TURKEY: MFA DISCUSSES UNSC PREPARATIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 001885 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/29/2018 TAGS: PREL UNSC TU SUBJECT: TURKEY: MFA DISCUSSES UNSC PREPARATIONS REF: RICE-BABACAN 10/23/2008 LETTER Classified By: DCM Doug Silliman, for reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (C) This is an action request for the Department. Please see para 4 below. ¶2. (C) MFA Director General for Multilateral Political Affairs Hasan Gogus told DCM October 26 the GOT has begun initial preparations for Turkey's 2009-2011 non-permanent UNSC tenure. Gogus reported MFA has yet to decide whether Turkey's Mission in New York or the Foreign Ministry in Ankara will take the lead in the decision making process, noting that it may be issue driven. To accommodate the increased workload that comes with UNSC membership, the MFA plans to plus up its UN Mission with a second ambassador and 5-6 additional staff which will constitute a separate UNSC section. In Ankara, MFA officials are still debating how to deal with the additional workload. Gogus said that the MFA has not yet decided on which issues the UN Department will take the lead on and on which the appropriate regional office will take the lead. ¶3. (C) Per the offer in the Secretary's letter to FM Babacan, the MFA is preparing a delegation to visit Washington for UNSC consultations. Gogus asked at what level the Turkish delegation would be received and what the structure and duration of the consultations would be. He asked for suggestions on appropriate level and composition of the delegation, and whether the trip would include visits to both Washington and New York. ¶4. (C) ACTION REQUEST: IO/UNP and USUN please provide answers to Ambassador Gogus' questions above. Information e-mailed answers are fine. Please contact Embassy Ankara's UNSC coordinator PolOff Jenifer Moore. ¶4. (C) COMMENT: The MFA's UN Department is located in a somewhat run-down annex on a side street near the gleaming new MFA complex. Its physical location and state underscore that Turkey has not placed great emphasis on its UN policy, preferring to work through other groups like NATO and OSCE. Domestic critics within the bureaucracy, academia, and the media have already begun to question whether Turkey -- which has been shy in taking firm position on UN issues outside its core interests -- will be able to face the hard policy choices as an UNSC non-permanent member. Nevertheless, in the week since winning the UNSC seat, the MFA has begun to contemplate seriously how it is going to deal with both the increased workload and the influx of new issues with which Turkey will have to grapple on the UNSC. Washington consultations will be crucial in helping the MFA understand Turkey's important new role and focus on the new issues it will face. We should seek out and take advantage of all opportunities to educate the Turkish MFA and senior policy makers on UNSC issues through expert visits, briefings, and demarches. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey WILSON