TURKEY/IRAN: FM MOTTAKI TO VISIT ANKARA JULY 17-18

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 001256 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/11/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV IR TU SUBJECT: TURKEY/IRAN: FM MOTTAKI TO VISIT ANKARA JULY 17-18 Classified By: DCM Doug Silliman, reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (C) FM Mottaki is planning to visit Ankara, July 17-18 (arriving the evening of July 17),according to MFA DDG for South Asia and Iran Babur Hizlan. Mottaki had previously indicated to the Turks an intention to visit Turkey following internal discussion on the refreshed P5 1 package. FM Babacan has met Mottaki on three occasions recently: June 15, at the Afghanistan Donors' Conference in Paris, June 20, at the OIC Foreign Ministers meeting in Kampala, and, most recently, July 8, at D8 meetings in Kuala Lumpur. Mottaki -- a former Ambassador to Ankara -- has reportedly told Babacan he has some new ideas to involve Turkey more actively in the negotiating process. Hizlan said Turkey will listen, but is "not eager" for such a role Turkey provided a venue last year for Solana-Larijani talks, but Hizlan could not say whether the Iranians are considering something more than a venue this time around. The Turks, he implied, would want to facilitate, not interfere with, the Solana-Jalili negotiating track. ¶2. (C) Babacan also met with Ahmadinejad in Malaysia. His meeting with the Iranian president ran longer than his meeting with Mottaki, according to Hizlan, but he described both as short bilaterals. Babacan reportedly encouraged the Iranian side "not to lose this opportunity." He described Babacan's tone as "neighborly -- friendly but frank." Turkey is under no illusions that the international community is on the cusp of a dramatic breakthrough with the Iranians; it is well familiar with Iran's usual operating mode: listen, repeat well worn statements, reject, listen some more. New things, Hizlan said, come slowly from the Iranians. Suspending enrichment, the Turks believe, will be very hard for the Iranians to accept and he suggested it will ultimately be up to the United States to somehow break this logjam. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey WILSON