AMBASSADOR AND DCHOD BASBUG DISCUSS CYPRUS, EU

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 005115

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/09/2029
TAGS: PREL MARR PGOV PARM IZ CY IR TU
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR AND DCHOD BASBUG DISCUSS CYPRUS, EU

REFORMS, AND BILATERAL RELATIONS

REF: A. STATE 184340

B. ADANA 104

Classified By: Ambassador Eric S. Edelman. Reason 1.4 (b) and (d).

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Summary
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1. (S) TGS Deputy Chief GEN Basbug told the Ambassador
September 8 that developments regarding Cyprus were
"worrisome," pointing at the European Court of Human Rights
consideration of Loizidou clone cases and the lack of EU
action on ending the isolation of northern Cypriots. He
hinted that Ankara would be willing to cancel the Toros
exercise on Cyprus scheduled for October. Basbug was clearly
bothered by the press conference that day by EC Enlargement
Commissioner Verheugen in Diyarbakir. While he had no
problem with the implementation of enacted laws, including
those on cultural rights, he suspected European calls for
Turkey to implement these laws as an attempt to push the
envelope on Kurdish rights to the point Turkey's unity would
be threatened. Basbug characterized the possibility of Iran
possessing nuclear weapons as "unacceptable," although he did
not indicate what Turkey could do to prevent that occurrence.
He refused to discuss the PKK in northern Iraq, noting
simply, "you know our position; it has not changed." Basbug
asserted that TGS was awaiting a green light from the prime
ministry before moving forward on our request for a logistics
hub at Incirlik Air Base. On other issues:

-- The Ambassador registered concerns about changes to
Turkey's military procurement/defense industry policy that
could prejudice American firms;

-- Basbug noted that, in response to a request, TGS was
looking for an instructor to send to the Marshall Center; it
might be a civilian;

-- The Ambassador acknowledged that the US still owed Turkey
an answer to its request for American staff for its Center of
Excellence for the Combat Against Terrorism;

-- Basbug confirmed that MFA has the lead on trucker security
in Iraq for the GOT; and,

-- Basbug will be happy to receive DASD Brzezinski when he
visits later this month.

End Summary.


2. (C) The Ambassador met with Turkish General Staff (TGS)
Deputy CHOD GEN Ilker Basbug on Sept 8. Basbug had requested
the two get together for a post-summer tour d'horizon.

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Cyprus
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3. (C) The Ambassador recalled his raising with Basbug the
planned fall exercises on Cyprus during a brief encounter the
previous week. He said he had also raised the issue with FM
Gul. Washington would help move the parties if Ankara was
favorably disposed to continuing the tradition of canceling
these exercises. Basbug responded by saying Cyprus was at
the top of Ankara's agenda. TGS was following developments
closely and had "great concerns" about the situation. Yet,
it was difficult to get a complete picture with developments
at the UN, in the EU, with the European Court of Human Rights
(ECHR) and internal problems on the island. Turkish public
opinion had expected a bright future after the April
referendum, but what has occurred has been disappointing, he
said.


4. (C) In response to a question, the Ambassador said he
understood that a number of claims were being brought against
Turkey for property Greek Cypriots lost with the division of
the island. Basbug recalled that in the original Loizidou
case, Turkey was advised to pay the award to make the issue
go away. But this week, a number of similar cases had been
opened at the ECHR. Turkey was arguing that the referendum
had changed the situation on the island, but the court's
attitude now appears not to have changed. This was
"disappointing," Basbug stated, and could produce "terrible
consequences." The Ambassador suggested that it may still be
a little early to be able to judge what the attitude of the
court will be. He undertook to look into the situation,
understanding that the US was not a party to the European
court.


5. (C) Basbug said the entire situation was "worrisome." The
Ambassador understood Turkey's frustration at the lack of
progress within the EU to end the isolation of the Turkish
Cypriots. However, strategically, Turkey's exemplary effort
in the run-up to the referendum was recognized within the EU.
Basbug acknowledged this point, "but we need results," he
said. The Ambassador agreed that the slow pace of EU
efforts, complicated by the GOC's attitude within EU
councils, was disappointing. He then went on to explain what
steps the USG has taken (e.g., receiving "PM" Talat, visiting
northern Cypriot officials in their offices, accelerating
visa processing, $30 million in ESF, AID assistance) and
others that the US is working on (code-share flight
arrangements, port access for tourism, scholarships,
agricultural trade). He expected that the Secretary and FM
Gul would discuss this issue further when the two encounter
each other on the margins of the UNGA.


6. (C) Returning to the fall exercises, Basbug said that TGS
and MFA had discussed the issue and TGS was currently
awaiting a formal paper laying out MFA's position. Once that
is received, TGS will consider the question. Hinting that a
cancellation was likely, he noted that perhaps Gul could
discuss this issue with his Greek counterpart in New York
later this month.


7. (C) Turning to the UN, Basbug complained about "certain
phrases" in the SYG's report following the referendum. The
Ambassador responded that on balance the report was positive
toward Turkey and lamented that the Beslan tragedy had
required Russia President Putin to cancel his visit to
Turkey, depriving Ankara of an opportunity to press Moscow
for a more constructive attitude toward Cyprus in the UN
Security Council. The Ambassador promised to stay in close
contact as UNFICYP comes up for consideration in the UNSC.
Basbug concluded the discussion of Cyprus by saying that the
situation was "not hopeful." "What is worrisome is that
tomorrow someone will say that now Turkey must accept" some
new concession.

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Iraq: Truckers and Terrorists
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8. (C) Basbug acknowledged the Ambassador's observation that
TGS was concerned about the safety of Turkish truckers in
Iraq. He said TGS representatives were participating in
MFA-led meetings on this issue. He thought the problem was
mainly on the drive south of Mosul and the entire route going
north. He said Turkey was encouraging drivers not to go
south of Mosul unless they are in a protected convoy, but not
everyone is heeding this advice.


9. (C) Regarding the PKK/Kongra Gel, Basbug said, "I don't
want to discuss the PKK. You know our position. It has not
changed."

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Logistics Hub
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10. (S) The Ambassador asked Basbug for the status of the US
request to establish a logistics hub for OIF and OEF at
Incirlik AB. Basbug said TGS had sent a letter to the Prime
Minister's office about a month ago and was now waiting for a
response. He said the recommendation was positive.
(Comment: When we checked with the Prime Ministry several
weeks ago, they informed us that they need take no action on
our request. We will follow up.)

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Turkish Procurement/Defense Industry Policy
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11. (C) The Ambassador noted that he was receiving numerous
questions from American defense firms about doing business in
Turkey. With the cancellation of a number of tenders,
difficult negotiations over AEW&C, and stalled negotiations
over additional Sea Hawk purchases, it is difficult to know
what to say. Requirements such as full disclosure of source
codes would make it extremely difficult for American firms to
compete. He said he would be seeing the Undersecretary for
Defense Industry Murad Bayar soon to discuss these issues.
The Ambassador explained that he was concerned not only
because of his commercial interest in selling more American
products, but also about the corrosive effects on
interoperability if Turkey moved away from American military
equipment. Basbug said Bayar was the right person to talk to
about this. He then asked whether the Marine Corps or the
Department of the Navy had canceled the AH-1Z program. The
Ambassador said he hadn't heard and would be surprised if
that were the case, but would check. (Comment: We confirmed
to TGS later that day that the program continues.)

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Iran's Nuclear Ambitions
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12. (C) The Ambassador raised Iran's nuclear program,
including Tehran's pattern of deception and concealment in
dealing with the IAEA and others, and asked whether Basbug
was concerned about the possibility of a nuclear armed
neighbor. Basbug responded by saying that such a possibility
was "unacceptable." He noted wryly that the intelligence
must be concrete and that Ankara did not know for sure what
the Iranians had already or would have in the future. He
acknowledged that he had had several discussions with
Israelis about the situation, and repeated that the
possibility of a nuclear-armed Iran was "unacceptable."
However, that was a different question than what Turkey might
be able to do about the possibility. The Ambassador pushed
back on Basbug's comment about intelligence, noting that the
final word on what Iraq had was yet to be heard, and that the
worrying information on Iran's program was not US
intelligence but IAEA reports.

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Concerns about EU Reforms
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13. (C) Basbug raised without prompting the GOT's EU-related
minority rights reform effort. For the past two to three
years, he said, parliament had passed many laws granting
"cultural rights." The changes were significant and he had
no issue with what had been passed. "There is nothing left
to be done or to be requested," he opined. Nonetheless, the
EU keeps asking for more. They keep calling for more follow
up on implementation. "What do they mean by this? What are
the deficiencies?" he asked.


14. (C) He said that recent events in Turkey's southeast
"exceed the law," citing Lela Zana's tour of the region after
her release from jail. Zana had spoken in Kurdish while
participating in political activities, a clear violation of
the Political Parties Law, he said. On September 7, the
Diyarbakir mayor reportedly asked EC Enlargement Commissioner
Verheugen whether this element of the law needed to be
changed to meet EU requirements. The fact that the mayor
asked the question demonstrated that he realized this was a
violation when Zana was in his city.


15. (C) Basbug also asserted that Turkish public opinion
should not be neglected. He did not oppose Verheugen's visit
to Diyarbakir because he needed to write the report on
Turkey's progress on the Copenhagen Criteria. However, some
other "unnecessary visits" are not well perceived by the
Turkish public. When asked, he said this applied to the US,
Europeans, "everybody." The Ambassador responded that if
Basbug was concerned by Consulate Adana DPO's August 12 call
on the Diyarbakir mayor (ref b),he should know that the DPO
conveyed a clear message condemning terrorism and reiterating
USG support for the political unity of Turkey.


16. (C) Finally, Basbug noted that Zana had written to jailed
PKK/Kongra Gel leader Abdullah Ocalan saying, "we will get
our political, social and cultural rights through EU
membership." If the EU is a vehicle by which Zana's
supporters can achieve their objectives, then what more are
they looking for, he asked. Two security forces members were
killed in the southeast on September 7, he said. Tomorrow
another may lose his life. Why are we asking these people to
risk their lives, he asked. (Comment: His implication being
that Zana and her supporters see the EU as a tool to
partition Turkey.) "There is nothing else to give and we
have given more than enough," he said.


17. (C) Saying that he had just seen Verheugen's press
conference in Diyarbakir, he complained that Verheugan
referred to "Kurdish citizens." "Is that proper?" he asked.
While Turkey had many citizens of Kurdish origin, he termed
the idea of Kurdish citizenship as "completely wrong."
Similarly, he believed references to Turkey's approval of
"Kurdish education" to be wrong, believing that phrase to
imply using Kurdish for education instead of Turkish. "The
teaching of Kurdish" is what was approved. The Ambassador
agreed that cultural rights were a sensitive subject
requiring precision in the words used to discuss it.

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Other Issues
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18. (U) Brzezinski Visit: Basbug replied "no problem" when
the Ambassador asked that he receive DASD Brzezinski when he
visits later this month.


19. (U) Marshall Center: The Ambassador expressed
appreciation for the increased number of Turkish participants
in Marshall Center programs this year. Basbug replied that,
in response to a request, TGS was looking to identify an
instructor to send to the Center; this person might be a
civilian.


20. (C) COE Staffing: The Ambassador began by noting that he
had spoken with VCJCS Gen Pace who had reported having had a
productive telecon with Basbug recently. He noted that Gen
Pace knew that he still owed Basbug an answer to his request
for American military members to staff the planned NATO
Center of Excellence for the Combat Against Terrorism in
Ankara.

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Comment
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21. (C) Of the lengthy agenda, Basbug had only two issues he
wanted to register with us: TGS is dissatisfied with the
situation concerning Cyprus and concerned about a possible
hidden agenda the EU has for Turkey. On Cyprus, there is
hope that Ankara will agree to cancel this year's Toros
exercise, although there is decidedly less enthusiasm to
continue to be helpful on Cyprus given the Turks'
disappointment with the international response following the
Turkish Cypriots' expression of support for a settlement in
the April referendum. On the EU, a sense that Brussels keeps
shifting the goal posts has generated some obvious
frustration within the military that feels it has already
compromised a lot in the national effort to gain a date to
begin accession negotiations. We, nevertheless, perceive no
waning of TGS's support for eventual Turkish membership in
the EU. End comment.


22. Baghdad minimize considered.
EDELMAN