TURKEY NOTIFIED THAT UAE REQUEST FOR TURKISH

S E C R E T ANKARA 003466 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/SE AND PM/RSAT E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/15/2015 TAGS: MASS TU TC SUBJECT: TURKEY NOTIFIED THAT UAE REQUEST FOR TURKISH TRAINING ON F-16 BLOCK 60 AIRCRAFT DENIED REF: A. STATE 110926 ¶B. ANKARA 2909 Classified By: Ambassador Eric S. Edelman, reasons 1.4 (a) (b) and (d). ¶1. (S) Deputy PolMilCouns notified MFA Americas Affairs Deputy Office Director Meral Barlas on June 15 that the USG has denied the United Arab Emirates (UAE) request for pilots and technicians from Turkey to train pilots and technicians from the UAE on F-16 Block 60 aircraft and for technicians form Turkey to maintain the aircraft. Deputy PolMilCouns explained that the USG would like the UAE to develop an indigenous training and maintenance capacity like other F-16 countries, and that, towards that end, and together with Lockheed Martin, the USG was offering in-country training and training in the United States. ¶2. (S) Comment: Despite MFA Undersecretary Tuygan's comments to the Ambassador (ref b) Barlas expressed surprise at the decision and said the MFA had not yet been notified by the UAE. She noted some frustration at the decision, saying that the UAE must have requested this training for some valid reason, such as a lack of pilots or technicians, but claimed she did not know the motivation behind the request. End Comment. EDELMAN