FM DISCUSSES TURKISH-EU ACCESSION: KOCHARIAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 002281

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/CACEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/14/2014
TAGS: PREL PGOV TU AM
SUBJECT: FM DISCUSSES TURKISH-EU ACCESSION: KOCHARIAN
RAISES CONCERNS WITH EUROPEAN LEADERS

REF: ANKARA 5781

Classified By: Amb. John M. Evans for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) In her October 14 meeting with Armenian Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian, Deputy Assistant Secretary Laura
Kennedy emphasized the positive benefits for Armenia of a
Turkey anchored in the EU. She strongly urged the GOAM avoid
trying to derail or complicate the process. Oskanian's
recent public comments against "premature" Turkish-EU
accession talks and President Kocharian's October 12 letter
to EU presidents on the issue indicate that Armenia's
concerns could both complicate its relations with Turkey and
unhelpfully affect the public debate on Turkish-EU accession,
particularly in problematic countries such as France (where
Oskanian pointedly noted the presence of a 400,000-member
Armenian community). Over the course of their discussion,
Oskanian gave DAS Kennedy a copy of the letter that President
Robert Kocharian has just sent to all EU presidents raising
Armenian concerns with the possibility of Turkish accession
to the EU.


2. (C) Kennedy noted that the recently-adopted Turkish penal
code itself does not mention Armenia but rather it is cited
in a legal reasoning (reftel). She urged Armenia not to
overreact to this development which appeared to take both
Turkish and EU officials off guard. She was confident that
efforts to remove or void such an interpretation would be
successful as criminalizing free speech was inconsistent with
EU (or American) norms.


3. (C) While she agreed that it was appropriate for Armenia
to raise its concerns, she urged discretion and keeping the
larger picture in mind. She also noted that issues such as
Turkey's closed land border with Armenia are not part of the
EU's Copenhagen criteria. That said, Turkey's bid to join
the EU offered a dynamic backdrop for movement on a range of
issues. The U.S., of course, urges Turkey to open its border
with Armenia. She noted, however, that Turkey always cites
Armenian occupation of Azerbaijan as the constraint on its
ability to move on Armenia. Armenia should keep public focus
at home and abroad on the positive prospects of EU accession
for Turkey. Oskanian did agree on the overall benefits to
Armenia of Turkey in the EU.


4. (C) Full text of the Kocharian letter (original in
English) follows. Begin text:

Dear Mr. President,

The European Commission recommendations on the Turkish
accession process forces me to write to you with two major
concerns.

Let me be clear that my concerns are not borne of our own
bilateral differences with Turkey. We have said from the
start that a Turkey that fulfills the conditions for EU
membership and is deserving of the European label should
indeed be allowed to join the EU. Armenia would only welcome
a neighbor which is democratic and tolerant, one whose
foreign policy is indeed 'in line with the EU' and one whose
membership means Armenia will border the EU.

However, your decision to begin accession talks with Turkey
does, from our perspective, already bend the rules. Turkey
will receive the green light for accession talks despite two
major fundamental wrongs.

First, recent press coverage of Turkey's penal code focused
on the sensational parts, and completely ignored the explicit
rejection of tolerance and freedom of expression. Rather
than encouraging democratic, free, open, public discourse on
the difficult topics of Cyprus and Armenians, Article 306 of
the Turkish Penal Code criminalizes expressions of support
for the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Cyprus, and
affirmation of the occurrence of the Armenian Genocide. To
say, as the EU recommendations do, that 'As regards freedom
of expression, the situation has improved significantly' is
to say that the EU is willing to ignore these flagrant
violations of basic freedoms.

Second, given that Turkey's borders with Armenia remain
closed, we do not believe that 'Turkish foreign policy is
contributing positively to regional stability.' We do not
believe Turkey's foreign policy regarding its neighboring
countries is simply 'less in line' with the EU's. We want to
believe it is completely in contradiction to the EU's
policies of enlargement and inclusion, particularly as it
affects us in the New Neighborhood.

We would not want the EU to lose its moral authority and
credibility, when it, on the one hand, tells us and our
neighbors to affect reforms, but on the other hand, is
willing to look the other way when another of our neighbors
actively maintains a contradictory, unacceptable policy.

Sincerely,

Robert Kocharian

End Text.


5. (U) DAS Kennedy has cleared this cable.
EVANS