IRAQ: TURKEY WANTS TO SEND HUMANITARIAN AID TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 006100

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/06/2015
TAGS: EAID PREL MOPS TU IZ
SUBJECT: IRAQ: TURKEY WANTS TO SEND HUMANITARIAN AID TO
TALAFAR AND KIRKUK, SEEKS TO PARTICIPATE IN TALAFAR
RECONSTRUCTION

REF: A. ANKARA 5452 AND PREVIOUS


B. ANKARA 5209

Classified By: Acting DCM Thomas Goldberger for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
.


1. (U) This is an action request. Please see para. 7.

Humanitarian Aid for Talafar and Kirkuk
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2. (C) MFA Coordinator for Iraq and Afghanistan
Reconstruction Amb. Koray Targay called in A/DCM Oct. 6 to
inform us that Turkey wishes to provide humanitarian aid (HA)
for Talafar during Ramadan. (NOTE: Head of Department Sedef
Yavuzalp subsequently informed us Oct. 7 that Turkey wishes
to split this aid between Talafar and Kirkuk, with
approximately 60% of the aid going to Talafar. The GOT was
thinking of sending primarily food unless we or the Iraqis
determine an urgent need for non-food items. END NOTE.)
Targay noted in passing the complaints lodged by the Turkish
Red Crescent when it delivered HA to Talafar last month
(reftel),but chalked up some of these to hurried Turkish
planning. He viewed the September shipment as "a successful
mission" despite these problems. He asked that the GOT, USG,
and ITG work together to make the next shipment a successful
effort.


3. (C) A/DCM urged that the GOT discuss this matter as soon
as possible with the ITG in order to improve coordination.
Targay agreed, noting that the GOT will discuss the issue
with the ITG, and the Turkish Red Crescent will also
coordinate with its Iraqi counterpart.

Talafar Reconstruction: Water Project and Hospital
-------------- --------------


4. (C) Now that the operations in Talafar are winding down,
Targay said Turkey wanted to reiterate its interest in
contributing to the water project for Talafar and to
providing equipment for Talafar's hospital. Noting that
Turkey was not yet prepared for security reasons to send a
team to look at what it could do for the water project (see
ref b),Targay asked if we could provide any feasibility
study that has been done for this project so that Turkey can
evaluate where it may be able to contribute in the near
future.


5. (C) Targay asked for our evaluation of the condition of
Talafar's hospital. He understood that the hospital building
had been sound but that it lacked equipment, adding that
Turkey was ready to contribute items such as MRI machines,
incubators, etc. Turkey may also be prepared to contribute
to repairs to the building itself, if necessary.

Immediate Need for Rubble Clearing Equipment
--------------


6. (C) A/DCM noted that we had been in direct touch with the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Talafar, who identified for
us some urgent heavy equipment needs to clear rubble; we
handed the list to Targay. He responded that the MFA will
look into availability. We noted that if Turkey were to
offer this machinery as part of its aid package, Turkey would
need to make the offer formally to the ITG. However, it is
possible that the USACE and the Turkish contractors may just
want to make this a straight commercial transaction. We are
pursuing this with USACE while the Turks research their end.

Action Request
--------------


7. (C) We would appreciate guidance from Washington and
Mission Iraq on the Turks' HA offer. No doubt the Turks are
calculating how their HA offer will play at home politically,
but the humanitarian needs (at least in Talafar) are evident.
We would also appreciate guidance on the Turks' offers
regarding the Talafar hospital and water project. If there
is a feasibility study available for the latter, please
forward to us.
MCELDOWNEY