GOT IRAQ ENVOY SEES POSITIVE SIGNALS FROM GOI ON

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001337 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/30/2027 TAGS: PREL PTER ENRG ETRD TU IZ SY SUBJECT: GOT IRAQ ENVOY SEES POSITIVE SIGNALS FROM GOI ON PKK, STILL SEEKS CLARITY ON SHARM FOLLOW-ON MECHANISMS REF: A. BAGHDAD 1793 ¶B. ANKARA 1199 AND PREVIOUS ¶C. ANKARA 822 Classified By: POLCouns Janice G. Weiner for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (S/NF) Summary: GOT Special Envoy Celikkol was encouraged by his May 27-28 visit to Baghdad, he told the Ambassador May ¶30. PM Maliki welcomed increased Turkey-Iraq cooperation and sent positive signals on the PKK, as did other politicians (even including DPM Salih). Celikkol said he was told that the Kirkuk referendum will be postponed beyond 2007, but was frustrated that he could make no headway on post-Sharm follow-up mechanisms. Maliki apparently welcomes continued Turkish efforts to reach out to Sunni Arabs, but Sunni politicians themselves remain downbeat. In a separate meeting with us, Celikkol urged direct U.S. engagement with Syria on foreign fighters. End summary. ¶2. (C) GOT Special Envoy for Iraq Celikkol briefed the Ambassador May 30 on his May 27-28 visit to Baghdad, where he met PM Maliki, Vice Presidents Abdel Mahdi and Hashimi, DPM Salih (together with the Army Chief of Staff, Deputy FonMin, and Defense Minister),COR Speaker Mashadhani, UNAMI SRSG Qazi, and Amb. Crocker (ref a). Celikkol reported that Maliki received him warmly, and the PM was pleased with a letter Celikkol handed him from PM Erdogan. In the letter (full text in para. 8),Erdogan invited Iraqi Interior and Defense Ministry officials to come to Turkey to discuss GOT offers of assistance. Erdogan also expressed appreciation for the GOI's positive response to Turkey's April 9 diplomatic note requesting Iraq to take concrete steps against the PKK (ref c),adding that he hoped Turkey and Iraq could commence negotiations on a security agreement (as proposed by Turkey). ¶3. (C) According to Celikkol, Maliki wanted to increase cooperation with Turkey, and suggested establishing a "high commission" between the two countries (NFI). Maliki reportedly also told Celikkol that he would be seeing KRG PM Nechirvan Barzani later that same day and would talk to him about the PKK problem. Maliki repeated that Iraq should not be a base for any terrorist group. Celikkol told us that VP Abdel Mahdi also told him that he would raise the PKK with Barzani. Celikkol saw these comments as one of the first times GOI leaders had agreed to engage KRG authorities on this issue. In his meeting with DPM Salih, Celikkol said he was surprised when Salih suggested that intelligence sharing and -- as a last resort -- military options could be on the table for dealing with this problem. ¶4. (C) Celikkol said he felt encouraged that most interlocutors believed that the referendum on the future status of Kirkuk would be delayed until after 2007. He added that UNAMI D/SRSG Schulenberg would visit Ankara June 6 for further discussions on a possible UN role in the issue. ¶5. (C) Celikkol reported that -- to his frustration -- FonMin Zibari was away from Baghdad and no one else at the MFA would meet with him to discuss post-Sharm follow-up mechanisms. He said Turkey was prepared to host the working group (WG) on energy in Istanbul June 14-15, but was still awaiting GOI confirmation of those dates and the invitees. Celikkol confirmed that Turkey would be interested in hosting follow-on U.S.-Turkey-Iraq energy talks on the margins of the WG meeting. He added that Turkey still had heard nothing further from the Iraqis about the other two WGs or other post-Sharm follow-on mechanisms. ¶6. (S/NF) Celikkol told us that he emphasized to Maliki that Turkey wants to coordinate its efforts to bring Sunni Arabs into the political process with him through a "special channel," and that Maliki seemed to understand and appreciate this. However, Celikkol added that the major Sunni Arab politicians he saw -- Hashimi and Mashadhani -- were downbeat. Hashimi continued to complain that Maliki does not ANKARA 00001337 002 OF 003 include him in GOI decision-making. Mashadhani -- after asserting that the only neighbor he trusts is Turkey -- reportedly told Celikkol that Iran's influence continues to increase and that the Arab neighbors are pursuing "bad policies" in Iraq. ¶7. (S/NF) A team from MNF-I briefed Celikkol separately May 29 on foreign fighter flows through Syria into Iraq. Celikkol appreciated the briefing and said Turkey would continue to engage the SARG on the issue. Celikkol asked if there were plans to revive three-sided U.S.-Iraq-Syria discussions on security, and also urged direct U.S.-Syria dialogue on this specific issue, as follow-on to the Secretary's meeting with Syrian FonMin Muallem in Sharm. SIPDIS ¶8. (C) Text of Erdogan-Maliki letter (as informally translated from the Arabic by Embassy Baghdad): BEGIN TEXT May 23, 2007 His Excellency the Prime Minister, Your Excellency, as you know we share our neighbor and friend Iraq in its sufferings at this difficult juncture. One of the highest priorities of my country's foreign policy is for Iraq to overcome these difficulties, win the battle against terrorism, and establish anew a prosperous and stable State ready to regain its prominent position in the International Community. We realize that the restoration of stability in Iraq, of unity of its territories and people and of the authority of the central State, is so important as to be a key contributor to our region's stability. Based on this realization we provide all we can to support and continue to exert all efforts with you towards this joint aim, without pursuing hidden agendas. Turkey is ready for what we have already proposed to your government in the area of rebuilding the Iraqi Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defense and contributing in the training of the Iraqi Army and Police. We would like to invite delegations from these two Ministries to visit Turkey as soon as possible to confer together about what can be achieved in this regard. We realize the difficulty of the battle you are fighting against terrorism, which causes the death of dozens of innocent individuals and members of the security agencies daily. Turkey is also in a good position that makes it a central country at the forefront of the war against terrorism. We too have sustained many casualties because of terrorism and we have been afflicted and are still in pain due to the loss of our sons. Cooperation between us must proceed and continue to develop in this area. We have been pleased with your positive response in your memorandum of May 2007 to the memorandum we entrusted to your Ambassador in Ankara on April 9, 2007 regarding the efforts to prevent the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) from finding a safe haven in the north of Iraq. We wait for reinforcing this correct action with a step to officially list the PKK as a terrorist organization, announcing that to world opinion and ending the activities of the PKK cadres in the camps that exist in the north of Iraq. As you mention in your memo, we are also ready to enter discussions for reaching a cooperation agreement for combating terrorism and sign it as soon as possible. This agreement will be an important step that embodies the determination of Turkey and Iraq to cooperate in combating terrorism. There are many steps we could take towards developing our bilateral relations, especially in the area of economic ANKARA 00001337 003 OF 003 cooperation. As Your Excellency knows, the second Iraqi International Trade Fair was opened in the city of Ghaziantep, on May 23, 2007 and with the participation of two Iraqi Ministers and a large delegation of businessmen. There are no limits to the possibilities of our cooperation in these areas. We have to do our utmost to benefit from these possibilities and to guide our relations in the political and security areas towards the right channels. We have also agreed to your proposal to host the first meeting of the Energy Group within the context of the three working groups that were decided upon at the Sharm Al-Sheikh conference. In that Group, the issue of importing energy and oil derivatives to Iraq will be discussed. It is our opinion that the first meeting for this Group be held in Istanbul on June 14 and 15, 2007. We hope that this Group, at the level of experts from our two countries, will be able to consider in a detailed manner the subject of energy, especially oil and natural gas and within the context of the meetings which the Group will hold. For this purpose I will be sending our Ambassador Oguz Celikkol, special representative of our Government for Iraqi affairs, to discuss the matters of cooperation between our two countries and to convey to Your Excellency this message of good will. I take this opportunity to express to you my most sincere wishes and respect. Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN Prime Minister END TEXT Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON