TURKEY SEEKS TO CONTRIBUTE ROBUSTLY TO AFGHANISTAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 003413

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/15/2015
TAGS: PREL MARR AF TU NATO
SUBJECT: TURKEY SEEKS TO CONTRIBUTE ROBUSTLY TO AFGHANISTAN
FOLLOWING ISAF VII


Classified By: Counselor for Political-Military Affairs Timothy A. Bett
s for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) PolMilCouns and PolMilOff met with MFA officials June
14 and 15 to follow up on PM Erdogan's comments in the U.S.
the week of June 5 that Turkey wants to do more to ensure the
stability of Afghanistan after it relinquishes command of
ISAF VII in August. Both MFA Deputy Director General for
Security Policy Fatih Ceylan (June 14) and MFA DDG for South
Asia Aydin Evirgen (June 15) confirmed that Erdogan misspoke
when he said Turkey wanted to lead a PRT in Kabul. They
clarified that Turkey seeks to take command of ISAF's Kabul
Multinational Brigade (Central Region) when this command
comes into being (the Turks believe it will be next year).


2. (C) Evirgen explicitly asked for strong U.S. support
within the Alliance for Turkey to be appointed to this
command. He emphasized that after two failed and difficult
attempts to get Ankara to take a PRT, the GOT may not again
be in a position to offer significant military assets to
Afghanistan stability efforts in the future. (NOTE: Evirgen
was a strong advocate in the Turkish bureaucracy in favor of
taking a PRT. END NOTE.)


3. (C) PolMilCouns noted that our informal communication with
Brussels and Washington indicated that the French have also
expressed an interest in taking command of the ISAF central
region. He added that we understand that there may be a
discrepancy over whether this command will come into being in
Phase III or Phase IV of ISAF. Evirgen replied that he
understood these issues, and reiterated the GOT's request for
U.S. support and also clarification on what our thinking was
on the timing issue.


4. (C) Evirgen noted that PM Erdogan's recent trip to
Afghanistan was the main catalyst in the GOT's desire to
continue its support for Afghanistan. Erdogan was deeply
moved by the plight of the Afghan poor, and ordered that
Turkey's aid for Afghanistan be increased ten-fold, to U.S.
$100 million. Evirgen believes that he now has the full
backing of the GOT in his efforts to promote a prominent
Turkish role in assuring the future of Afghanistan. He
worried, however, that if a decision on the central region
was not taken by NATO soon, enthusiasm for a robust,
continuing Turkish contribution could wane, particularly
within the Turkish military.


5. (C) Comment: Turkey's desire to maintain a robust force in
ISAF is laudable, and the MNB Brigade command may be the way
to accomplish just that. Evirgen's warning that if this
initiative fails Turkey may be inclined to walk away from
Afghanistan stability efforts was not a threat: It was a
well-intentioned statement of fact. To prevent this, we will
need a coherent, unified USG position regarding the Turkish
offer. End comment.
EDELMAN