POSITIVE FISCHER VISIT SETS SCENE FOR VISITS BY

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 000581 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/29/2014 TAGS: GM PREL TU SUBJECT: POSITIVE FISCHER VISIT SETS SCENE FOR VISITS BY GERMAN OPPOSITION, PM SCHROEDER (U) Classified by Political Counselor John Kunstadter, E.O. 12958, reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: The Turkish MFA and the German Embassy both characterize German FM Fischer's January 21-22 visit to Ankara as positive. Both sides see Turkey as having made significant progress on the Copenhagen Criteria for EU accession but agree Turkey needs to improve implementation in order to satisfy the Criteria. Separate February visits by German opposition leaders and Chancellor Schroeder follow. End Summary. EU Is the Main Topic ¶2. (U) Fischer met Foreign Minister Gul for an extended period Jan 21; his meeting with Erdogan occurred on Jan 22. ¶3. (C) Turkey's EU entry was the main topic of Fischer's discussions with both Erdogan and Gul. German Political Counselor Walter Hassmann expressed "surprise" to us at how "unequivocal" Fischer was in telling FM Gul that the GOG would give Turkey's EU entry "full support" if the GOT continues along its present path on the Copenhagen criteria. Hassmann also claimed to us that Fisher pressed hard for Turkey to seek a Cyprus solution by May 1. MFA Western Europe Department Head Kemalettin Eruygur averred that Fischer gave a positive evaluation of Turkey's reforms; he characterized the Fischer visit as a demonstration of the GOG's developing support for Turkey's EU candidacy. He attributed the support to a growing "strategic" GOG view of Turkey's EU relationship as enhancing relations between Europe and the Islamic world, and positively impacting German internal security concerns about its Moslem residents. (During the visit, Fischer publicly said that Turkey is more important to European security than a "missile defense system.") ¶4. (C) Both Hassmann and Eruygur said that Fischer emphasized that Turkey still needs to improve implementation of recent human rights legislative reforms. Fischer specifically raised religious freedom and the case of Leyla Zana, a former M.P. convicted of Kurdish separatism in a controversial 1994 trial. According to Hassmann, the GOG is focused on two German parishes (one Protestant, one Catholic) on Turkey's southern coast that he said have experienced continual problems from local officials. Gul expressed the GOT's commitment to continue with the reform process. Upcoming Opposition Visit: No "Back-Slapping" ¶5. (C) The next high-level German visit to Turkey promises to be very different: CDU-CSU opposition leaders Angela Merkel and Wolfgang Schauble visit Ankara February 15-16. Both are skeptics about Turkey's EU membership. Hassmann said that although Erdogan and other Turkish leaders are in regular contact with them, their visit will not feature the figurative "back-slapping" of the Fischer visit. According to Eruygur, during his visit Fischer counseled the GOT to stress to Merkel that the GOT wants nothing short of full EU membership. PM Schroeder Visit ¶6. (C) Hassmann predicted that Chancellor Schroeder's February 22-24 visit to Turkey will feature the same types of discussions and atmosphere as the Fischer visit. Schroeder will inaugurate Germany's largest investment in Turkey to date: a 1.3 billion euro power plant in southern Turkey. DEUTSCH