TURKEY EAGER TO COOPERATE ON CENTRAL ASIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000489 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/27/2022 TAGS: PREL PGOV TX AJ UZ TI AF KG TU SUBJECT: TURKEY EAGER TO COOPERATE ON CENTRAL ASIA ANKARA 00000489 001.2 OF 002 Classified by Deputy Polcouns Kelly Degnan for Reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Turkish government officials agreed with SCA DAS Evan Feigenbaum to explore complementary cooperation where possible on our approaches to Central Asia (septel). Representatives from the Turkish General Staff, the Turkish International Cooperation Administration, the Foreign Trade Secretariat and the Ministry of Transportation elaborated on SIPDIS Turkish involvement in Central Asia in meetings February 26 and offered ideas for future collaboration. End Summary. -------------- Military Cooperation -------------- ¶2. (C) Turkish General Staff J5 LTG Hilmi Zorlu enumerated Turkish military support to the Central Asian nations, to include the training to date of nearly 900 Central Asian military personnel in Turkish service academies, civilian universities and the Partnership for Peace training center. The Turkish military is focusing its training efforts on changing the mentality of younger officers and soldiers. Turkey advocates a slow, steady approach to Central Asia to avoid exacerbating Russian concerns. ¶3. (C) Feigenbaum briefed Zorlu on U.S. efforts to develop more robust security relationships with Central Asia, through NATO,s Partnership for Peace, the establishment of military bases such as Manas in Kyrgyzstan, and provision of training and equipment. The U.S. and Turkey would benefit from coordinated its approaches and messages to Central Asian nations. As a fellow NATO member with troops in Afghanistan, Feigenbaum asked for Zorlu,s support in convincing Kyrgyzstan of the importance of our continued use of Manas airbase to our efforts in Afghanistan. Zorlu stressed the importance of combining military assistance with economic aid for civilian populations. He and Feigenbaum agreed that we can both work with Kazakhstan, while Uzbekistan will be more difficult. We are just beginning to establish a dialogue with Turkmenistan, taking advantage of openings following Niyazov,s death in December, Zorlu said. ¶4. (C) Feigenbaum explained the U.S. strategy of promoting energy competition and free markets in Central Asia. We do not demand Central Asians scrap existing contracts with Russia, but rather encourage them to consider alternatives 
for new production. Zorlu highlighted persistent Russian attempts to "break up" development of east-west energy corridors by promoting north-south alternatives through Armenia and Iran, or by trying to financially dominate these corridors in the case of the Burgas route through Bulgaria and Greece. Feigenbaum suggested that Turkey continue to encourage good relations between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan on energy and other issues. -------------- Development Collaboration Possibilities -------------- ¶5. (C) In his meeting with Turkish International Cooperation Administration (USAID equivalent) Acting President Mustafa Sahin, Feigenbaum called for dialogue and cooperation with Turkey on providing assistance to Central Asia. Sahin described TICA as employing a "demand-driven" approach and noted that they had field offices in all five of the Central Asian countries. Moreover, over half of all TICA,s assistance goes to the Central Asia and Caucasus countries. Feigenbaum proposed that there be contact between TICA and USAID at the field office level and that the TICA President visit USAID in Washington, in part to discuss USAID's democracy capacity building assistance. Sahin offered that while TICA did not provide democracy building assistance, all of the TICA assistance contributed indirectly to this goal. ANKARA 00000489 002 OF 002 He opined that although Uzbekistan was a difficult partner, TICA maintains programs there related to activities supporting vocational training, pistachio nuts, seeds, and greenhouses. -------------- Foreign Trade Opportunities -------------- ¶6. (C) DAS Feigenbaum's meeting with Hasan Yalcin, Deputy Director General for Agreements at the Foreign Trade Undersecretariat (FTU),focused on U.S. efforts to improve the investment climate in the five Central Asian Republics. Feigenbaum cited the significant U.S. investment in these countries and encouraged Turkish it point for Caspian oil and gas and would be open to future collaborative efforts. He suggested that this topic could be included in the upcoming U.S.-Turkey Trade and Investment Framework Agreement Council meeting, tentatively scheduled for late March or early April. -------------- Transportation Options -------------- ¶7. (C) In a meeting with Suat Hayri Aka, Deputy Undersecretary of Transport and Communications, Deutsch described current efforts to improve roadways and air travel in this region to compensate for the lack of railways. He focused on efforts to improve the customs services in these countries and to expand and improve civil aviation. U/S Aka agreed that these countries could learn from Turkish Airlines' experience in the region and that perhaps Turkish construction companies could play a role in these projects. He expressed Turkey's interest in future collaboration. ¶8. (U) SCA DAS Feigenbaum cleared this message. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON