TURKEY LIKELY TO SEEK COMPENSATION FOR F-16

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 003549 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/14/2016 TAGS: PREL MOPS MARR NATO TU GR SUBJECT: TURKEY LIKELY TO SEEK COMPENSATION FOR F-16 COLLISION REF: A. ANKARA 3387 AND PREVIOUS ¶B. ANKARA 3542 Classified By: Counselor for Political-Military Affairs Timothy A. Bett s for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) In his weekly press briefing on June 14, MFA Spokesman Namik Tan -- in apparently attempting to dodge a loaded question from a reporter -- stated that Turkey may seek compensation for the F-16 Turkey lost in the mid-air collision with a Greek F-16 on May 23. Tan tersely confirmed that if a report on the incident finds Greece at fault, compensation will come to the agenda. He refused to elaborate further, but this was nonetheless a major story in the Turkish press on June 15. ¶2. (C) We contacted MFA Deputy Director General for Maritime and Aviation Affairs Vakur Gokdenizler to follow up. Gokdenizler reported that the TUAF was in the preliminary stages of its investigation (press reports erroneously claimed this was a joint MFA-TGS report). He said it would be normal for both sides to reserve their rights to claim against whichever party was proven to be at fault. He believed this was a prudent position for the GOT to take. ¶3. (C) We asked why Turkey felt it necessary to speak publicly on this issue. Gokdenizler responded that a person whose car had been destroyed by a rear-end collision would have the right to request compensation. However, he admitted that it had been premature for the spokesman to go public since the investigation is only in the early stages. He speculated that Tan had been caught flat-footed by a reporter's question and said more than he should have. He was not aware that Ankara had made any decision on whether to claim compensation. The GOT would want to see the TUAF investigation results before deciding how to proceed. ¶4. (C) COMMENT: As noted ref a, we will continue to advise the GOT to work to ease tensions in the Aegean. END COMMENT. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON