ISOLATING SYRIA AT THE UN: TURKEY HAS INVITATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 005166

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/01/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER SY TU UNGA SYRIA
SUBJECT: ISOLATING SYRIA AT THE UN: TURKEY HAS INVITATION
FOR PM; NO DECISION YET, CONSTRUCTIVE ENGAGEMENT STILL ON

REF: SECSTATE 159137

Classified By: A/DCM James R. Moore, for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) A/DCM and PolCouns delivered reftel demarche to
Turkish MFA Middle East Director General Oguz Celikkol on
September 2. Celikkol, who was already aware of the points
based on USUN's demarche to the Turkish Mission to the UN,
acknowledged that PM Erdogan had, indeed, received an
invitation to meet with Syrian President Asad. The PM,
Celikkol said, had not yet made a decision on whether to
accept the invitation. (Comment: In the recent past, PM
Erdogan's office has made decisions on contact with Asad
without consulting with MFA, but we made the demarche at the
political level as well - see para 5, below. End comment.)


2. (C) Celikkol reviewed Turkey's now-familiar arguments:
While they understand the USG stance and share our specific
concern with respect to Syria, Syria is a neighbor and the
GOT feels a need to engage. When they engage, Celikkol
emphasized, Turkish officials lay out all the regional
concerns and press Syria for improvements. This applies, he
added, to all the points raised in the demarche, with a focus
on stability and democracy in Iraq, as well as Syria's
attitude toward Israel. The GOT raised these concerns most
recently approximately one month ago with Syrian DFM
Mu'allim, when the discussions focused, per Celikkol, almost
exclusively on Iraq and the need for Syria to control its
border with Iraq. The GOT also pressed the Syrians on the
importance of Sunnis playing constructive role in the Iraqi
political process. For his part, when President Sezer
traveled to Damascus, he had focused on convincing the
Syrians to pull out of Lebanon.


3. (C) Celikkol himself raised the issue of Syrian President
Asad's canceled "vacation" plans to Turkey, an issue he
described as nearly two years old and currently on hold.


4. (C) With regard to President Asad, Celikkol, a former
Turkish Ambassador to Damascus, restated that the Turks view
the Syrian President as a man who is trying to effect reform,
but who is in somewhat of a straightjacket by the Ba'athist
hardliners. The GOT believes their contacts serve to
strengthen Asad's hand vis-a-vis those hardliners. It is,
Celikkol concluded, a balancing act, because when Damascus
feels too isolated, Iranian influence there increases.


5. (C) Deputy PolCouns also made reftel points September 2
to PM Foreign Policy Advisor Ali Sarikaya, emphasizing that
Syria's behavior runs counter to Turkish regional interests,
including Turkey's vital interest in a stable, unified Iraq.
Sarikaya professed to be unaware of any invitation from Asad.
He undertook to pass our points to PM Senior Foreign Policy
Advisor Davutoglu and to PM Erdogan.
MCELDOWNEY