TURKEY SUPPORTS ENGAGING GEORGIA IN NATO'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 001790 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/26/2016 TAGS: MARR PREL GG TU NATO SUBJECT: TURKEY SUPPORTS ENGAGING GEORGIA IN NATO'S INTENSIFIED DIALOGUE REF: A. STATE 51994 ¶B. ANKARA 1557 Classified By: Political Military Counselor Timothy A. Betts for reason s 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) We contacted MFA NATO Affairs Deputy Director General Serdar Kilic on April 3 to urge support for NATO's engaging Georgia, delivering ref a points. Kilic recalled Turkey's long-standing support for eventual Georgian entry into Euro-Atlantic institutions, and undertook to provide a considered response on April 4 following interagency consultations. ¶2. (C) During his April 4 meeting with visiting EUR DAS Matt Bryza, MFA Deputy Undersecretary Rafet Akgunay declared Turkey's support for NATO's engaging Georgia in Intensified Dialogue. Despite rumors to the contrary, he said, "there is no hesitation in this building" in support of Georgia's NATO aspirations. Bryza noted that ID was only the first step and the USG hoped the Alliance would be willing to move forward with a Membership Action Plan before the Riga Summit. Akgunay did not respond. (Note: Turkish President Sezer told the Georgians last month that a Georgian MAP required more thought -- ref b. End note.) ¶3. (C) We followed up with Kilic after the Bryza-Akgunay meeting to ask whether Turkey would go beyond support for the ID and actively encourage reluctant allies. Kilic said he needed another day to answer that question. (Comment: With discussion of this subject scheduled for April 5 in Brussels, we expect USNATO will learn how active the Turks will support this initiative before we do. End Comment.) Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON