TURKISH DIPLOMAT SOUR ON RELATIONS WITH VATICAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L VATICAN 000515

SIPDIS


DEPT. FOR EUR/WE (TCUNNINGHAM); EUR/SE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 8/26/2015
TAGS: PHUM PREL SOCI TU VT
SUBJECT: TURKISH DIPLOMAT SOUR ON RELATIONS WITH VATICAN

REF: 04 VATICAN 3196; ISTANBUL 1333; ANKARA 4653

CLASSIFIED BY: Peter Martin, Political Officer, POL, STATE.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)

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Summary
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1. (C) Turkish diplomat Ali Riza Ozcoskun (protect) complained
to us recently about the poor state of Holy See - Turkish
relations, charging that there is simply no dialogue between the
two states. He went over the well-known stalemate, explaining
that the Catholic Church sought certain legal assurances from
Turkey that as a secular state it could not offer. Ozcoskun
judged the potential papal trip to Istanbul to be a no-win
situation for the GoT under the circumstances, since the pope
going to Istanbul without meeting top-level Turkish authorities
would be just as bad as his forgoing the trip altogether.
Ozcoskun recognizes that the Vatican's official position on
Turkey's EU candidacy is that it sees "no obstacle" to its entry
as long as the GoT fulfills the EU's Copenhagen criteria. But
he said the Holy See had not been straightforward enough in
correcting misimpressions of that policy when cardinals or
others in the hierarchy - most notably Cardinal Ratzinger -
strayed from the party line. It is unclear if the papal trip to
Istanbul will actually occur, but if it does it will have as
much of a political subtext as an ecumenical one. End Summary.

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"What Relations?"
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2 (C) Ali Riza Ozcoskun (protect),the outgoing DCM at the
Embassy of Turkey to the Holy See, told us recently that
Vatican-Turkey relations were on the rocks. "What relations?"
he retorted when asked about the state of affairs between the
two countries. He complained that the two had no dialogue, and
that the last time a high-level GoT minister came to Rome,
Ozcoskun had a hard time convincing him he should see anyone at
the Vatican. "What could I say?" he said. "There's nothing to
talk about."


3. (C) Ozcoskun went over the well-known stalemate, explaining
that the Catholic Church sought certain legal assurances from
Turkey that as a secular state it could not offer. "We don't do
this to discriminate against Christians," he said, "but to guard
against radical Muslims." In the event of Turkish entry into
the EU, he said, the stance would become moot in any case, as
Turkey would have to adhere to EU norms. For this reason he
thought it silly that some within the Vatican were lukewarm or
worse towards Turkey joining the club. In fact, it would bring
them many of the things they're looking for, he insisted.

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Papal Visit to Istanbul
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4. (C) Pope Benedict is considering a visit to the Ecumenical
Patriarch in Istanbul for the November 30 feast of St. Andrew,
an event of great importance to the Orthodox. According to
Ozcoskun, even the consideration of the trip is a no-win
situation for the GoT under the circumstances. "If the pope
comes and doesn't make it a state visit, it looks bad for
Turkey. If he doesn't come, it still looks bad for Turkey," he
said. Ozcoskun recounted that he had proposed that the GoT
organize a conference to be attended by the top leaders in
Istanbul just before the possible papal visit. In this way,
Turkey could manufacture an opportunity for a meeting with the
pope in a face-saving way, since, according to Ozcoskun,
Benedict would certainly not go to Ankara. Ozcoskun didn't get
much of a hearing on the idea. Ankara is "in no mood" to bend
over backwards for the Vatican, he reported.

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EU Membership
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5. (C) Oscoskun was sensitive about Pope Benedict's highly
publicized criticism of Turkey's EU candidacy (made as Cardinal
Ratzinger prior to his election as pope). When reminded that
the official line of the Holy See on the issue was one of
neutrality as long as Turkey lived up to the EU's Copenhagen
criteria (04 VATICAN 3196),Ozcoskun agreed, but was not
satisfied. "[At the time of the Ratzinger interview] and at
other times, the Vatican insists that it isn't against us, but
they always do so in private." [Comment: Ozcoskun makes a good
point - at the time of the Ratzinger controversy we spoke with
FM Lajolo and encouraged him to reinforce the Holy See's view in
light of confusing media accounts of Ratzinger's comments. He

confirmed the Vatican position, but did not counter the cardinal
in public. End Comment] Ozcoskun said he didn't think Vatican
opposition could thwart Turkey's EU bid, but "could certainly
make it more difficult."

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The Pope of the Orthodox
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6. (C) Ozcoskun did not seem to be current on tensions between
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the GoT. When asked, for
example, about recent controversy surrounding a youth summer
camp sponsored by Bartholomew (ISTANBUL 1333; ANKARA 4653),
Ozcoskun waved it off. "There's always something," he said. He
claimed that Bartholomew was trying to become "the pope of the
Orthodox," but suggested that tensions among the various
patriarchs, particularly with Moscow, would thwart his goals.

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Comment
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7. (C) The Holy See is still considering the Istanbul trip,
though at World Youth Day in Cologne August 20, the Vatican
spokesman said that nothing had been fixed on the calendar. A
curial contact told us August 25 that he "wouldn't bet the
grocery money" on the trip actually happening, but others have
noted the strong appeal to Pope Benedict of making a grand
gesture for Catholic-Orthodox relations. The thrust for him and
for many would be this ecumenical relationship, but there would
be no escaping the diplomatic subtext of Turkey and the EU. As
for Ozcoskun, we had not had substantial contact with him before
this farewell call. He does not seem to have been very active
in the Vatican diplomatic corps, and is certainly happy to be
heading back to Ankara now.

SANDROLINI


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2005VATICA00515 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL