PKK TRILATERAL TALKS: IRAQIS SEEKING JANUARY DATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 005395 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/14/2015 TAGS: PTER PGOV PREL TU IZ PKK SUBJECT: PKK TRILATERAL TALKS: IRAQIS SEEKING JANUARY DATE FOR NEXT ROUND REF: A. ANAKRA 5353 ¶B. STATE 149796 Classified By: Acting DCM Timothy A. Betts for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) On Sept. 14, Iraqi DCM Abdulwahab al-Jawary informed PolMilOff that, on instructions from the Iraqi MFA Department Head for Neighboring Countries, Amb. Taha Sukur Mahmoud al-Abbasi, the ITG wished to inform us that Iraq does not want to hold the next round of PKK trilateral (U.S.-Turkey-Iraq) talks until after the Iraqi elections at the end of the year, i.e. not until January 2006. According to al-Jawary, al-Abbasi said he believed a January date had been agreed to during the Aug. 6 round in Washington, as opposed to the October date provided ref b. (NOTE: Per ref a, the Turks are recommending a November date. END NOTE.) ¶2. (C) PolMilOff asked if Amb. al-Abbasi had instructed the Iraqi embassy here to raise this with the GOT as well; al-Jawary replied that he had only been instructed to raise this issue with us. PolMilOff encouraged al-Jawary to consider discussing this with the GOT as well in order to seek consensus on a date. Al-Jawary said he would ask Baghdad for guidance. MCELDOWNEY