Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07ANKARA598
2007-03-15 15:56:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Ankara
Cable title:
TURKEY/GREECE/NATO: NOBLE ARCHER CANCELLATION AND
how-toVZCZCXYZ0027 OO RUEHWEB DE RUEHAK #0598 0741556 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 151556Z MAR 07 FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1347 INFO RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RHMFISS/39ABG INCIRLIK AB TU PRIORITY RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J-3/J-5// PRIORITY RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU PRIORITY RUEHAK/USDAO ANKARA TU PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 000598
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/15/2017
TAGS: PREL MARR MOPS NATO GR TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY/GREECE/NATO: NOBLE ARCHER CANCELLATION AND
STATUS OF AGIOS EFSTRATIOS
REF: A. ATHENS 0459
B. ATHENS 0550
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Nancy McEldowney for reasons 1.4
(b,d).
C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 000598
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/15/2017
TAGS: PREL MARR MOPS NATO GR TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY/GREECE/NATO: NOBLE ARCHER CANCELLATION AND
STATUS OF AGIOS EFSTRATIOS
REF: A. ATHENS 0459
B. ATHENS 0550
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Nancy McEldowney for reasons 1.4
(b,d).
1. (C) We understand the commander of the NATO Air Component
Command in Izmir cancelled NATO involvement in the February
27 Noble Archer exercise in the Aegean after Greek
authorities posted a NOTAM that included the island of
Limnos, whose demilitarized status is in dispute. MFA Deputy
Director General for Aviation and Maritime Affairs Basat
Ozturk, a NATO veteran who handles Aegean issues, told us
March 15 that the MFA was taken by surprise by the Greek
reaction to the cancellation and concerns over the island of
Agios Efstratios.
2. (C) He said the MFA had taken no position in the decision
on the exercise, nor has it presented any new position on
Aegean issues at NATO or elsewhere since then. He attributed
the exercise cancellation to poor communication between NATO
components, from Brussels down to the CAOC level. Ozturk
said the Secretary General had queried Turkey's NATO permrep,
who had merely advised that NATO should maintain its
traditional neutral stance in Greece-Turkey disputes.
3. (C) Ozturk said the MFA has been following the issue in
the Greek press, since Greece has not approached Turkey
through any official channels. A senior Greek Embassy
official had visited his department March 15 and had not
mentioned the issue. He said that numerous channels exist
for the Greeks to express their concerns, including the
scheduled March 22 Turkey-GreeQ Steering Group meeting at
the political director level where Aegean confidence-building
measures are on the agenda.
4. (C) We recommend the Department refer specific queries
about the cancellation of Noble Archer to NATO. We should
stick to our standing guidance on Greece-Turkey Aegean issues
if asked about the status of Agios Efstratios. Injecting
ourselves into this latest dispute, merely a new variation on
an old theme, runs the risk of appearing to undermine NATO
decision-making and needlessly places the US squarely in the
middle of the controversy.
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/
WILSON
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/15/2017
TAGS: PREL MARR MOPS NATO GR TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY/GREECE/NATO: NOBLE ARCHER CANCELLATION AND
STATUS OF AGIOS EFSTRATIOS
REF: A. ATHENS 0459
B. ATHENS 0550
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Nancy McEldowney for reasons 1.4
(b,d).
1. (C) We understand the commander of the NATO Air Component
Command in Izmir cancelled NATO involvement in the February
27 Noble Archer exercise in the Aegean after Greek
authorities posted a NOTAM that included the island of
Limnos, whose demilitarized status is in dispute. MFA Deputy
Director General for Aviation and Maritime Affairs Basat
Ozturk, a NATO veteran who handles Aegean issues, told us
March 15 that the MFA was taken by surprise by the Greek
reaction to the cancellation and concerns over the island of
Agios Efstratios.
2. (C) He said the MFA had taken no position in the decision
on the exercise, nor has it presented any new position on
Aegean issues at NATO or elsewhere since then. He attributed
the exercise cancellation to poor communication between NATO
components, from Brussels down to the CAOC level. Ozturk
said the Secretary General had queried Turkey's NATO permrep,
who had merely advised that NATO should maintain its
traditional neutral stance in Greece-Turkey disputes.
3. (C) Ozturk said the MFA has been following the issue in
the Greek press, since Greece has not approached Turkey
through any official channels. A senior Greek Embassy
official had visited his department March 15 and had not
mentioned the issue. He said that numerous channels exist
for the Greeks to express their concerns, including the
scheduled March 22 Turkey-GreeQ Steering Group meeting at
the political director level where Aegean confidence-building
measures are on the agenda.
4. (C) We recommend the Department refer specific queries
about the cancellation of Noble Archer to NATO. We should
stick to our standing guidance on Greece-Turkey Aegean issues
if asked about the status of Agios Efstratios. Injecting
ourselves into this latest dispute, merely a new variation on
an old theme, runs the risk of appearing to undermine NATO
decision-making and needlessly places the US squarely in the
middle of the controversy.
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/
WILSON