TRILATERAL PKK TALKS: TURKISH THINKING ON NEXT

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 003643 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/19/2016 TAGS: PTER PREL MOPS MARR TU IZ IR SUBJECT: TRILATERAL PKK TALKS: TURKISH THINKING ON NEXT ROUND REF: ANKARA 3607 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Pol-Mil Counselor Timothy A. Betts for reasons 1.4 (b) a nd (d). ¶1. (C) MFA Director General for Security Affairs (S/CT-equivalent) Hayati Guven called us in June 20 to provide us the latest GOT thinking on preparing for trilateral (U.S.-Turkey-Iraq) talks on the PKK. He reported that he had discussed the matter with Undersecretary Tuygan and senior ministry staff, and that Tuygan had instructed Guven to lead interagency preparations and head the Turkish delegation for the talks. ¶2. (C) Guven emphasized that the talks should be well-prepared and produce tangible results. He plans to compile a "shopping list" of steps that the U.S., Turkey, and/or Iraq could take against the PKK in Iraq. Once he clears this list through the Turkish interagency, he will share it with us, but he will probably not be prepared to do so until the second week of July. He asked that we in turn share the list with the GOI and get the Iraqi reaction. We suggested that instead Turkey discuss the list directly with the Iraqis as well. GOI officials might have their own ideas on measures they may be prepared to offer. Guven took this on board. (COMMENT: We will continue to press the GOT to respect Iraq's sovereignty and not to treat us as a middleman. END COMMENT.) ¶3. (C) Guven believes the timing of the next round will depend on the preparatory process. If all three sides quickly indicate consensus on certain measures, the meeting could take place by late July. But, he continued, this seems unlikely, and it will be difficult to schedule talks for August, Turkey's traditional holiday period. Thus the talks could take place in late August or early September. ¶4. (C) As for venue, Guven bluntly stated that Turkey prefers the talks be held outside of Turkey to limit press coverage. He said this will be especially important if the talks appear unlikely to produce significant results. If it appears that the sides may reach consensus on concrete steps that could be credibly touted to the Turkish people, however, the GOT may prefer to hold the talks here. He requested that we delay real discussion on venue until the substantive preparations progress further. Finally, Guven expects that the next round should not/not narrowly focus on law enforcement and legal matters, as the last round (in Aug. 2005) did. The talks should focus on a range of options to fight the PKK, he said. Guven hoped to hear the USG's reaction to this approach this week, if possible. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON