THIRD-COUNTRY TRANSFER: TURKEY'S REQUEST TO SELL

UNCLAS ANKARA 001035 SIPDIS DEPT FOR PM/RSAT, EUR/SE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MASS MARR TU SUBJECT: THIRD-COUNTRY TRANSFER: TURKEY'S REQUEST TO SELL H-300C HELOS REF: A. 04 STATE 14450 ¶B. 03 ANKARA 8011 ¶C. 03 STATE 235681 ¶D. 03 ANKARA 4098 ¶E. 02 ANKARA 8942 ¶1. On July 6, 2004, the Turkish MFA forwarded by diplomatic note a request to sell U.S.-origin H-300C helicopters to "Anadolu Havacilik Elektronik Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi" (Anatolian Aviation and Avionics, Ltd.),a Turkish firm which represents a U.S. firm, Globe Aero, Ltd. The request contained no/no information about the helos, including how they were obtained from the United States. In an Oct. 21, 2004 meeting on the status of a number of Turkish third-party transfer cases, emboffs requested that the GOT provide further information on this request, such as how and when the GOT obtained the helos, how many it planned to sell, the original acquisition value, and their estimated current value. ¶2. On Feb. 15, 2005, Embassy received another diplomatic note with further information attached. We then noticed that the helos listed were the same as those for which Turkey had successfully applied for USG clearance to sell to another firm, Air Consult (see refs). On Feb. 23, PolMilOff contacted Ali Gunay of MFA's Americas Desk, who reported that the helos in question were put up for tender by the Ministry of Defense. Apparently as interested companies (so far only two) submit bids, the GOT is then seeing if the USG will allow the transfer. PolMilOff pointed out that this seems like an extraordinarily long tender (opened in 2002) and asked when it would close. Gunay responded that MOD had not established a final closing date, but he expected that bids would close by the end of this year. Post is faxing notes and enclosures for both these cases to PM/RSAT (attention Todd Hughes). ¶3. BEGIN TEXT OF MFA NOTE NUMBER 2004/ALGY/284768: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey presents its compliments to the Embassy of the United States of America and with reference to the Ministry's Note No" 2003/ALGY/510770, dated December 16, 2003 has the honor to request assistance in obtaining the U.S. Government's approval for the sale of U.S. origin H-300 helicopters to "Anadolu Havacilik Elektronik Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi" which represents a U.S. company named "Glove Aero Limited." The Ministry also has the honor to inform the Embassy that Anadolu Havacilik Elektronik Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi plans to purchase the aforementioned helicopters for commercial and educational purposes. Representation Certification of Anadolu Havacilik Elektronik Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi and Power of Attorney form prepared by Globe Aero Limited are enclosed herewith. The aforesaid documents also include point of contact information for both firms. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the Embassy of the United States of America the Assurances of its highest consideration. Ankara, July 5, 2004 END TEXT ¶4. BEGIN TEXT OF MFA NOTE NUMBER 2005/ALGY/54324 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey presents its compliments to the Embassy of the United States of America and with reference to the meeting held in the Ministry on 21 October 2004 regarding the outstanding third-party transfer cases, has the honor to present herewith the necessary information about the sale of US - origin H-300C helicopters to Anadolu Havacilik ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the Embassy of the United States of America the assurances of its highest consideration. Ankara, 15 February, 2005 END TEXT EDELMAN