CFE: TURKEY ASKS FOR YET ANOTHER REVISION TO DRAFT

UNCLAS ANKARA 002831 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PARM KCFE PREL TU NATO SUBJECT: CFE: TURKEY ASKS FOR YET ANOTHER REVISION TO DRAFT HOST COUNTRY AGREEMENT REF: A. 04 STATE 251023 ¶B. 04 ANKARA 5196 ¶C. 04 STATE 6149 Sensitive but unclassified -- please protect accordingly. Not for Internet distribution. ¶1. (U) This is an action request--please see para. 5. ¶2. (SBU) MFA Disarmament and Arms Control officer M. Selcuk Sancar called in PolMilOff on May 17 to inform us that the GOT is requesting one additional change to the draft CFE Host Country Agreement Text. Sancar reported that the MFA's legal department has determined that an exchange of diplomatic notes does not meet Turkey's legal requirements. After the exchange of notes, Sancar explained, MFA would then need to seek approval from the Council of Ministers before the agreement can go into effect. She anticipated this would not be controversial. ¶3. (SBU) PolMilOff reminded Sancar--who has been in her position for only two weeks--that according to our records we have been negotiating this agreement with Turkey since 2002, and that the GOT had already to this point twice asked for revisions which the Department has accommodated. Will this be Turkey's final revision, he asked. Sancar acknowledged the point, and said that as far as she knew Turkey would not ask for any further revisions to the draft agreement. ¶4. (SBU) To cover Turkey's legal requirements, MFA proposes the following revision to paragraph IV of the agreement: BEGIN TEXT: ...constitute an agreement between the two Governments which shall enter into force on the date of the later of the notes by which the Parties inform each other that the legal requirements necessary for entry into force have been completed and shall remain in force so long as the covered equipment or facilities shall no longer be located in the territory of the Republic of Turkey. END TEXT ¶5. (U) Please advise if we can accommodate the Turks' request for this revision. EDELMAN