TURKEY: VISIT OF PALESTINIAN NUG "OUT OF QUESTION"

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 000734 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/30/2017 TAGS: PREL KPAL IS TU SUBJECT: TURKEY: VISIT OF PALESTINIAN NUG "OUT OF QUESTION" Classified By: CDA Nancy McEldowney for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) The GOT has flatly rejected press reports suggesting an imminent visit of Palestinian National Unity Government (NUG) officials to Turkey. Both publicly and privately, the Turks have told us that Erdogan's March 28 meeting with Abbas (on the margins of the Arab League Summit in Riyadh) was subsequently joined by other Palestinian officials, including Haniyeh. The Turks have stressed that Erdogan's meeting was with Abbas as head of the Palestinian delegation and Erdogan addressed only Abbas. At the end of the meeting, Erdogan made a general statement to Abbas about visiting Turkey, but did not convey a specific invitation nor mention any timeframe. We understand that Foreign Minister Gul has spoken to Congressman Lantos to clarify the facts and will be reaching out to Secretary Rice as well. ¶2. (U) On March 30, Prime Ministry spokesman Akif Beki issued the following statement in response to a taken question. Begin Text: Q: There have been several comments in the media regarding the contacts of our Prime Minister with officials of the Palestinian National Administration in Riyadh. Will there be a visit from Palestine to Ankara in the forthcoming days? A: Our Prime Minister had a meeting with the Palestinian National Administration delegation headed by Mr. Mahmut Abbas on the margins of the Arab League Summit. Mr. Abbas came to this meeting along with the National Unity Government Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and other Palestinian officials. Our Prime Minister exchanged views with the delegation headed by Mr. Abbas on the solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and discussed recent developments. The Palestinian National Unity Government is newly established. It is facing many problems. Resolving them will contribute to the Peace Process. At the meeting, our PM conveyed a general invitation to the head of the delegation, Mr. Abbas. Our PM, during the press conference he held jointly with Israeli PM Olmert, clearly expressed this aspect but at this stage a visit is out of the question. The reports that appeared in newspapers yesterday were not reflecting the truth. End Text Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ MCELDOWNEY