TURKISH VIEWS ON OECD ENLARGEMENT

UNCLAS ANKARA 001132 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS PARIS FOR USOECD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECIN OECD TU SUBJECT: TURKISH VIEWS ON OECD ENLARGEMENT REF: STATE 62464 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Turkey supports Russian OECD membership because of Russia's importance to Turkey and because Turkey believes greater Russian participation in international fora will make Russia feel more secure. Keeping Cyprus out of the OECD is their top priority but Turkey is open to considering other new EU members. MFA officials do not expect Turkey to be represented at the ministerial level at next week's meeting because of the intense domestic political activity in Ankara. End Summary. -------------- No to Cyprus, Yes to Russia -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The Department Head responsible for OECD issues reiterated that Turkey's top priority in the enlargement debate is to keep Cyprus out of the OECD, although it could accept other EU-8 candidacies on a case-by-case basis. ¶3. (SBU) The MFA official complained about the inclusion of a Cypriot representative at the recent EDRC meeting, even though the legal advisor agreed with Turkey that non-members should not participate. She said the OECD should follow its own rules. ¶4. (SBU) Aside from joining a consensus in favor of admitting Israel and Chile, Turkey favors engagement and ultimate accession for the BRICS. For Turkey, the top of the list is Russia. She explained why Turkey attaches priority to Russia's candidacy (despite Russia and Turkey having been historic enemies). She said Russia is an increasingly important trade partner for Turkey with whom Turkey has very good political and economic relations. Moreover, Turkey believes that by including Russia in more international fora, such as the OECD and the WTO, Russia will come to feel more secure in its relations with the international community. ¶5. (SBU) MFA was not ready to comment on the financing issue. As a smaller contributor, Turkey is presumably opposed to changes that would increase its share of the organization's budget. -------------- Politics Keeps Minister at Home -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Although Minister of Finance Kemal Unakitan is officially still slated to lead the Turkish delegation to the MCM, MFA was sure he would not go to Paris because of the current intense political activity in Ankara. MFA Deputy Under Secretary Selim Kuneralp is expected to lead the delegation instead. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON