TURKEY: SANCTIONS ON SUDAN HIGHLY UNLIKELY

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 001335 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/31/2017 TAGS: PREL ETRD ETTC UN SU TU SUBJECT: TURKEY: SANCTIONS ON SUDAN HIGHLY UNLIKELY REF: A. STATE 73693 ¶B. ANKARA 469 Classified By: Political Counselor Janice Weiner for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (C) According to Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, Turkey is highly unlikely to implement unilateral economic sanctions against Sudan. Raif Karaca, MFA Department Head for Africa, told us May 31 that the GOT would not get out front on economic or other sanctions against Khartoum, especially given relatively close historical ties between ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) officials and President Bashir's National Congress Party. Karaca noted the GOT does honor the European Union's ban on arms sales to Sudan and has turned down several requests of Sudanese companies in recent years to purchase small arms. ¶2. (SBU) Karaca said about 120 Turkish companies currently operate in or have invested in the Sudanese economy, accounting for nearly 200 million dollars in investment. The largest single project being undertaken by Turkish business in Sudan is probably the El Mek Nemir bridge project in North Khartoum being built by Yapi Merkezi Construction. The bridge is nearing completion. ¶3. (C) Despite Karaca's belief that further GOT sanctions would be unlikely absent a UN Security Council resolution, he requested a full listing of the companies being sanctioned by the United States so that their activities, if any, in Turkey could be tracked. We provided the list from the OFAC website and urged Karaca to keep us informed if anything comes to light. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON