GLOBAL INITIATIVE TO COMBAT NUCLEAR TERRORISM:

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 001233 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2022 TAGS: PREL PTER KNNP ETTC CY TU SUBJECT: GLOBAL INITIATIVE TO COMBAT NUCLEAR TERRORISM: TURKEY DOWNGRADING ITS PARTICIPATION Classified By: Pol-Mil Counselor Carl Siebentritt for reasons 1.4 (b,d) . ¶1. (C) MFA Arms Control Deputy Director General Ahmet Gun called us and Russian polcouns Dimitri Zykov in on May 21 to notify us officially of the Turkish government's decision to lower its level of participation in the Global Initiative based on Cyprus' admission as a partner. Speaking on instructions, Gun made the following points: -- The GOT is disappointed that its entreaties to the GI co-chairs, including Gun's conversations with U/S Joseph and Russian Deputy FM Kislyak, that the admission of Cyprus would force Turkey to reconsider its own participation, went unheeded. -- The admission of Cyprus, in the GOT's view, contravenes language in the Ankara statement on importing political disputes into the GI and is contrary to Ankara's understanding from the Rabat and Ankara GI meetings that new partners would be admitted by consensus. -- Admitting Cyprus to the GI will, in the GOT's view, only encourage "southern Cyprus" intransigence vis-a-vis settlement of the Cyprus question. ¶2. (C) Accordingly, Gun stated, Turkish participation in the upcoming GI meeting in Astana will be at the level of second or third secretary, likely from Turkey's embassy there. Turkey will decide on its participation in future technical activities on a case-by-case basis. The Turkish government has also decided to cancel its workshop on information sharing against nuclear terrorism planned for 2008 and part of the GI workplan. ¶3. (C) When asked about the upcoming U.S. seminar for law enforcement officials in Miami, Gun opined that the GOT would not participate. He said that the MFA is in the process of notifying other GOT agencies of its decision to downgrade Turkish government participation in Global Initiative events. ¶4. (C) We and the Russian expressed disappointment at the Turkish decision and our hope that Turkey would continue to participate to the degree possible in GI activities. Zykov reported that the Cyprus government had assured Russia that it would not use GI activities to raise the Cyprus dispute, unless Turkish officials did so first. Gun replied that the GOT is not likely to reconsider its decision, expressing his personal disappointment that the co-chairs had chosen to ignore a key national issue for Turkey. ¶5. (C) Comment. We have no official word that the ten Turkish national police officers scheduled to attend the June workshop in Miami have canceled their participation, but we believe it is likely they will once the MFA's official decision becomes widely known. End Comment. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON