TURKEY ON NOTICE THAT BUYUKANIT STATEMENT ON CBO

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 000875 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/12/2017 TAGS: MARR MOPS PREL PGOV IZ TU SUBJECT: TURKEY ON NOTICE THAT BUYUKANIT STATEMENT ON CBO UNHELPFUL REF: ANKARA 861 Classified By: AMBASSADOR ROSS WILSON FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Ambassador notified NSC SecGen Alpogan on April 13 that the statements by Chief of Staff Buyukanit on April 12 regarding Turkish Armed Forces support for a cross-border operation (CBO) into Iraq were harmful to US efforts to facilitate Iraqi cooperation on the PKK terrorist issue and not well-received in Washington. Alpogan took the message but warned that patience on the PKK issue is running out. He dismissed the possibility of a CBO in the near-term but urged US efforts to demonstrate progress on the issue, such as securing a strong Iraqi condemnation of the PKK and postponement of the Kirkuk referendum. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Ambassador told Alpogan that by making public statements in support of a CBO, Buyukanit had boxed in the Turkish government and his own military and made a difficult collaborative process with the Iraqis that much harder. Alpogan acknowledged his government's awareness of US unhappiness, noting the statement by A/S McCormack during yesterday's Department press briefing and A/S Fried's call to Ambassador Sensoy. NO CBO IN THE NEAR-TERM BUT PATIENCE RUNNING OUT -------------- --- ¶3. (C) Alpogan summarized his understanding of Buyukanit's message as follows: when necessary, Turkey could undertake such an action in accordance with international law, after obtaining parliamentary approval, but that all efforts are underway to try and reach a peaceful solution. Any Western commander in a democratic country would, according to Alpogan, support such a CBO. But, he added, "without a parliamentary decision, we will do nothing." ¶4. (C) There is no "political mood here in Parliament to let the military go across," Alpogan stated. Parliamentary speaker Arinc has announced that Parliament's work will be suspended from April 25 to May 16. After the selection of a new President on May 16, added Alpogan, "it will be hard to find anyone in the corridors." ¶5. (C) That said, Alpogan stressed, patience, especially during an election period, is running thin. The chatter about US inaction is increasing, as are accusations that the US is supporting Barzani -- as Buyukanit alluded in his speech. In Alpogan's view, Turkey is losing time while northern Iraq is getting strong economically -- turning into a "little America." Doing nothing, he said, increases the fever pitch of anti-Americanism. The statement issued by the NSC following the April 10 meeting noted the need to continue dialogue with the Iraqis but some concrete action is needed. REQUEST FOR SHORT TERM ACTIONS -------------- ¶6. (C) Doubts on the likelihood of a Kirkuk referendum this year are increasing, said Alpogan. A postponement of that referendum would have a positive impact on the climate in Turkey. A strong declaration by Iraq that the PKK is a terrorist organization would also be very helpful. If the US could facilitate these steps in the short-term, they would buy time for the harder steps, such as the arrest of PKK leaders and closure of PKK camps, and significantly improve the US image. Ambassador responded that, rather than press Iraq for a statement which is unlikely to meet Turkey's requirements, the US focus is on operationalizing the statement already made by Iraq that terrorist groups have no home on Iraqi soil. Gen. Ralston has been working very hard with Gen. Baser and the Iraqis towards this end, and we hope the Turkish government will continue to support these efforts. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON