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