TURKEY DECLINES INVITATION TO AUSTRALIAN PSI

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 006261 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/04/2029 TAGS: KNNP MNUC PARM PREL ETTC TU SUBJECT: TURKEY DECLINES INVITATION TO AUSTRALIAN PSI MEETING REF: A. ANKARA 5380 ¶B. ANKARA 5015 ¶C. STATE 188228 Classified By: PolMil Counselor Timothy A. Betts. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) MFA Disarmament and Arms Control Deputy DG Haluk Ilicak told the Australian Embassy on November 2 that Turkey would not participate in the PSI Intelligence Break-out Session of the Operational Experts Group that is scheduled to occur in Sydney Nov.30-Dec.2, according to Australian DCM Derek Brown. Brown told PolMilCouns on Nov.3 that Ilicak had informed the Australians that Turkey would not participate in PSI activities outside of neighboring regions (e.g., Europe, Middle East, Caucasus) until either Turkey was accepted into the PSI Core Group or the Core Group ceased to exist. The Australians suggested that the Turks send an observer from their Embassy in Canberra, but Ilicak replied that sending anyone other than qualified experts would be a waste of time for not only the Turks, but also the Australian hosts. ¶2. (C) Comment: Ilicak's reported comments are consistent with what he told us after hearing that the USG would not support Turkish membership in the PSI Core Group (reftels). While a Turkish defense attache reportedly observed the PSI exercise last month in Japan, our experience with Turkish observers--as opposed to real experts from Ankara--at previous expert group meetings suggests Ilicak's reasoning is sound--they contributed nothing to the meetings and created confusion in Ankara with their reports on issues they did not understand. End Comment. EDELMAN