darfur situation and the July 3 UN/GOS Joint Communiqu. MFA Adviser Ulukan, who was present in the meeting, said he replied that it was in Sudan's interest to control the militias and resolve the Darfur situation quickly. Turkey's Ambassador to Sudan, also present, reminded Ismail the EU is considering sanctions. Ulukan expressed confidence that Ismail "got the message." Ismail Presses for Stronger Economic Ties ¶4. (U) Ismail used the trip to press for improved bilateral economic ties. (According to Ulukan, bilateral trade volume was $67 million last year, of which $60 million were Turkish exports to Sudan.) In remarks to the press after the meeting, Gul said the two countries will aim to "refresh" bilateral economic relations. Ismail also met with State Minister Tuzmen at the Foreign Trade Undersecretariat, with Turkish Ex-Im Bank officials, and with the President of the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges. Turkey's Role as OIC SYG 5, (C) According to DDG Isik and Adviser Ulukan, the visit came on very short notice at Ismail's initiative. Ulukan speculated that Ismail sought to influence Turkey in its role as OIC SYG. However, both Isik and Ulukan claimed that FM Ismail did not ask Turkey, as OIC SYG, to weigh in with the UNSC and oppose sanctions against the GOS, although Ismail did tell Dulger that Turkey should use its role as OIC SYG to press for a "solution" in the UNSC. ¶6. (C) After his meetings, Ismail told the press that OIC Troika Turkey, Iran and Yemen had asked the UNSC not to impose sanctions. MFA officials denied this; Ismail's statement appears to be a misleading interpretation of a July 15 non-paper the OIC gave to the UNSC. DDG Isik declined to predict what Turkey will do if the situation in Darfur did not improve; Ulukan expressed confidence that EU-aspirant Turkey will pay close attention to the EU's position on Darfur. (Comment: However, Turkey will also be influenced by the positions of majority-Muslim countries.) DEUTSCH