TURKISH MFA DISPLEASED WITH KRG DRAFT CONSTITUTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 006019

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/15/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER TU IZ
SUBJECT: TURKISH MFA DISPLEASED WITH KRG DRAFT CONSTITUTION

Classified By: Ambassador Wilson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Senior Turkish officials have told us that
the draft KRG constitution crosses several Turkish redlines,
and asked us to intervene with the Iraqi Kurds. From a
Turkish perspective, the draft seems almost designed to poke
this country in the eye and will further complicate the GOT's
engagement policy with Iraq, especially the Kurds. End
summary.


2. (C) In separate meetings Oct. 13, MFA U/S Tuygan (with
Ambassador) and GOT Iraq Special Envoy Celikkol (with DCM)
blasted the draft KRG constitution and asked us to intervene
with the Iraqi Kurds. In a separate meeting Oct. 16, PM/FM
foreign policy adviser Davutoglu delivered the same message.
Our interlocutors handed us a draft dated Aug. 22 they said
was from the KRG's website (forwarded to EUR/SE). These
officials highlighted the following issues:

-- The preamble refers to how the 1924 Treaty of Sevres gave
Kurds a right to self-determination, later taken away by the
1927 Treaty of Lausanne, that effectively established the
modern Republic of Turkey. Tuygan noted that any reference
to Sevres will be seen as an affront to Turkey and its people
and that if "our friends in Iraq refer to Sevres, it will be
a wrong step." Davutoglu said that mention of Sevres for
Turks means raising fundamental issues of war and peace.

-- In Article 2, Tuygan expressed Turkish concern about
"expansionist tendencies" in the text. The draft states
that, in addition to the three northern provinces, Iraqi
Kurdistan includes Kirkuk Governorate; Aqra, Al-Shaykhan,
Sinjar, Talafar, Tall Karf, Qarqush, Zammar, Ba'shiqah, and
Aski Kalak in Ninewah Governorate; Khanaqin and Mandali
subdistricts in Diyala Governorate; and Badra and Jassan in
Wasit Governorate. Davutoglu noted that the preamble also
refers to "southern Kurdistan," begging the question of where
the rest of Kurdistan may be located.

-- Tuygan also noted Article 8, which lays out the conditions
under which the Iraqi Kurds could exercise their right to
self-determination and secede from Iraq. Tuygan asserted that
the text had been changed from previous drafts in a way that
made it clear to Turkey that Iraq's future as a unified
country had been given less emphasis, and demonstrates "an
increased willingness to go forward with an independent state
at short notice." Tuygan predicted that both Sunnis and some
Shia groups would have problems as well with this "dangerous
tendency."


3. (C) Tuygan said various drafts have been circulated but he
understood that this was the latest one. He was not sure
what the timeline is for ratification. He said the GOT would
raise these concerns with the Iraqis without going into too
much detail, instead underlining general Turkish concerns on
the status of Kirkuk and oil revenue issues. (PM Maliki was
scheduled to visit Turkey Oct. 16-17, but his visit was
postponed due to a sandstorm in Iraq grounding his aircraft.)


4. (C) Celikkol warned that Turkish patience with the KRG --
Barzani in particular -- is running out. He asserted that
Turkey has reached out to the Iraqi Kurds repeatedly through
large-scale investment, allowing direct flights from
Kurdistan to Istanbul (and the ability for Iraqis to buy
visas at the Turkish port of entry),and other measures. But
Barzani interprets Turkish cooperation as weakness and
continues to push for more. Celikkol told us that public
opinion and resistance within the GOT have blocked him and
the Turkish ambassador in Baghdad from meeting with Barzani
and other KRG officials.


5. (C) The Ambassador and DCM undertook to relay Turkey's
concerns to Washington. Ambassador noted the President's
remarks early this month about Iraqi sovereignty, the need
for the U.S. and Turkey to consult on Iraq issues, and the
importance of Turkey taking up its concerns directly with the
Iraqi authorities. He urged that Turkey do so in this case,
as well.

ANKARA 00006019 002 OF 002




6. (C) Comment: Iraqi Kurdish approval of the Treaty of
Sevres and denigration of the Lausanne Treaty -- in the
preamble of the KRG constitution no less -- is bound to raise
Turkish ire and suspicion. For Turks, Sevres was the
instrument by which the World War I Allies vivisected the
Ottoman Empire; Lausanne guaranteed the legitimacy of the
nascent Turkish Republic and drew the country's current
boundaries. Kurdish designs not only on Kirkuk but also on
the predominantly Turkmen town of Talafar are an additional
large bone of contention for Turkey. If this kind of
language remains in the KRG constitution, it will create
headaches for the GOT and further complicate already
problematic relations.

Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/

WILSON