TURKEY OPPOSES BLANKET MTCR OUTREACH, CONCERNED

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 001841 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE, ISN/MTR FOR DURHAM E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/22/2018 TAGS: MTCRE ETTC PREL PARM KSCA TU SUBJECT: TURKEY OPPOSES BLANKET MTCR OUTREACH, CONCERNED ABOUT CYPRUS REF: STATE 106288 Classified By: Pol-Mil Counselor Anthony Godfrey, Reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (C) MFA Nonproliferation and Disarmament Head of Section Mustafa Yurdakul convoked us on October 17 to raise GOT concerns about the US proposal on technical outreach at the MTCR (reftel). Yurdakul, who will lead the Turkish delegation to the MTCR Plenary in Canberra , said while Turkey supports the general principle of MTCR outreach to non-partners, Turkey continues to support a case-by-case approach for selecting the non-partners with whom MTCR engages in outreach. He emphasized that Turkey would not support a "one size fits all" approach on reaching out to non-members. Yurdakul said the Turkish delegation to the MTCR Plenary will be prepared to defend this position and asked the US to take Turkey's position into consideration. When asked whether Turkey's position is related to Cyprus, Yurdakul acknowledged that MTCR outreach to and potential membership for Cyprus would be "politically problematic" for Turkey. We reminded Yurkdakul that the purpose for MTCR is to promote international cooperation to fight the global threat of missile technology proliferation, and that expanding the adoption of MTCR guidelines and standards by interested non-members is in our common interest. Yurdakul accepted our point, but reiterated that Turkey cannot agree to issue a "blank check" on MTCR outreach to or admission of new partners, and said again that Turkey will argue for a "case-by-case" approach in Canberra. ¶2. (C) Comment: The GOT has opposed Cyprus' membership in or even contact with any international organization or regime in which Turkey is a member and Cyprus is not. Yurdakul's comments echo Turkey's position in opposing Cypriot participation in the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GI). In the case of GI, Turkey was initially an enthusiastic partner, hosting the second meeting of GI partners in February 2007. Since Cyprus joined GI, Turkey has dramatically scaled back its engagement in GI activities. While unfortunate, we can expect the GOT to take a similar approach regarding MTCR outreach to and membership for Cyprus. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey WILSON