F-16 VIOLATION OF TURKISH AIRSPACE: PRESS

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 001300 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/29/2022 TAGS: MARR MOPS TU IZ SUBJECT: F-16 VIOLATION OF TURKISH AIRSPACE: PRESS MANUFACTURES A CONTROVERSY REF: A. ANKARA 01291 ¶B. CENTAF-ODC ANKARA E-MAIL Classified By: DCM NANCY MCELDOWNEY FOR REASONS 1.4 (B,D). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) The Turks first contacted us on May 24 to raise what they described as an obvious unintended violation of their airspace earlier in the day (ref a). In that discussion, D/CHOD Saygun told DCM that he was bringing the issue to our attention simply to avoid accidents in the future. We subsequently confirmed that this flight had been on an Air Tasking Order filed with the Turkish Air Force. On May 25 the Turkish General Staff posted information about the incident on its website, called journalists to alert them to the posting, and thus sparked a growing controversy in the Turkish media. In this highly charged pre-election milieu, even the smallest issue can be blown into a controversy. That, combined with intense frustration about PKK terrorism from northern Iraq, makes it essential that we proceed with great care at this juncture. End Summary. Turkish Notification of Violation -------------- ¶2. (C) MFA Deputy Director General for Maritime and Aviation Affairs Basat Ozturk urgently summoned us May 29 to deliver a diplomatic note describing the violation of Turkish airspace by two U.S. F-16 aircraft operating in northern Iraq on May 24 (ref a). The note (faxed to EUR/SE) was accompanied by a list of grid coordinates indicating that the F-16s violated Turkish airspace at three different points for a total of four minutes between 1146 hours and 1201 hours local time. Ozturk asked for an explanation of the violation and measures in place to prevent a recurrence. He stressed that the Turkey-Iraq border is a particularly sensitive area, noting that Turkish forces are conducting intensive operations against PKK terrorists operating in southeastern Turkey and along the border area. ¶3. (C) In accordance with information received from CENTAF (ref b),we acknowledged that a violation occurred and explained that it was unintentional and the result of pilot error. We assured Ozturk that measures are being taken at the unit level to ensure airspace violations do not occur in the future. We noted to Ozturk that the U.S. provides Air Tasking Order (ATO) information to Turkish authorities on a routine basis to prevent accidental confrontations and to maintain transparency of U.S. air operations in northern Iraq. The Turkish Air Force has also been provided an emergency contact number at MNFI CAOC for use in emergencies. ¶4. (C) Our Defense Attache was called into Turkish General Staff (TGS) headquarters at the same time and queried about the violation and U.S. measures to prevent a repetition. He provided the same response. Press Reaction -- A U.S. Challenge? -------------- ¶5. (U) In reaction to press speculation that the TGS had not informed the MFA in a timely fashion of the incident, reflecting growing tension between the military and government in the run-up to July 22 parliamentary elections, the MFA released a press statement on May 29. The statement asserts the ministry was informed of the incident by the Turkish General Staff on the same day it occurred, has followed normal procedures and, once technical details were available, has approached the U.S. Embassy. ¶6. (C) The Turkish General Staff posted the airspace violation on its website the afternoon of May 27, in a part of the site routinely used to chronicle alleged violations of Turkish airspace by Greek and occasionally other (e.g. Syrian) aircraft. Deputy Chief of Defense GEN Ergin Saygun told a visiting Codel that the TGS posting was purely routine and not done to draw attention to the incident (Comment. There is evidence, however, that the TGS called reporters to alert them to the web posting. End Comment). Subsequently, the incident has received and continues to receive front page press attention here, with some papers describing the violation as a "challenge" to Turkey and a warning that the GOT should not consider a cross-border operation against PKK camps in northern Iraq. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON