TURKEY: PLANNING FOR CONSULTATIONS ON/WITH IRAQ

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 002279 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/SE AND NEA/I E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/06/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV IZ TU SUBJECT: TURKEY: PLANNING FOR CONSULTATIONS ON/WITH IRAQ REF: SATTERFIELD-WILSON 9/5/07 E-MAIL Classified By: Ambassador Ross Wilson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Turkey will participate in the September 8-9 senior officials meeting in Baghdad, during which GOT officials hope to determine a date for the expanded neighbors ministerial meeting in Istanbul. The GOT will propose the October 31-November 1 time frame. GOT officials will also participate in the Iraq ministerial at the UN on September 22, and will be looking for follow-on consultations with USG officials in Washington September 25-27. Turkey has still not received a positive reply from the GOI on its invitation for continued negotiations on bilateral agreements on border security, counter-terrorism, and economic cooperation and is hoping for USG help in pushing the GOI to move forward in its cooperation with the Turks. GOT officials also expressed concern about reports, if true, that USG officials, in tandem with a Kurdish delegation, have approached Turkmen and Arab leaders in Kirkuk in an effort to convince them to return to the provincial council. END SUMMARY NEIGHBORS PROCESS -------------- ¶2. (C) Turkey's Iraq Coordinator Amb. Celikkol plans to travel to Baghdad September 8-9 for the senior officials meeting of the neighbors process. Celikkol said he believes that although only neighboring countries will be fully participating in the meeting, other countries/institutions that engage in the expanded neighbors process will send observers from their missions in Baghdad. Celikkol said that after consulting with GOI counterparts, he understands that the weekend meetings will focus on achieving three principle results: - Receiving reports from the initial meetings of the three working groups and discussing their future; - Determining dates and a preliminary agenda for the Istanbul ministerial meeting of the expanded neighbors; and - Discussing the establishment of a permanent secretariat for the neighbors process ¶3. (C) Per ref e-mail, Turkey will propose the October 31-November 1 time frame for the Istanbul ministerial. UN IRAQ MINISTERIAL/BILATERAL CONSULTATIONS -------------- ¶4. (C) Celikkol plans to travel to New York on September 21 and will participate in the Iraq ministerial proposed by the UN. The Ambassador reviewed with Celikkol what the USG hopes to achieve at the meeting, which Celikkol saw as reasonable outcomes. Celikkol noted he also hopes to confer with USG officials on Iraq in Washington from the afternoon of September 25 to the morning of September 27. He expressed interest in meeting with officials at the State Department, including Amb. Satterfield, and at the National Security Council, as well as with Members of Congress and staff. He would also like to meet with Meghan O'Sullivan if she is in Washington at the time. Celikkol hopes to use these meetings to confer with us on preferred outcomes for the Istanbul ministerial, to discuss continued efforts to achieve political reconciliation in Iraq and how Turkey can continue to assist in that effort, and to discuss USG policy in Iraq following the release of the progress report. GOT/GOI NEGOTIATIONS ON SECURITY/ECONOMIC COOPERATION -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) The GOT has yet to receive a response from the GOI to its invitation for follow-on negotiations on bilateral agreements on border security, counter-terrorism, and economic cooperation, as agreed to by both prime ministers during PM Maliki's August 7-8 visit to Ankara. Celikkol ANKARA 00002279 002 OF 002 asked that we reiterate with our Iraqi contacts the utility of such agreements for Iraq's economic future and the establishment of strong bilateral ties with Turkey. Celikkol also noted that progress on these agreements would make it far easier for the GOT to reach out to Iraqi Kurds, including moving forward with an invitation from President Gul to President Talabani to visit Turkey. CONCERNS ABOUT ALLEGED APPROACH TO TURKMEN BY USG OFFICIALS IN KIRKUK -------------- -------------- ¶6. (C) Celikkol expressed concern about reports that have come to their attention regarding approaches by U.S. diplomats in Kirkuk to Turkmen and Arab political leaders. According to information the GOT has received, U.S. officials, together with a delegation of Kurdish officials, have approached these leaders in an effort to convince them to return to the provincial meclis. Celikkol said they feared the U.S. was using a heavy-handed approach in this effort, especially if it is true that Kurdish officials accompanied them. He added that the Turkmen in Kirkuk want what they believe is their fair share of control over provincial directorates, which they did not get after their boycott of the provincial meclis. Such a tangible result would facilitate their return to the provincial council. Ambassador observed that boycotting the political process has consequences, as the Sunnis discovered, but also indicated we would pass on GOT concerns. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON