TURKEY: EXPORT CONTROL INTERAGENCY CONTEMPLATING NEXT STEPS IN NONPRO COOPERATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 001942 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE, EUR/PRA, ISN/ECC, ISN/CPI; DOE FOR NNSA TOBEY, BIENIAWSKI, FINK E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/06/2018 TAGS: KETTC KNNP KSTC MNUC PARM PREL TU SUBJECT: TURKEY: EXPORT CONTROL INTERAGENCY CONTEMPLATING NEXT STEPS IN NONPRO COOPERATION REF: A. STATE 114915 ¶B. STATE 115771 ¶C. ANKARA 1721 ¶D. ANKARA 950 Classified By: Pol-Mil Counselor A. Godfrey, Reasons 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (C) We delivered letters from DOE/NNSA Deputy Administrator Will Tobey (Ref a) and ISN/ECC Director Yvette Wong (ref b) to MFA Nonproliferation and Disarmament DDG Ahmet Gun on November 3. He thanked us for the letters and provided a readout of the October 24 meeting of the interagency Export Control Board (ECB),which he chaired. Gun said the ECB took stock of the US offers for cooperation discussed at the September 17-18 Export Control and Nonproliferation Seminar (ref c) and agreed to reconvene on November 21 to identify specific areas of cooperation that each of the Turkish agencies would like to pursue. He said GOT will continue to emphasize developing indigenous capabilities in its cooperation with the US. Gun underscored that the ECB's two immediate priorities are to provide a coherent response to the US proposals for cooperation and push through the draft export control legislation that was presented to parliament in June (ref d). Gun promised to work closely with us following the November 21 meeting to map out an action plan for bilateral cooperation in the field of nonproliferation, export control and related border security. ¶2. (C) Separately, EXBS Advisor met with Gun's deputy, Elif Ulgen on November 5. Ulgen informed EXBS Advisor that the MFA is now ready to allow him to visit the Syrian border and tentative plans are being made for a visit in January 2009. The MFA also supports moving ahead with International Border Interdiction Training (IBIT II) and International Railway Interdiction Training (IRIT II) on the border with Greece, tentatively planned for spring 2009. ¶3. (C) Comment: MFA continues to take a very deliberate and methodical approach in gathering Turkish interagency responses to our proposals for cooperation. While we would prefer a quicker response to USG offers, we are encouraged that the GOT is clearly taking the offers seriously. We anticipate working closely with the MFA following the November 21 ECB meeting to develop an action plan that will lay out a timeline for cooperative activities over the course of 2009 and beyond. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey WILSON